Ancient DNA research in the past decade has revealed that European population structure changed dramatically in the prehistoric period (14,000-3,000 years before present, YBP), reflecting the widespread introduction of Neolithic farmer and Bronze Age Steppe ancestries. However, little is known about how population structure changed in the historical period onward (3,000 YBP - present). To address this, we collected whole genomes from 204 individuals from Europe and the Mediterranean, many of which are the first historical period genomes from their region (e.g. Armenia, France). We found that most regions show remarkable inter-individual heterogeneity. Around 8% of historical individuals carry ancestry uncommon in the region where they were sampled, some indicating cross-Mediterranean contacts. Despite this high level of mobility, overall population structure across western Eurasia is relatively stable through the historical period up to the present, mirroring the geographic map. We show that, under standard population genetics models with local panmixia, the observed level of dispersal would lead to a collapse of population structure. Persistent population structure thus suggests a lower effective migration rate than indicated by the observed dispersal. We hypothesize that this phenomenon can be explained by extensive transient dispersal arising from drastically improved transportation networks and the Roman Empire’s mobilization of people for trade, labor, and military. This work highlights the utility of ancient DNA in elucidating finer scale human population dynamics in recent history.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Systematic archaeological excavations in the Velić village, near Trilj, began in 2013. By 2019 we revealed the remains of a rectangular ground plan building with a semicircular apse. It consists of the antechamber and three chambers: central chamber with an apse, south chamber, and north chamber with an east-west oriented barrel-vaulted tomb (Tomb 1), which was unfortunately quite devastated. In addition to this devastation, excavation campaigns have been characterized by the extreme poverty of small finds, which prevents accurate dating of the site. Nevertheless, the building can be roughly dated to the period of Late Antiquity and interpreted as an Early Christian memorial chapel. This assumption was reinforced in the 2019 excavation campaign when another barrel-vaulted tomb (Tomb 2) was detected below the central chamber with an apse. This time it was sealed and intact. It had a small square antechamber with a vertical stone slab serving as a door to the tomb. Its barrel-vaulted ceiling was completely preserved, and skeletal remains of four individuals were identified laying down on two flat stone plastered beds in the grave chamber. Although the tomb and its state of preservation were astonishing, the archaeological excavation faced a daunting task of documenting the buried structure and its content. Since image-based modeling has been used as a practical and detailed documentation tool on the site so far, it was only natural to approach this part of the excavation in the same manner. This paper will present difficulties and solutions that we came across during the documentation process of this barrel-vaulted tomb as well as some conclusions and interpretations of the tomb and the larger complex around it.