Vikings did not replace Orkney population, concludes DNA study

A study into DNA across the UK has revealed that the Orkney samples were the most genetically distinct in the country.

An international team, led by researchers from the University of Oxford, UCL (University College London) and the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute in Australia, used DNA samples from more than 2,000 people to create the first fine-scale genetic map of any country in the world.

Their findings, published in the scientific journal Nature, show that just 25 per cent of the Orcadian DNA was of Norwegian origin, showing “clearly that the Norse Viking invasion (9th century) did not simply replace the indigenous Orkney population.”

The study showed that the UK was divided into 17 genetically distinct clusters of people – three of which are in Orkney.