Lombards on the Move – An Integrative Study of the Migration Period Cemetery at Szólád, Hungary

Abstract

In 2005 to 2007 45 skeletons of adults and subadults were excavated at the Lombard period cemetery at Szólád (6th century A.D.), Hungary. Embedded into the well-recorded historical context, the article presents the results obtained by an integrative investigation including anthropological, molecular genetic and isotopic (δ15N, δ13C, 87Sr/86Sr) analyses. Skeletal stress markers as well as traces of interpersonal violence were found to occur frequently. The mitochondrial DNA profiles revealed a heterogeneous spectrum of lineages that belong to the haplogroups H, U, J, HV, T2, I, and K, which are common in present-day Europe and in the Near East, while N1a and N1b are today quite rare. Evidence of possible direct maternal kinship was identified in only three pairs of individuals. According to enamel strontium isotope ratios, at least 31% of the individuals died at a location other than their birthplace and/or had moved during childhood. Based on the peculiar 87Sr/86Sr ratio distribution between females, males, and subadults in comparison to local vegetation and soil samples, we propose a three-phase model of group movement. An initial patrilocal group with narrower male but wider female Sr isotope distribution settled at Szólád, whilst the majority of subadults represented in the cemetery yielded a distinct Sr isotope signature. Owing to the virtual absence of Szólád-born adults in the cemetery, we may conclude that the settlement was abandoned after approx. one generation. Population heterogeneity is furthermore supported by the carbon and nitrogen isotope data. They indicate that a group of high-ranking men had access to larger shares of animal-derived food whilst a few individuals consumed remarkable amounts of millet. The inferred dynamics of the burial community are in agreement with hypotheses of a highly mobile lifestyle during the Migration Period and a short-term occupation of Pannonia by Lombard settlers as conveyed by written sources.

Understanding 6th-Century Barbarian Social Organization and Migration through Paleogenomics

“…Six male individuals in this kindred were buried with weapons, despite three (SZ7, SZ14, SZ15) being teenagers at the time of death (12-17 yo.). The adult males in this kindred (SZ24, SZ13 and SZ22) appear to have had access to a diet particularly high in animal protein, as inferred from nitrogen isotope analysis 13 . Individual SZ13 has the deepest grave and is the only individual in the whole cemetery whose burial includes a weighing scale and a horse, which may be an indication of his differentiated status in that society.…”

“…There are 45 graves ( Fig 1B), all of which are dated to the middle third of the sixth century based on a combination of stylistic elements of the grave goods and radiocarbon analysis 13 . Archaeological, stable isotope and mtDNA (HVS-1) analyses suggested that Szólád was occupied for only~20/30 years by a mobile group of "Longobard era" settlers 13 . The female to male ratio (sexing being based primarily on genetic data, or in its absence, anatomy) is 0.65.…”

“…We also generated new strontium isotope data ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr) for Collegno to complement the existing data from Szólád 13 and analyzed them within the context of our genomic data in order to better understand patterns of immigration to these two sites (Supplementary Text S15, Table S15.1) . Within Szólád we find that adult individuals with both predominantly central/northern and southern genomic ancestry possess similar non-local signatures (Alt et al 13 described this as Range I) (Fig 4).…”

Genetic insights into the social organisation of the Avar period elite in the 7thcentury AD Carpathian Basin

“…The Lombards for e.g., who directly preceded the Avars in Transdanubia (today's Western Hungary), migrated across the Carpathian Basin to Italy in the mid-6 th century. The population of two analysed Lombard cemeteries in Hungary and Italy showed the Central and North European genomic ancestry of this Germanic tribe 18,19 .…”

A genetic perspective on Longobard-Era migrations

“…The only ancient genetic data ever published from cemeteries associated with Longobard culture so far were sequences of the mtDNA control region from Piedmont, Italy 5,6 , and sequences of mtDNA control region and of informative positions in the coding region from the cemetery of Szólád in Hungary 7 . A broader analysis, based on larger assemblages of samples and genetic markers, is clearly necessary to provide a finer resolution of medieval populations movements and interactions in Europe.…”