DNA<\/a> recovered from skeletons buried in a 7th-century cemetery<\/a> on the south coast of England<\/a> has revealed that the buried individuals had west African ancestry<\/a>, raising further questions about early medieval migrations to Europe<\/a>.<\/p>\n Archaeologists documented significant migration<\/a> during this period into England from continental northern Europe, with historical accounts describing the settlement of Angles, Saxons, and Jutes.<\/p>\n However, the extent of movement from further<\/a> afield has remained unclear.<\/p>\n To further understand early medieval migration in Europe, researchers performed DNA analysis on individuals buried at two 7th-century cemeteries on England\u2019s south coast \u2013 at Updown in Kent<\/a>, and Worth Matravers in Dorset.<\/p>\n The findings, published in two studies in the journal Antiquity, show clear signs of non-European ancestry in two buried individuals with an affinity to present-day groups living in sub-Saharan west Africa.<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Human skeletal remains in a double burial at the Worth Matravers cemetery, along with the anchor stone found underneath the older individual\u2019s head (Lilian Ladle, Ceiridwen J. Edwards, Antiquity (2025))<\/p>\n While most of the individuals buried at the cemeteries had either northern European or western British and Irish ancestry, one person at each cemetery had a recent ancestor from west Africa, scientists said.<\/p>\n \u201cKent has always been a conduit for influence from the adjacent continent, and this was particularly marked in the 6th century \u2013 what might be termed Kent\u2019s \u2018Frankish Phase,\u2019\u201d said Duncan Sayer, an author of one of the studies, from the University of Lancashire.<\/p>\n \u201cUpdown is also located near the royal centre of Finglesham, indicating that these connections were part of a wider royal network,\u201d Dr Sayer added.<\/p>\n In contrast, Dorset was on the fringes of continental influence, researchers said.<\/p>\n![\"Human](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Human-skeletal-remains-in-a-double-burial-at-the-Worth-Matravers-cemetery-along-with-the-anchor-ston.jpeg\")
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![\"Grave](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Grave-47-at-Updown-photograph-and-adjacent-grave-plan-show-the-positioning-of-the-body-and-grave-goo.jpeg\")
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