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Genetic Origins of Ancient Pict Warriors in Britain

Modern Scots share genes with this British ethnic group that were fierce rivals of the Roman Empire in Britain. Learn what DNA reveals about these ancient Pictish people.

By Joshua Rapp Learn
May 18, 2023 6:00 PMMay 22, 2023 2:03 PM
A Pictish stone in Scotland
(Credit: Fulcanelli/Shutterstock)

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Genetic analysis has uncovered the mysterious origin of the Picts, a people group that lived in many parts of northern Britain roughly 1,500 years ago.

Research reveals that the ethnic group, which many thought might have come from Eastern Europe, had a local origin similar to other British Celtic groups.

“They matched closer to the Iron Age British genome,” says Adeline Morez, a paleogeneticist at the French National Center for Scientific Research in Paris.

The Picts have long been an enigmatic people, due in part to the fact that these ancient British people did not leave behind any of their own written accounts.

Who Were the Picts?

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