Ancient British DNA

Following the successful identification of the skeleton of Richard III, in part by analysis of his more than 500 year old DNA, studies of ancient British DNA are coming along fast. Two appeared in the 19 January issue of Nature Communications: Genomic signals of migration and continuity in Britain before the Anglo-Saxons and Iron Age and Anglo-Saxon genomes from East England reveal British migration history.

If you're like me you'll struggle to understand the details of those articles. The first item in the current episode of BBC Radio Four's Inside Science programme, Ancient Britons' DNA, Concorde's 40th Anniversary, Giant dinosaur, New planet? is a convenient digest.
It's clear the technology for extracting, analysing and contextualising the results of ancient DNA
analysis are advancing rapidly.

It's inevitable there will eventually be spin off benefits for genetic genealogy.