Genetic Origins of The Goths

25/2/24, 9:01 Genetic origins of the Goths
The genetic
Genomic Atlas origin
of the Goths
Posted by GENOMIC ATLAS on 26 OCTOBER, 2023
The Goths, an East Germanic people best known for being fierce adversaries of the
Roman Empire, are mentioned in numerous ancient sources and played an important
role in European history during the Migration Period. This article aims to explain
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their origin, ethnogenesis and tribal movements using newly published

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archaeogenetic data, archaeology and historical sources.
Schematic displaying the position of the Gothic language in the Germanic language tree
Table of Contents
What can archaeology and historical sources tell us?
Who lived in Poland before the Goths?
The East Germanic Wielbark culture (c. 50-400 AD)
Chernyakhov: When the Goths met the Sarmatians, Dacians and Slavs
Viminacium, Mediana, Timacum Minus (Goths in Serbia, c. 200-500 AD)
Hács and Balatonszemes: Ostrogothic samples from Pannonia (Hungary, 400-500

AD)
Visigoths: Pla de l’Horta, Girona, Spain (500-600 AD)
The genetic legacy of the Goths
Summary
References
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What can archaeology and historical sources
tell us?
If we are to believe the Gothic historian Jordanes, Gothiscandza was the name of the
area originally settled by the Goths. He writes in Getica that the Goths originally
came from Scandza, and once they arrived in this new land they gave it the name
Gothiscandza. The Scandza mentioned in Getica has traditionally been associated
with Scandinavia, and Gothiscandza with what is now Poland.
Modern scholars such as Herwig Wolfram, Peter Heather, Anders Kaliff and Wolf
Liebeschuetz, among others, have located Gothiscandza in the Iron Age culture
known as the Wielbark culture, which existed in Poland during the Iron Age.
Wielbark is often used to archaeologically define the early Goths, as well as the
Gepids, another East Germanic tribe. Other Germanic tribes such as the Rugii very
likely also inhabited the territory of the Wielbark culture.
“Now from this island of Scandza, as from a hive of races or a

womb of nations, the Goths are said to have come forth long ago
under their king, Berig by name. As soon as they disembarked from
their ships and set foot on the land, they straightway gave their
name to the place. And even to-day it is said to be called
Gothiscandza.”
– Jordanes
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Distribution of archaeological cultures in late 4th century Eastern Europe
Around 1 AD, the earliest phase of the Wielbark culture begins. This phase is
characterized by a change in funeral rites, and the introduction of inhumation, in
contrast to cremation that was practiced by most of the the preceding cultures in
Poland. Not long after, Germanic longhouses and stone circles of the type found in
Iron Age Southern Scandinavia start showing up in the archaeological record. While
the earliest Wielbark settlements are found near Gdańsk, the culture expanded
heavily towards the south in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, as well as the first half of
the 3rd century AD.
In addition, Scandinavian-style boat graves have been discovered at important

Gothic archaeological sites in Poland, such as Weklice (Björk 2022). The boat graves
have been interpreted as a clear sign of influence from Zealand and Bornholm in
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Denmark, as well as Scania in Southern Sweden. It is not only the typical Southern
Scandinavian stone circles and boat graves that strongly suggests that population
movement from Scandinavia was vital to the formation of the Wielbark culture, but
also grave goods, in particular jewelry (Kokowski 1999, Andersson 1995, Kaliff
2008).
Geographical distribution of archaeological cultures in Poland and neighbouring regions during the Iron Age, from Stolarek et al
(2019)
The archaeologist Birger Nerman interpreted the decrease in the number of burials in
Östergötland and Gotland in Sweden during the Early Roman Iron Age (in
comparison to the large amount of documented burials from the pre-Roman Iron
Age) as a sign of the Goths and Gepids leaving their homeland and settling in
Poland. This was something that was supported by most of Nerman’s
contemporaneous colleagues, including J. Kostrzewski.
Some archaeologists like Eric Oxenstierna argued that it was in Västra Götaland
rather than the eastern parts of Götaland that the Goths had originated, based on
material culture. Others, like M. Stenberger, were convinced that the Gothic
migrations involved movement of people from both Öland, Gotland and mainland
Götaland in Sweden. The more balanced view of Stenberger holds up well in light of
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genetic evidence, which we will get to soon.
Other archaeologists, like Professor Anders Kaliff at Uppsala University, have taken
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a more careful approach to the Gothic migrations while still emphasizing the striking
resemblance of the material culture in the Wielbark culture to that of Iron Age
Scandinavia. A noteworthy excerpt from Kaliff’s work “The Goths and Scandinavia:
Contacts between Scandinavia, the southern Baltic coast and the Black Sea area
during the early Iron Age and Roman Period” reads as follows:
“Regular contacts between high-ranking groups in different geographic

areas could eventually have developed into a close relationship between
certain groups of the Wielbark culture and groups of people in
Scandinavia, visible in similarities in material culture, language and burial
customs. The archaeological record indicates that Jordanes’ history
concerning the origin of the Goths was based on an oral tradition
with a real background.”
It is clear that there are strong archaeological ties between Scandinavia and the
Goths, giving credence to the origin proposed by Jordanes in Getica. With new
archaeogenetic data from the recently published study “Genetic history of East-
Central Europe in the first millennium CE” by Stolarek et al., a large number of
ancient genomes associated with the East Germanic Wielbark culture have become
available to the public. This, of course, makes the task of tracing the origins of the
Goths a whole lot easier.
But before we dig into the Wielbark culture samples, let us briefly go through the
preceeding cultures in Poland.
Who lived in Poland before the Goths?
The territory that is now Poland was home to the Trzciniec culture, Mierzanowice
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culture, the Strzyżów culture, the Unetice culture and the Lusatian culture during the
Bronze Age. The men of the Trzciniec culture mainly carried Y-DNA haplogroups
R1a-Z280>CTS1211 and I2-L1287>L233. Similarly, Mierzanowice and Strzyżów
appear to have been rich in Y-DNA R1a-Z280.
A large amount of samples from Trzciniec and Mierzanowice were recently

published in the study “Patrilocality and hunter-gatherer-related ancestry in MBA
East-Central Europe” (Chyleński et al. 2023), and the results indicate little Y-DNA
diversity and a dominance of R1a and I2 subclades, predominantly with a Baltic-like
autosomal profile. The latter is especially true for the Trzciniec culture, whose people
had a very substantial hunter-gatherer component on the autosomes.
While samples from the Lusatian culture are very sparse, the two samples that are
available (sample I0099 from Haak et al. 2015 and sample WEZ56 from Burger et
al. 2020) both carried R1a. Additionally, an abstract for an upcoming study by
Michal Golubinski and colleagues with a greater amount of samples from the
Lusatian culture indicates that most Lusatians carried R1a, with a minority of I2.
In contrast, the Unetice culture had greater diversity in regards to Y-DNA lineages.
Haplogroups R1b-P312 and I2 were the most common, with R1a also being fairly
common.The Uneticeans also carried R1b-U106, T1a, H2, and G2a (Rohrlach et al.
2021, Papac et al. 2021).
Preceding the Bronze Age cultures mentioned above was the steppe-derived Corded
Ware culture which was dominated by Y-DNA R1a-M417 and before that, the
Neolithic Globular Amphora culture. The men of the latter culture carried Y-DNA
haplogroup I2-L801, which became rare in Poland after the Neolithic. However, it
appears to have later been re-introduced to the region by Iron Age immigrants from
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the north.
Due to the practice of cremation, the Oksywie and Przeworsk cultures remain
unsampled for the time being, leaving a chronological gap in the Polish ancient DNA
record.
The East Germanic Wielbark culture (c. 50-400 AD)
If we compare the inhabitants of Neolithic and Bronze Age Poland to the people of
the Wielbark culture, very clear signs of discontinuity and immigration are visible.
However, it should be kept in mind that the local inhabitants, descendants of the
Bronze Age cultures of what is now Poland, continued to practice cremation of their
dead while the Gothic newcomers practiced both inhumation and cremation, with
inhumation being the dominant funeral practice. It is therefore entirely possible that
some of the locals persisted and lived alongside the newcomers, but simply do not
show up in the aDNA record due to cremation.
Stolarek et al. (2023) and Antonio et al. (2022) both sequenced genomes from the
Wielbark culture Goths. Stolarek et al. includes samples from multiple sites all over
the territory of the Wielbark culture, in large numbers. The results are in aligment
with archaeological and historical evidence, strongly suggesting that the Wielbark
culture formed through migration from Southern Scandinavia. A large majority of the
Wielbark culture samples are autosomally Scandinavian-like, and carry
predominantly Scandinavian Y-DNA haplogroups.
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PCA displaying the position of early Goths from the Wielbark culture in relation to modern populations
The most common Y-DNA haplogroup among the Wielbark individuals was Y-DNA
haplogroup I1-M253, characteristic of the Nordic Bronze Age in Southern
Scandinavia, in which it was found at a very high frequency and from where it first
expanded. Among the Wielbark Goths, substantial subclade diversity is seen among
the I1 carriers, suggesting that the male founders of the culture descended from clans
from a rather widespread area in Scandinavia. In total, almost 40 samples with Y-
DNA I1 have now been found in the Wielbark culture. The subclade diversity among
the I1-carriers of the Wielbark culture is further elaborated on in the following
excerpt from the supplementary information in the study:
Our results highlight the prevalence of haplogroups I1/I1a during the Iron
Age in the territory of contemporary Poland. These haplogroups were
found to be the most frequent haplogroups in each studied location
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ranging from 35.3% in Pruszcz Gdański to 57.1% in Masłomęcz and

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totalling to 41.3% in the whole IA group. Six individuals could be assigned
to a more detailed Y-chromosome haplogroup representing three different
I1a clades. Two males, one from Masłomęcz (PCA0102) and one from
Pruszcz Gdański (PCA0480), belonged to the I1a1 clade and were assigned
as I1a1-L22 and I1a1-P109 respectively. Next, a male from Masłomęcz
(PCA0100) belonged to the I1a2 clade and was assigned as I1a2-Z2040.
Finally, three males all from Kowalewko belonged to the I1a3 clade and
shared the same marker I1a3-L1237. The remaining lineages had the
following frequencies R1b:13.0%, G2a:11.0%, R1a:8.7%, Other:6.5%,
E1b:4.3%, I2a:4.3%, N1a:4.3%, J2a:2.2%, J2b:2.2%, Unk:2.2% as shown in
Figure 3a.
While the high frequency of I1 (roughly 41%) in the Wielbark culture is not overly
surprising given the origin of the culture, other uniparentals found among the new
samples also give us interesting clues. The newly sequenced G2a samples found in
these early Goths are mainly located in the Northern European cluster in the PCA
found in Fig.2, and generally display a very northern-shifted autosomal profile. The
same can be said of the Wielbark culture G2a sample sequenced in Antonio et al.
(2022). Sample R11391 from the Gothic archaeological site of Weklice carried
haplogroup G-Z1823 and was autosomally Scandinavian-like, just like the I1
samples from the same site. The G-Z1823 subclade is found among present-day
Scandinavians and is one of the most common subclades of G2a in Scandinavia.
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PCA and ADMIXTURE from Fig. 2 in Stolarek et al. (2023)
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Founder effects often occur with migration, and the relatively high frequency of G2a
(and in particular subclades downstream of G-L497) in Wielbark (11% vs 3-5%
among present-day Scandinavians) appears to be a result of just that. The samples
with G-Y3098 found at Kowalewko and their autosomal profile indicate that G-
Y3098 migrated into the region together with I1-L1237. Additionally, three samples
with R1b-U106 were found in the Wielbark culture. Two of them, PCA0531 and
PCA0485, carried R1b-Z18, characteristic of ancient and modern Scandinavians
downstream of R1b-U106.
Furthermore, two of the Wielbark culture samples carry Y-DNA haplogroup N-

L1026, often referred to as N1c in older nomenclature. More specifically, the two
samples are N-L550, a long way downstream of L1026. N-L550 was characteristic of
the Iron Age in the East Baltic region, with the oldest samples being from Iron Age
Estonia. It is also found in moderate frequencies in the eastern parts of Sweden, both
during the Roman Iron Age and in the present. Autosomally, both Wielbark samples
carrying N-L550 cluster together with the rest of the Scandinavian-like samples,
suggesting that the N-L550 individuals were not locals. Instead, they likely represent
the legacy of the Finnic-Germanic contacts that occurred around the Baltic Sea in the
early Iron Age, with some N-L550 individuals being assimilated by Germanic
groups.
Interestingly, some of the Wielbark Goths carry the L22 subclade of I1 (including the
P109 branch), which has a far more north-eastern geographical distribution than the
more typically Southern Scandinavian I1 subclades. It is possible that the I1-L22 and
N-L550 individuals found among the Wielbark samples may represent migration
from further north than the lands of Götaland, Gotland, and Bornholm that have
stronger archaeological ties to the Wielbark culture. As such, East-Central Sweden
may be a likely location for the origin of the I1-L22 and N-L550 Gothic individuals,
although it is entirely possible that they moved further south in Scandinavia at an

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earlier point in time, before migrating to Poland. In contrast, the subclades I1-L1237
and I1-Z2040 found among the Wielbark samples are more likely to represent
migration from more southern parts of Scandinavia.
In regards to the I1-L1237 samples from the Wielbark culture, they are numerous and
belong to sublineages that are quite indicative of where they came from, and where
they ended up. Sample PCA0046/Kowalewko 46 belonged to I1-Y99000, with a
TMRCA of 334 BC. Y99000 is carried by two of FTDNA’s modern testers, both
from Sweden. Further down the I1-L1237 tree, we have Wielbark culture samples
PCA0035/Kowalewko 35 and PCA0018/Kowalewko 18, who both carried I1-
FGC9549. Interestingly, FTDNA’s modern testers with branches downstream of the
Kowalewko sample with I1-FGC9549 are from Italy, which makes it very likely that
the FGC9549>Y33063 Italians are the direct descendants of Goths on the paternal
side.
Y-DNA haplogroup E-V13 was found in a small number of the Wielbark culture
samples. The E-V13 samples display Southern European genome-wide ancestry,
suggesting they were relatively recent arrivals to that part of Poland. It is possible
that they represent Dacian influence in the area, whether it be travellers, traders or
permanent settlers. However, it is not yet clear whether the Goths assimilated some
E-V13 carriers as early as in the Wielbark culture, or if this happened later on in the
Chernyakhov culture or even at a later point in time. We will get back to E-V13 later
on in this article.
On the autosomal side of things, Stolarek et al. (2023) features qpAdm models
confirming that the Wielbark culture population can not be modelled using Bronze
Age populations from Poland. Instead, the researchers emphasize that a migraton
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from Northern Europe led to the formation of the Wielbark population.
“Most of the collected data including f4 statistics and qpAdm models

showed that the genetic makeup of the Wielbark culture-associated people
was related with the ancient northern European populations including
Denmark_IA and Norway_IA. This result is consistent with our earlier
observation of matrilineal connections between IA_Kowalewko and the IA
population from Jutland Peninsula [37]. Here, we further showed that
the Wielbark culture-associated IA populations could not be derived
from the preceding EBA_Unetice populations alone. It means that
the migration from northern Europe was necessary to the
formation of the IA group genetic pool.”
As mentioned before, and as the authors of the study point out, clear signs of
migration are also visible when looking at the Y-chromosomal haplogroups. See the
excerpt from the study below:
“The patrilineal genetic structure of the IA group members was dominated

by I1 Y-hg lineages. Many identified I1 clades are now the most common Y-
hg in present-day Nordic populations, reaching a 28–38% frequency [75,
76]. An increased I1 Y-hg frequency was previously reported in the
context of Anglo-Saxon migrations to Britain [77,78,79]. This further
supports the Northern European origin of the Wielbark culture-
associated people“
In addition to the Germanic Iron Age cluster, Stolarek et al. (2023) also published
ancient samples belonging to a far younger genetic cluster, namely Medieval Slavs in
Poland. This cluster is drastically different from the Wielbark cluster, which we will
get to soon. On the topic of Y-DNA found in the Wielbark culture, there is also the
highly interesting presence of R1a and I2 subclades that likely represent an older
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layer of pre-Wielbark inhabitants.
In the ADMIXTURE model in Fig.2, the only two samples with 100% Eastern
European ancestry carry Y-DNA R1a and I2, respectively. (as opposed to the
Northern European autosomal component that made up most of the ancestry of the
other Wielbark individuals) At least two of the Iron Age samples carry R1a-M458,
which appears to have been rare among the Wielbark men but was the most common
Y-DNA haplogroup in the Medieval Slavic cluster in Stolarek et al. (2023).
Given that R1a-M458 was found in the Bronze Age Trzciniec culture (sample
poz554 at the site of Brodzica) it is quite likely that the small number of R1a-M458
carriers in the Wielbark culture were assimilated locals and remnants of the Bronze
Age in Poland. With that in mind, it is not certain whether the M458 samples from
the R1a-rich Medieval Slavic cluster represent a resurgence of an older Balto-Slavic
population or newcomers from the east/south-east.
What can be said with certainty is that the Medieval Slavic samples and the Iron Age
Gothic samples from Stolarek et al. (2023) do not resemble each other much, neither
in terms of uniparental markers nor in terms of autosomal DNA. That should not
come as a huge surprise, as the Goths and Gepids had long left Poland by the time
the Medieval Slavic samples in the study are dated to. In addition to R1a-M458, the
Medieval Slavic samples from Poland also carry haplogroups I2-Y3120 and R1a-
Z280 at high frequencies, a clear display of all three major Slavic haplogroups. This,
of course, is in stark contrast to the Iron Age Wielbark Goths. The Goths had left
Gothiscandza for greener pastures.
In summary, archaeological, historical and archaeogenetic evidence has proven

beyond reasonable doubt that substantial migration from Southern Scandinavia led to
the formation of the Wielbark culture. The immigrants brought with them new burial
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rites, cultural practices, and the Gothic language.
In summary,
Chernyakhov: When the Goths met the

Sarmatians, Dacians and Slavs
Jordanes wrote about how the Goths left Gothiscandza and migrated to what he
called Oium, often assumed by historians to be Scythia, or in other words parts of
what is now Ukraine. By then, the Goths were ruled by king Filimer, son of Gadaric.
Filimer was five generations of kings removed from the legendary king Beric who
had first led his northern kinsmen from Scandza/Scandinavia to
Gothiscandza/Wielbark. It is at this point in time that the Chernyakhov culture enters
the picture.
“Soon they moved from here to the abodes of the Ulmerugi, who then dwelt
on the shores of Ocean, where they pitched camp, joined battle with them
and drove them from their homes. Then they subdued their neighbors, the
Vandals, and thus added to their victories. But when the number of the
people increased greatly and Filimer, son of Gadaric, reigned as king–about
the fifth since Berig–he decided that the army of the Goths with their
families should move from that region.”
Chernyakhov is generally believed to have been a multi-ethnic culture.

Archaeologically, elements associated with Sarmatians, Dacians, Slavs and Goths are
all visible. Some historians like Peter Heather have suggested that the Goths came to
be the dominant force in the Chernyakhov culture and that the Wielbark-related
archaeological influences in the Chernyakhov culture reflects the Gothic dominion of
the Chernyakhov horizon. This includes typical Germanic pottery and jewelry as
well as burial rites. The depopulation and decrease in settlement in the Gothic and
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Gepidic core of Wielbark is in alignment with Jordanes’ account of the population
movement from Poland to what is now Ukraine, Moldova and Romania under king
Filimer. In other words, a migration to the Chernyakhov culture.
While ancient DNA from the Chernyakhov culture is very sparse, and we currently
have no sequenced Y-DNA haplogroups from Chernyakhov samples, a high genetic
diversity can almost certainly be expected. It is entirely possible that the Goths
picked up some Sarmatian and Dacian-related Y-DNA and mtDNA lineages in
Chernyakhov, with some of their Wielbark-associated autosomal ancestry being
reduced in the process. While some academics such as John Mathews have proposed
that the various ethnolinguistic groups inhabiting the Chernyakhov culture kept a
sense of ethnic distinction, it is highly likely that we will see at least some admixture
taking place between the different groups in future samples from the Chernyakhov
culture.
The arrival of the nomadic Huns in the 5th century AD marked an abrupt end to the
Gothic dominance in the Chernyakhov culture, and was followed by a migration
towards the west and south by the Goths. It has been suggested that some of the pre-
Gothic, autochthonous inhabitants of the regions covered by the Chernyakhov
culture saw a resurgence after the Goths left, which may have been tied to the Slavs
rising to prominence in the region.
Viminacium, Mediana, Timacum Minus

(Goths in Serbia, c. 200-500 AD)
Olalde et al. (2021) sequenced a large number of ancient genomes from

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Viminacium, which was a Roman city and military encampment located where the
Danube River meets the Mllava River. The study also featured samples from sites
near Viminacium. The samples from Viminacium display significant diversity, and
include Roman immigrants from the Eastern Empire, Celts, people with local
Balkan-related ancestry, an outlier (likely a Roman soldier) with East African
ancestry, and people from the Iron Age Steppe. In addition to that, a small number of
East Germanic individuals were sequenced in the study. The East Germanic samples
from Olalde et al. (2021) are the oldest individuals carrying Y-DNA haplogroup I1
found in the Balkans thus far, and date to 250-500 AD.
Figure 4. from Olalde et al (2021). Graphical summary of the genetic findings. A) 0-250 CE, B) 250-500 CE and C) After 550 CE
The study contains various genetic clusters, including a Balkans Iron Age cluster, a
Steppe cluster, a cluster for the African outlier, a Near Eastern cluster and a
Central/Northern European cluster, among others. The Central/Northern European
(CNE) cluster is attributed by the authors of the study to Germanic immigrants.
“We generated genome-wide data from 70 ancient individuals from

present-day Serbia dated to the first millennium CE; including Viminacium,
capital of Moesia Superior province. Our analyses reveal large scale-
movements from Anatolia during Imperial rule, similar to the pattern
observed in Rome, and cases of individual mobility from as far as East
Africa. Between ~250-500 CE, we detect gene-flow from Central/Northern
Europe harboring admixtures of Iron Age steppe groups. Tenth-century CE
individuals harbored North-Eastern European-related ancestry likely
associated to Slavic-speakers, which contributed >20% of the ancestry of

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today’s Balkan people.”
Interestingly, the genomes of at least two Gothic individuals were sequenced in the
study, and they both fall within the CNE cluster. Both Goths carried Y-DNA
haplogroup I1-Z141, which was also found in sample PCA0498 from the Wielbark
culture.
“Y-chromosome lineages also provide evidence for gene-flow, as 5 of 7

males in the Central/Northern European and Steppe cluster belonged to
two lineages not found in the Balkans earlier: haplogroup I1 with a
strong Northern European distribution and haplogroup R1a-Z645,
common in the Steppe during the Iron Age and early 1st millennium CE
26–28.”
“To obtain a fitting model, a significant proportion of ancestry (~14%)

related to contemporaneous nomadic steppe groups (proxied in our
analysis by Late Sarmatians from the Eastern Pontic-Caspian steppe 26) is
also needed (Figure 2; Supplementary section 12.6). This is even more
evident in two individuals from the Pecine necropolis in Viminacium
(referred to as Steppe cluster), who could be modelled as deriving ~43% of
ancestry from the Balkans Iron Age-related cluster and 57% ancestry
from Late Sarmatian-related Steppe groups (Figure 2; Supplementary
section 12.7).”
The excerpts above are highly relevant, as the study’s findings strongly suggests that
the Goths did in fact pick up Sarmatian-related ancestry in the Chernyakhov culture.
The researchers appear to agree, as they explain that their observations are consistent
with the hypothesis that Germanic tribes interacted with Steppe-related nomadic
populations reaching the Eastern European plateau, and incorporated their ancestry
into their gene pool before moving into the Balkans. The R1a-Z645 (likely further
downstream at R1a-Z93) represents the Sarmatian contribution to the CNE

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cluster,whereas the I1 lineages represent the Gothic contribution.
If we download the supplementary information of Olalde et al. (2021) and go to

page 8, some very interesting information about the Gothic sample from Mediana in
the study can be found:
“Both skeletons laid in their graves in an outstretched position, with their

hands alongside their bodies. They had an east-west orientation, with their
heads on the west. The archaeological and historical context
indicates these individuals belonged to the Gothic cultural circle. In
connection with this, both individuals present artificially deformed
skulls which were characteristic of Germanic tribes during the
Great Migration period. This cultural practice was could have been
adopted from the Huns. Furthermore, the skull bandaging method
observed for these two individuals corresponds with other examples of
cranial deformation previously observed in Germanic necropolises at
Viminacium. There are 4 bandaging zones observed form a lateral
projection: frontal above the measuring point glabella (G), parietal behind
the bregma (B), parietal above the inion (I), as well as occipital below the
measuring point inion. Thus, in a reconstructive sense, it is obvious that
the bandage tape bent around the cerebral part of the skull in three
directions: fronto-parietal, fronto-occipital and parieto-occipital.”
“From this necropolis, only G-34 individual yielded enough DNA for further
genetic study. The analysis of this sample points towards them
having Central-North European Iron Age- related ancestry, admixed
with a small yet significant portion of Iron Age Steppe related
ancestry, compatible with possible Germanic peoples (further
explained in Supplementary section 12.6).”
The individual G-34/(sample I15549) was one of the Goths with an artificially
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deformed, elongated skull and Y-DNA I1. G-34 was dated to 259-409 AD. What we
can observe by looking at samples like G-34/I15549 is a neat example of how
Germanic tribesmen adopted cultural practices from the Huns and other Iron Age
steppe nomads they interacted with.
Interestingly, two Hunnic samples from Kecskemét in Hungary published in

Gnecchi-Ruscone et al. (2022) also carried I1-Z141, just like the Goths from
Mediana and Timacum Minus. Although they were found in a Hunnic archaeological
context, we can say with a high degree of certainty that they were of Gothic or
Gepidic paternal descent, something that is further strengthened by their autosomal
profile. Another Hunnic sample, Fonyód 5, carried R1b-Z18. Z18 is a typically
Scandinavian subclade of R1b-U106. As such, Fonyód 5 is further proof of
admixture between East Germanic tribes and Huns.
Another sample with a Gothic background from Olalde et al. (2021) is G-25/I15545
from Timacum Minus. He also carried Y-DNA I1-Z141 and belonged to the CNE
autosomal cluster. It is evident, judging by the Gothic samples from Olalde et al.
(2021), that the Goths in the Balkans still had substantial amounts of Northern
European ancestry and carried Y-DNA lineages from the Wielbark culture.
Hács and Balatonszemes: Ostrogothic

samples from Pannonia (Hungary, 400-
500 AD)
A recent study by Vyas et al. (2023) provided new ancient DNA from 5th–6th
century Pannonia. While the individuals at the sampled sites are heterogeneous, clear
signs of an influx of Northern European ancestry was detected by the researchers. It

Genomic Atlas
should be kept in mind that many individuals with Southern European ancestry were
found at the site, as well as individuals of mixed southern and northern ancestry.
Therefore, the context of all the samples is not entirely clear in some cases.
Fascinatingly, individuals belonging to a Gothic archaeological context can be found

at multiple sites in the study. These Pannonian samples make it clear that some local
Pannonians with mainly Southern European-related ancestry likely adopted a Gothic
identity and were brought into the Gothic fold, which is not particularly surprising.
However, they also indicate that there were people with relatively unmixed
Wielbark-related ancestry among the Goths even at a very late stage, just prior to the
Goths entering Italy.
“The range of genetic diversity in all four of these local burial communities
is extensive and wider ranging than penecontemporaneous Europeans
sequenced to date. Despite many commonalities in burial customs and
demography, we find that there were substantial differences in genetic
ancestry between the sites. We detect evidence of northern European
gene flow into the Lake Balaton region. Additionally, we observe a
statistically significant association between dress artifacts and genetic
ancestry among 5th century genetically female burials. Our analysis shows
that the formation of early Medieval communities was a multifarious
process even at a local level, consisting of genetically heterogeneous
groups.”
Genomic Atlas
From the archaeological site of Balatonszemes, some of the samples display almost
unmixed Wielbark-like ancestry. Their autosomal ancestry is Scandinavian-like and
samples like Bal_146 not only had an older Gothic autosomal profile, but also
Wielbark-related Y-DNA. In the case of Bal_146, he carried a subclade of G-L497
related to those found in the Wielbark culture. Similarly, Bal_149 was also
autosomally Scandinavian-like, and carried Y-DNA haplogroup G2a. More
specifically, the two men belonged to G-BY154551. One sample at Balatonszemes,
Bal_143, carried haplogroup J2a. Autosomally, Bal_143 was similar to modern West
Mediterranean people.
Additionally, samples Bal_269 and Bal_150 also display very nothern-shifted,

Genomic Atlas
Scandinavian-like autosomal profiles. Fascinatingly, Y-DNA haplogroup I1-L22 was
found among one of the samples from Balatonszemes, further reinforcing the
evidence of a Gothic presence at the site. As was previously mentioned, I1-L22 was
also found among the Goths of the Wielbark culture.
At Hács, two intriguing samples are Hacs21 and Hacs22. Both men carried Y-DNA
haplogroup E-V13. Their autosomal profiles were Southern European, and rich in
Anatolian farmer-related ancestry. It is therefore difficult to determine whether their
paternal lines hailed from the E-V13 that was found in the Wielbark culture, or if
they were Pannonian locals who encountered the Goths. Alternatively, they could
have hailed from even further south in Europe.
In any case, the E-V13 samples may prove relevant to the E-V13 later found at a
Visigothic site in Spain, which we will soon get to. Some samples at Hács also
display a more Western European autosomal profile, suggesting that there may have
been Elbe-Germanic tribesmen among them. One male sample at Hács belonged to
Y-DNA haplogroup R-S1141, a relatively rare subclade of R1b with upstream
branches found in ancient DNA from Etruscans, Iron Age Celts in Bohemia, as well
as one sample from the Tollense battlefield.
To summarize the findings of Vyas et al. (2023), the data from the study tells us that
the Pannonian Goths had gained a more heterogeneous genetic profile at that time,
with samples ranging from Scandinavian-like to West Mediterranean-like.
Visigoths: Pla de l’Horta, Girona, Spain

(500-600 AD)
Finally, we arrive at the last Gothic archaeological site with samples in the
Genomic Atlas
archaeogenetic record. This time, we are dealing with what was very likely Visigoths
from Girona in Spain. The genomes of these Visigothic individuals were sequenced
in Olalde et al. (2019). Excerpts from the supplemetary information in the study:
“The Pla de l’Horta villa is located in Sarrià de Ter, around four kilometers
from the city of Girona, and therefore it should be considered a fundus that
belonged to the suburbium of Gerunda (80). It was constructed in the
middle of the 1st century BCE. The residential part underwent substantial
alterations in the Flavian and Severan periods, on both occasions with
notable use of mosaic floors. In the industrial district of this serttlement we
can identify the area of the wine presses, especially from the 4th century
CE, which is the last phase for which there is evidence on the villa.
However, due to the villa’s considerable size, we can deduce that it
probably had a large industrial area that has not yet been excavated to the
north of the structures that have been discovered.“
“Immediately to the north of this area, a necropolis associated with the

villa has been found, with a funerary building and a series of tombs. This
site clearly belongs to the villa, which would subsequently be extended in
the Visigoth period. The samples that have been analyzed correspond
to this Visigothic phase. Several types of burials can be seen, from a
simple grave to a cist. The number of burials identified (58), as well as the
results of the analysis, demonstrate the persistence and importance of the
habitat, even though it has not yet been identified archaeologically. The
grave goods and the typology
of the tombs point to a Visigothic origin of the individuals.”
From this site, five of the 9 samples were males. Out of the male samples, all had
low coverage, with one of them being of such low quality that it did not yield any
reliable predictions of the Y-DNA haplogroup. This leaves us with the Y-DNA of four
Genomic Atlas
Visigoths.
One of them, sample I12033 carried Y-DNA haplogroup I1-M253. Another, sample
I12031, belonged to haplogroup E-V13. More specifically, he carried subclade E-
BY28635. The paternal haplogroups of these two individuals are very clearly not
local to the area, and strongly suggests that Visigoths in Spain still carried
characteristic “Gothic” haplogroups. In the case of I12033 with I1, we can observe a
continuity of sorts, stretching back from the I1-rich early Goths of the Wielbark
culture all the way to their final destination. When it comes to the sample with E-
V13, it is not possible to say with certainty at what point in time the lineage was
assimilated by the Goths. However, what can be said with confidence is that by the
time of the Visigothic arrival in Iberia, it came as a Gothic marker and is very
unlikely to have been associated with the local inhabitants.
The two remaining male samples at the site carried R1b-L23 and J2a, respectively.
The R1b sample is of very low coverage, and it is therefore not possible to determine
a subclade further downstream of L23 for the sample. Because of that, it is also
difficult to determine whether his paternal lineage was native to Iberia, or had arrived
there with the Goths. The same applies to the sample with J2a.
On the autosomes, Northern European ancestry was still present among the
Visigothic samples from Pla de l’Horta, as the researchers point out. Autosomally,
they are significantly more northern-shifted than the samples from L’Esquerda in the
same study.
“In contrast to the demographic changes in the Classical period,

movements into Iberia during the decline of the Roman Empire had less
long-term demographic impact. Nevertheless, individual sites bear witness
to events in this period, for example at the 6th century site of Pla de l’Horta
Genomic Atlas
in the northeast. These individuals, archaeologically interpreted as
Visigoths, are shifted from those at L’Esquerda in the direction of
north/central Europe (Figs. 1D, ,2C2C and table S18), and we observe the
Asian mtDNA haplogroup C4a1a also found in Early Medieval Bavaria
(20), supporting a recent link with groups with ultimate ancestry from
central/eastern Europe.“
When it comes to the Visigothic samples from Spain, a pattern resembling that of the
Pannonian Gothic samples emerges. However, the most striking difference between
the two is that all of the Visigothic samples from Pla de l’Horta have local admixture.
This is not the case for the East Germanic samples from Pannonia.
The genetic legacy of the Goths

While some conquering tribes during the Migration Period such as the Slavs had an
enormous impact on the genetic profile of the people in regions which they settled in
or conquered, other tribes did not. Some such examples include the Magyars who
conquered what is now Hungary and gave the Hungarians as we know them their
language. The original Magyars were a conquering elite with substantial Asian
autosomal ancestry and Y-DNA haplogroups N-L1034 and N-M2058. Despite their
important linguistic and cultural contribution, the original Magyar Y-DNA
haplogroups are carried by less than 3% of present-day Hungarians, and their
autosomal contribution to modern Hungarians was also slim. This is not particularly
strange by any means, as the population size of the conquering warrior elite was
small in comparison to that of the more sedentary locals, who had a large population.
Similarly, the Huns played an important part in European history during the
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Migration Period, but left very little behind them in terms of genetic impact. As for
the Goths, their genetic contribution in the places they conquered or passed through
can be placed somewhere in the middle of the examples mentioned above, the Slavs
and the Hungarian conquerors. While they did not contribute substantially to the
genetic profile of any modern population, genetic traces of the Goths are easy to spot
for those who know what to look for.
To begin with, it can be said with certainty that the genetic legacy of the Goths was
not substantial in Iberia. Spain alone had an estimated population of 6 million when
the Visigoths took control, and thus, the Goths were but a small minority among the
massive local Iberian-Roman population. The demographics of the “core” group of
Goths would also have been negatively affected by the military defeats and the
eventual fall of the Visigothic Kingdom at the hands of the Umayyad Caliphate. As
such, an already small Gothic elite was decimated even further.
The genetic legacy of the Ostrogoths in Italy can be described in a similar way as
that of the Visigoths in Spain. Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths, had
settled along with his people in what is now Italy, where they made up a minority and
were greatly outnumbered by the local population. After the Gothic War ended in 554
AD, the Ostrogoths in Italy had suffered massive losses. A series of crushing military
defeats led to the demise of the Ostrogothic Kingdom.
While both modern Iberians and Italians have moderate amounts of Northern
European ancestry today, it does not make up a significant amount of their ancestry.
There are also multiple sources of more northern-shifted ancestry in both Iberians
and Italians, including Langobards, Cisalpine Gauls, Suebi, Celtiberians, Normans,
and of course Goths. Approximately 5% of Spanish men carry Y-DNA I1, with the
majority of them being under the Z63 branch typical of the Wielbark culture.
Genomic Atlas
Similarly, much of the E-V13 found among modern Iberians is likely to have arrived
with the Visigoths.
A fascinating study by Boattini et al. (2014) examined the Y-chromosomal

landscape of Partecipanza in San Giovanni in Persiceto (Northern Italy).
Interestingly, their data indicates that in this particular region of Italy, Germanic Y-
DNA contribution was relatively high. They compare the results from PAR
(Partecipanza) with neighbouring towns. One of the most striking differences
between the two is the fairly high frequency of I1-L22 (roughly 16%) in the PAR
population. The researchers attribute the L22 in the PAR population to Lombards
more so than the Goths, but it is worth keeping in mind that ancient DNA has shown
that I1-L22 was more common among the Goths than it was among the Lombards,
even though it has been found among both tribes. Excerpt from the study:
“From the other side, PAR differentiates itself from SGP primarily because
of the high frequency of hg I1-L22 (15.91%), which in turn is completely
absent in SGP (Fisher test: P=0.0004).”
“Interestingly, the upper bound coincides with the Migration Period, and in
particular with the settling of Ostrogoths and Lombards in Italy (493 AD
and 568 AD, respectively). The lower bound might instead correspond to
the devastating ‘Black Death’ epidemic of the fourteenth century (∼1350
AD), a strong bottleneck that may have affected our population. It is
worth noting that the geographic distribution of hg I1-L22 and its
alleged place of origin are consistent with the alleged route
followed by some Germanic peoples—Lombards and Goths in
particular—from the Baltic shores to Italy.”
“These results, together with a peculiar Y-chromosomal composition and

Genomic Atlas
historical evidence, suggest that Germanic populations (Lombards in
particular) settled in the area during the Migration Period (400–800 AD,
approximately) and may have had an important role in the foundation of
this community.”
While L22 is not the only subclade of I1 present in the PAR population, or in Italy
for that matter, it is quite remarkable to see a Y-DNA haplogroup with a geographic
distribution that is otherwise so shifted towards Central and Northern Scandinavia
and Finland to be present in significant numbers in Southern Europe. It is quite likely
that the I1-L22 in Italy owes its presence to the Goths to some extent, although we
would require an analysis further downstream of just L22 in order to accurately
separate the Gothic L22 from that brought by Lombards, Normans, and others.
Boattini et al. (2014) does not go into detail about the subclades of G2a found
among modern North Italians. However, Italian men with subclades downstream of
G-Z1823 are likely to trace their paternal lines back to the Ostrogoths. G-Z1823 is
also found as a rare lineage among modern Spanish and Portugese men, increasing
the percentage of modern Iberian men whose patrilineages ultimately descend from
the East Germanic Wielbark culture.
The majority of Serbs with I1 belong to an intriguing branch of I1-L22, namely

P109>FGC22045. P109 is a very northern subclade of I1, found at very high
frequencies among ancient Norse samples. However, it is both possible and plausible
that FGC22045 was brought into the Balkans from an East Germanic source, given
the presence of I1-P109 in the Wielbark culture. The demographic impact of East
Germanic tribes in the Balkans was far greater than that of the Normans, although
both groups remain viable source populations of I1 among the Serbs. Around 8% of
Serbs carry Y-DNA I1. I1 ranges from a frequency of 7-14% in Serbia, Slovenia,
Bosnia, Croatia, Hungary and Montenegro, with the majority of that being under
Genomic Atlas
subclades that were likely brought by East Germanic tribes, as opposed to West
Germanic or North Germanic tribes that have also had a historical presence in the
Balkans.
Interestingly, the Scandinavian R1a-Z284 is also found in small but noteworthy

frequencies in the Balkans. This includes samples from as far south as Albania, with
Rrënjët, the Albanian DNA project, presenting the results of an Albanian man with
R1a-Z284. R1b-U106 is found at a frequency of around 1-2% in most populations in
the Balkans, which could be a legacy of both West Germanic tribes and East
Germanics. Furthermore, I1-L1237 downstream of Z63 can be found among modern
Poles, Ukrainians, Russians, Bosnians, Serbs, Northern Italians and Swedes. L1237
was very common in the Wielbark culture, and it is likely that when the Goths left
Poland, some Goths carrying L1237 remained there. They would later have been
assimilated by the Slavs, which likely explains the modern distribution.
Unsurprisingly, the autosomal impact of the Goths in the areas they passed through
and settled in is minor, especially in comparison to the Y-DNA they left behind, with
the latter being relatively small as well.
Summary
The Goths were an East Germanic people with roots in the Wielbark culture of Iron
Age Poland, and ultimately with an origin in Southern Scandinavia. As they migrated
across Europe over the course of many centuries, they mixed with other tribes,
assimilated various local peoples, and formed alliances with populations quite
different from them. The late Ostrogoths and Visigoths, despite being separated from
the Wielbark culture chronologically and geographically, still carried Wielbark-
related Y-DNA haplogroups and autosomal ancestry, as well as genetic substrates

Genomic Atlas
from people they had assimilated on the way.
References
Stolarek et al. (2023): Genetic history of East-Central Europe in the first millennium CE
https://genomebiology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13059-023-03013-9
Björk, Tony (2022): How to Bury the Dead: A study on regional variations in the southern
Baltic area during Late Pre-Roman and Early Roman Iron Age https://www.diva-
portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2%3A1625856&dswid=8542
Kaliff, Anders (2008): The Goths and Scandinavia: Contacts between Scandinavia, the southern
Baltic coast and the Black Sea area during the early Iron Age and Roman Period https://uu.diva-
portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2%3A48109&dswid=500
Jordanes (551 AD): Getica: The Origin and Deeds of the Goths.
Peter Heater, John Mathews (1991): The Goths in the Fourth Century
https://www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/book/10.3828/9780853234265
Rohrlach et al. (2021): Using Y-chromosome capture enrichment to resolve haplogroup H2 shows
new evidence for a two-path Neolithic expansion to Western
Europe https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-94491-z
Olalde et al. (2021): Cosmopolitanism at the Roman Danubian Frontier, Slavic Migrations, and the
Genomic Formation of Modern Balkan
Peoples https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.08.30.458211v1
Zenczak et al. (2017): Y-chromosome haplogroup assignment through next generation sequencing
of enriched ancient DNA libraries https://www.academia.edu/33791135
Nerman, Birger (1923): The ancient home of the Goths https://www.diva-

Genomic Atlas
portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1226675/FULLTEXT01.pdf
Gnecchi-Ruscone et al. (2022): Ancient genomes reveal origin and rapid trans-Eurasian
migration of 7th century Avar elites
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867422002677
Price, Douglas (2015): Ancient Scandinavia: An Archaeological History from the First Humans to
the Vikings
Boattini et al. (2014): Traces of medieval migrations in a socially stratified population from
Northern Italy. Evidence from uniparental markers and deep-rooted pedigrees
https://www.nature.com/articles/hdy201477
H. Wolfram (1990): History of the Goths
Ginguta et al. (2022): Maternal Lineages of Gepids from Transylvania

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359437255_Maternal_Lineages_of_Gepids_from_
Piotr Łuczkiewicz et al. (2021), Cambridge University Press: The Goths, the Wielbark
Culture and over 100 years of research on the eponymous site
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/goths-the-wielbark-culture-and-
over-100-years-of-research-on-the-eponymous-
site/92E85F41D42501F1E961DA148AECEE8F
Vyas et al. (2023): Fine-scale sampling uncovers the complexity of migrations in 5th–6th
century Pannonia https://www.cell.com/current-biology/pdf/S0960-9822(23)01035-7.pdf
Olalde et al. (2019): The genomic history of the Iberian Peninsula over the past 8000 years
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aav4040
Chyleński et al. (2023): Patrilocality and hunter-gatherer-related ancestry of populations in East-

Central Europe during the Middle Bronze Age https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-
40072-9
Genomic Atlas
Kokowski, Andrzej (1999): Archäologie der Goten. Goten im Hrubieszów-Becken
Papac et al. (2021): Dynamic changes in genomic and social structures in third millennium BCE
central Europe https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abi6941
Antonio et al. (2022): Stable population structure in Europe since the Iron Age, despite high
mobility https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.05.15.491973v2
© Genomic Atlas 2023
Chernyakhov Culture Gepid DNA Gothic DNA Goths haplogroups
Haplogroup E-V13 Haplogroup I1-M253 Haplogroup N-L550 Haplogroup R-Z18
Haplogroup R1b-U106 Nordic Bronze Age Ostrogoths Visigoths
Wielbark Culture DNA
11 Comments ADD YOURS
JONATHAN K MC C LELLAN says:  Reply

23 November, 2023 at 02:51
I recently traced my lineage to the royal family of the Goths

proper, the Wulfings. Heritage is fun. The royal families that
went out with the continental Goths, the Balts and the
Amals, were also of the Wolf Clan. If you look at the
Amalung coat of arms, it’s clearly a Wulfing one. I have
Genomic Atlas
rediscovered in heraldry, the chevron is the ordinary of
House Wulfing. I suppose in heraldry, every royal house has
it’s own ordinary.
VLLAD says:  Reply

24 November, 2023 at 11:28
Could there have been any people from Przeworsk culture

living in Wielbark culture and not cremating? Survivors
absorbed from when Goths defeated Vandals?
 GENOMIC ATLAS says:  Reply

24 November, 2023 at 22:56
That is certainly a possibility. In particular, some of the

individuals found at Pruszcz Gdański may fit that
description.
CRAIG COURSEN says:  Reply

27 November, 2023 at 17:57
I found all this very interesting but what the western side
Belgium. A very confusing place the Wallons the language
now is almost extinct, Do guys have plans to do this area?

28 November, 2023 at 09:30
Hi Craig! For the time being there is very little ancient

DNA from that particular region. Hopefully that will
change in the future.
Genomic Atlas
JOS E says:  Reply
23 January, 2024 at 22:20
Is there any sample linked to Goths belonging to R-Z2103-

CTS9219-BY250?.

28 January, 2024 at 21:48
Hello Jose!
There is one sample from the Wielbark culture with

R1b-CTS9219. That is sample PCA0475 from Stolarek
et al. 2023. However, there are currently no Goth-
associated samples with the downstream marker of
BY250.

JOS E says:
7 February, 2024 at 10:57
Thanks Genomic Atlas!! There are also more

samples in Poland in Medieval times (PCA0300
in Groszowice or PCA0516 in Milicz). There are
also samples in Hungary related to Huns
(CSBper3) and to Avars (I16759). In the case of
Huns it is known that absorbed Goth troops. In
addition to that, looking at the correlation
between EV-13 and CTS9219 and the spread of
some branches of CTS9219, as BY250, in West
and North Europe. Do you think that could be a
connection with Goth migrations?. In my case my
family belongs to Asturias (north of Spain) since
XVII century, where Visigoths refuged in the 8th
Genomic Atlas
Century.
 GENOMIC ATLAS says:

17 February, 2024 at 11:48
Given the presence of CTS9219 in the Wielbark

culture, it is certainly quite reasonable to
assume that the CTS9219 in Avar and Hunnic
samples could possibly have an East Germanic
origin. Quite a lot of East Germanic Y-DNA has
been found in ancient DNA from both Avars and
Huns, although it was not dominant among
them, of course.
However as I’m sure you know, CTS9219 had a

presence in Iron Age Albania and Macedonia.
Thus some CTS9219 could have been picked up
by the Goths as they reached the Balkan region
without originally being a Gothic marker. Even
so, a movement with the Goths from the Balkans
to Iberia definitely seems like a good bet for the
paternal origin of the Spaniards from Asturias
who are downstream of BY250. For now, the
most realistic scenario is probably a migration of
some CTS9219 north into the territory of the
Wielbark culture (as evidenced by aDNA)
followed by a back-migration into the Balkans
with East Germanics, which is very likely what
happened with some subclades of E-V13. That
would also explain the rather neat correlation
between some E-V13 subclades and CTS9219 in
the modern distribution that you mentioned.
VYACHESLAV C HER NOV says:  Reply
31 January, 2024 at 15:35
Genomic
CouldAtlas
the spread of I1-Z138 across Europe be related to the
migration of the ancient East Germans?

6 February, 2024 at 20:39
Hi Vyacheslav!
I1-Z138 has a higher representation in ancient DNA

from West Germanics, rather than East Germanics.
However, it is a fairly old subclade with a TMRCA of
roughly 2250 BC. As such, its early carriers would
originally have been present in the Nordic Bronze Age
together with the other branches of I1, such as I1-Z63,
which would eventually sire the very East Germanic
subclade of L1237. We can observe a very strong
presence of I1-Z63 and downstream subclades in
ancient East Germanic samples, since it is the single
most common haplogroup found among them.

Genetic Origins of The Goths

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25/2/24, 9:01 Genetic origins of the Goths

their origin, ethnogenesis and tribal movements using newly published

What can archaeology and historical sources tell us?

Who lived in Poland before the Goths?

The East Germanic Wielbark culture (c. 50-400 AD)

Viminacium, Mediana, Timacum Minus (Goths in Serbia, c. 200-500 AD)

Hács and Balatonszemes: Ostrogothic samples from Pannonia (Hungary, 400-500

Visigoths: Pla de l’Horta, Girona, Spain (500-600 AD)

The genetic legacy of the Goths

“Now from this island of Scandza, as from a hive of races or a

Distribution of archaeological cultures in late 4th century Eastern Europe

In addition, Scandinavian-style boat graves have been discovered at important

“Regular contacts between high-ranking groups in different geographic

Who lived in Poland before the Goths?

A large amount of samples from Trzciniec and Mierzanowice were recently

The East Germanic Wielbark culture (c. 50-400 AD)

ranging from 35.3% in Pruszcz Gdański to 57.1% in Masłomęcz and

PCA and ADMIXTURE from Fig. 2 in Stolarek et al. (2023)

Furthermore, two of the Wielbark culture samples carry Y-DNA haplogroup N-

although it is entirely possible that they moved further south in Scandinavia at an

“Most of the collected data including f4 statistics and qpAdm models

“The patrilineal genetic structure of the IA group members was dominated

In summary, archaeological, historical and archaeogenetic evidence has proven

Chernyakhov: When the Goths met the

Chernyakhov is generally believed to have been a multi-ethnic culture.

Viminacium, Mediana, Timacum Minus

Olalde et al. (2021) sequenced a large number of ancient genomes from

“We generated genome-wide data from 70 ancient individuals from

associated to Slavic-speakers, which contributed >20% of the ancestry of

“Y-chromosome lineages also provide evidence for gene-flow, as 5 of 7

“To obtain a fitting model, a significant proportion of ancestry (~14%)

downstream at R1a-Z93) represents the Sarmatian contribution to the CNE

If we download the supplementary information of Olalde et al. (2021) and go to

“Both skeletons laid in their graves in an outstretched position, with their

Interestingly, two Hunnic samples from Kecskemét in Hungary published in

Hács and Balatonszemes: Ostrogothic

signs of an influx of Northern European ancestry was detected by the researchers. It

Fascinatingly, individuals belonging to a Gothic archaeological context can be found

Additionally, samples Bal_269 and Bal_150 also display very nothern-shifted,

Visigoths: Pla de l’Horta, Girona, Spain

“Immediately to the north of this area, a necropolis associated with the

“In contrast to the demographic changes in the Classical period,

The genetic legacy of the Goths

A fascinating study by Boattini et al. (2014) examined the Y-chromosomal

“These results, together with a peculiar Y-chromosomal composition and

The majority of Serbs with I1 belong to an intriguing branch of I1-L22, namely

Interestingly, the Scandinavian R1a-Z284 is also found in small but noteworthy

related Y-DNA haplogroups and autosomal ancestry, as well as genetic substrates

Nerman, Birger (1923): The ancient home of the Goths https://www.diva-

H. Wolfram (1990): History of the Goths

Ginguta et al. (2022): Maternal Lineages of Gepids from Transylvania

Chyleński et al. (2023): Patrilocality and hunter-gatherer-related ancestry of populations in East-

© Genomic Atlas 2023

Chernyakhov Culture Gepid DNA Gothic DNA Goths haplogroups

Haplogroup E-V13 Haplogroup I1-M253 Haplogroup N-L550 Haplogroup R-Z18

Haplogroup R1b-U106 Nordic Bronze Age Ostrogoths Visigoths

Wielbark Culture DNA

11 Comments ADD YOURS

JONATHAN K MC C LELLAN says:  Reply

I recently traced my lineage to the royal family of the Goths

Amalung coat of arms, it’s clearly a Wulfing one. I have

VLLAD says:  Reply

Could there have been any people from Przeworsk culture