Scots DNA Shockers, tee hee hee...

Scottish people's DNA study could 'rewrite nation's history'

Evidence of African, Arabian, south-east Asian and Siberian ancestry in Scotland, says author of book tracing genetic journey

Charlotte Higgins, chief arts writer

guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 14 August 2012 20.24 EDT

A large scale study of Scottish people's DNA is threatening to "rewrite the nation's history", according to author Alistair Moffat.

Scotland, he told the Edinburgh international book festival, despite a long-held belief that its ethnic make-up was largely Scots, Celtic, Viking and Irish, was in fact "one of the most diverse nations on earth".

"The explanation is simple. We are a people on the edge of beyond; on the end of a massive continent. Peoples were migrating northwest; and they couldn't get any further. We have collected them."

He and his colleagues have found West African, Arabian, south-east Asian and Siberian ancestry in Scotland. "The West African ancestry mostly originates in the 18th century, so it is almost certainly to do with the slave trade," he said.

David Lammy, MP for Tottenham, whose immediate ancestors are from the Caribbean, also revealed at the festival this week that DNA analysis had shown he has Orcadian ancestry – also likely to relate to British involvement in the Atlantic slave trade.

One per cent of all Scottish men, said Moffat, have Berber ancestry – why, he says, remains a mystery, though he believes that the penetration of people from the medieval caliphate of Cordoba "must have been immensely important". Moffat said his colleagues had also discovered DNA originating from Roman-period Illyria, the area occupied by modern Croatia, which may relate to Roman occupation of lowland Scotland.

Many of Moffat and Wilson's findings are laid out in their book The Scots: A Genetic Journey. But research continues apace, and most recent finding suggests that porridge has been a crucial factor in the nation's early history, Moffat said.

Until recently, he said, it had been believed that farming arrived incrementally in Scotland, around 3,000 years ago, by a process of slow and gradual adoption, by women, of new techniques. But their recent DNA research suggests something quite different, he said: that it arrived quickly via young male immigrants from what is now Germany.

These young men, he said, brought brand-new techniques with them, planting grass-derived crops that could be turned into porridge and fed to young children. This new improved food production reduced the period, argued Moffat, that the hunter-gatherer mothers had to devote to breast-feeding, and thus increased their fertility. This led to a population explosion, he said, laying the seeds of a recognisable society in northern Britain. "It is a revelation. Porridge, and I'm not joking about this, is absolutely crucial to our history."

Not every analysis of DNA has delivered welcome results. DNA analysis on Moffat himself – a proud Scottish Borders man – showed that his ancestry was English. "We don't offer counselling for that," he said.

Scota and - Uri Geller???

No less than The Wall Street Journal published this article that was on page 1 today.  What is the world coming to?

AUGUST 23, 2010

Uri Geller's Mind-Bender: Egyptian Loot in Scotland
He Claims an Island He Owns Is Stuffed With It; Neighbors Dubious
By JAMES HOOKWAY

NORTH BERWICK, Scotland—When Uri Geller saw a rocky lump off Scotland's eastern coast was for sale a couple of years ago, the famed spoon-bender says he knew he had to have it.

"I didn't know why. I was somehow drawn to it," Mr. Geller recalls. He put in a successful £30,000, or about $46,000, offer.

Today, the 63-year-old paranormalist says he now understands why he bought the uninhabited, 100 yard-by-50 yard Lamb Island. Buried inside, he says, is an Egyptian treasure including relics supposedly brought there by a pharaoh's daughter some 3,500 years ago.

Mr. Geller was once one of the most famous people in the world in the 1970s, regularly appearing on television and baffling audiences with his spoon-bending exploits. He continues to draw a crowd, and his sudden interest in "The Lamb," as it's known locally, is raising eyebrows among skeptical Scots.

Tales of Scotland's ties to ancient Egypt date back to the 15th century, but many regard them as a bit of nonsense. According to the legend, King Tutankhamen's half-sister, Princess Scota, fell out with her family and fled to Ireland and then Scotland, thereby giving the country its name. Some say the alignment of the Lamb and two nearby islands closely mirrors the layout of the pyramids at Giza, near Cairo, not to mention the three main stars in the Orion's Belt constellation.

"Tosh!" says Edinburgh-based historian and author Stuart McHardy. Mr. McHardy and other historians reckon the Egyptian connection evolved to provide Scotland with a fresh identity while English invaders were claiming the whole British Isles were named after Brutus, a Roman consul supposedly descended from the Trojan hero Aeneas.

"That, of course, meant we had to have an equally 'ancient' story," Mr. McHardy says.

Many locals in the nearby town of North Berwick are baffled by the island's new-found historical provenance. Previously, the salt-sprayed area was best known for witch trials in the 1590s and its sandy beaches, which Robert Louis Stevenson is said to have recreated in his novel "Treasure Island."

The Egyptian treasure "isn't even an old fisherman's tale," says Graham Kinniburgh, manager of a wine and whisky store on the town's main street. He sells malt whiskies named after three other local islands, but not Mr. Geller's Lamb.

"Before Uri came along I don't think anybody had ever heard of all this Egyptian stuff," says 55-year-old Drew McAdam, who grew up in North Berwick idolizing Mr. Geller. Inspired by Mr. Geller's 1973 performance on the British Broadcasting Corp., Mr. McAdam himself now travels Britain and Europe bending spoons and performing other feats.

Mr. Geller got interested in the Lamb in 2008, when he saw on the Internet that it was for sale, and the idea of owning an island appealed to him. Not even the island's status as a protected seabird colony ruffles his feathers: Mr. Geller is a vegetarian.

Buying property in Scotland, however, wasn't all plain sailing. Some Scots best know the Israeli-born Mr. Geller, who lives in England, for claiming to determine the outcome of a Scotland versus England soccer match in 1996 by using his telekinetic powers to nudge the ball just as Scotland's captain was about to strike a penalty kick. Scotland lost the game. "I received around 11,000 hate mails for that," Mr. Geller says.

Now that Mr. Geller is the best-known landowner in this corner of Scotland, 26 miles east of the capital, Edinburgh, he is eager to improve his reputation.

On his first trip to North Berwick in March, Mr. Geller ran up a local landmark, a 613-foot-tall hill called "The Law," in a bid to endear himself to locals.

He then lunched on a baked potato with ketchup at the Scottish Seabird Center. He impressed staff by apparently using his mental powers to bend some teaspoons, several of which are still in drawers in the center's kitchen.

In the evening, he gave another performance, at one point producing mustard seeds that suddenly sprouted when he handed them to a member of the audience. "He had everybody eating out of his hand," says Lynda Dalgliesh, who works at the center.

"He made a big impression on everybody, even my mother," says Mr. McAdam, who Mr. Geller invited to perform.

The next day, Mr. Geller chugged the ten minutes to the island on a fishing boat to spend a night on the Lamb, among tens of thousands of seabirds and an English adventurer. "It was excruciatingly cold, with not a single flat spot to lay a sleeping bag," Mr. Geller says.

Some local businesses are beginning to wake up to the island's allure since Mr. Geller turned up. Some boat operators, for instance, take tourists around the Lamb and recount folklore surrounding the island.

"A wee bit of bulls— doesn't hurt anybody," says Dougie Ferguson, a 52-year-old skipper.

Another skipper, Cameron Small, says Mr. Geller's purchase has generated enough interest for him to advertise trips around "Uri Geller's Lamb Island."

For his next trick, Mr. Geller hopes to really astonish the locals by locating the ancient trinkets he thinks are buried within the volcanic rock of the Lamb.

Using dowsing—a technique Mr. Geller says he previously used to detect oil deposits in the Gulf of Mexico—he reckons he has pin-pointed a place on his island where treasure might be buried.

He hopes to excavate if he can secure permission from the Scottish authorities—and only if it doesn't offend the Lamb's legions of gulls, cormorants and shags.

Rob Sinclair at the local council's planning department says Mr. Geller doesn't need legal approval to dig on his land. "But he might like to talk to our Council archaeologist about whether it would be worth his time and energy," Mr. Sinclair says.

"I'm certain there are ancient Egyptian artifacts there," Mr. Geller says. "It's only a matter of time until we find them."

And if there wasn't any treasure on the Lamb before, there is now. Mr. Geller says he has strengthened the island's mystical powers by burying a crystal orb that once belonged to Albert Einstein.
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There are several different versions of the story of how Scota came to Scotland.  Many versions agree that (1) an Egyptian princess was involved (2) Scota was what she was called - a title of some sort - but her name has been lost to history and (3) the Scythians or Scythia is involved.

Scotland's Namesake - from Carothers-Carruthers.com (an interesting genealogy website devoted to the Carothers and Carruthers families in America and Scotland)

Scota: Namesake of Scotland - from ufodigest.com - yes, I know I know, LOL!  But actually the article is quite factual, setting forth several different versions of the Scota legend. 

Scotland's Past Links with Ancient Egypt - sacredconnections.co.uk

Scottish Images May Be the "Nine Worthies"

Mystery solved? From scotlandonsunday.scotland.com: Mystery of 'second Crown Jewels' solved Published Date: 22 February 2009 By George Mair THEY are "Scotland's other Crown Jewels", a mysterious collection of wooden carvings which have baffled historians for years. But the true meaning behind the Stirling Heads has been unveiled, thanks to a 500-year-old sketch of Julius Caesar. Carved between 1530 and 1544 for the court of James V, the works depict the king, his wife, Mary of Guise, other important characters from his retinue and previous monarchs. They were once a centrepiece of the Royal Palace at Stirling Castle, but those that have survived are being kept in storage in Edinburgh while replicas are made for inclusion in a £12m restoration of the palace. The identities of many of the oak heads, however, have remained the subject of guesswork among historians. But Dr Sally Rush, who has studied the Renaissance treasures for Historic Scotland since 2003, is now convinced they include characters known since the Middle Ages as the Nine Worthies. These historical, scriptural, mythological or legendary figures were believed to personify the ideals of chivalry. They include Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great and King Arthur. Dr. Rush, senior lecturer in Glasgow University's history of art department, made the breakthrough after carrying out the study of contemporary drawings. She discovered one sketch by 16th-century German printmaker and woodcutter Hans Burgkmair, which shows Roman emperor Caesar bearing a "remarkable resemblance" to a Stirling Head carving. Historians previously speculated that it was the Greek sun god Apollo – because of the rays of sun apparently protruding from his head. Rush said that the presence of Caesar made it "very likely" that all Nine Worthies were represented. She said: "We are a long way forward in sorting out the identities of the Stirling Heads, separating the real-life people – recognisable figures in the court – from the fictional." In this kind of iconographical programme you might expect the inclusion of the Nine Worthies – great military heroes of the past, connected with ideas of chivalry and virtue. "The inclusion of the Nine Worthies would have made the palace ceiling a hall of fame. Placing James V in this both factual and fictional hall of fame is saying he is worthy of being up there alongside the Nine Worthies." It is thought there were originally more than 50 Stirling Heads – each measuring a metre across. Just 33 survive, however, along with sketches of two others – including a likeness of the English King, Henry VIII – which were destroyed by fire. The historian's breakthrough came after she studied portraits made at the same time as the carvings. She said: "My belief was that the king would not sit in front of a carver and pose for him, but that the carver was given an image of James to work to. This process would have been applied for all the heads." However, Rush said there was a strong likelihood that many of these drawings have been lost. She added: "But there is a contemporary image, by Burgkmair, showing three of the Nine Worthies, including Julius Caesar." This image of Caesar is very close to a Stirling Head previously thought to be the god Apollo. "It was thought that spikes coming from his head were rays of sun, but they are an imperial crown. He is also wearing Roman armour in the very stylised form – as depicted in Burgkmair's sketch. If you have Julius Caesar, the chances are the other eight worthies were there too." Among the Stirling Heads there are bearded men in fantastical armour and head-dresses who are probably also members. "I am confident about putting certain heads into that group. Identifying them will involve a constant trawl of other imagery." Further backing to Rush's identification of Caesar is provided by the fact that other sketches by Burgkmair, who lived from 1473 to 1531, are known to have been used for sculptures on the palace's outer walls. Rush said: "It is long recognised that two statues outside are very close to the Planetary Deities by Hans Burgkmair. If everyone is quite comfortable with Burgkmair being a source for statues, then it's logical to look at Burgkmair being a source for some of the heads as well." However, she said it was impossible to say if all Nine Worthies would be identified. She said: "Without the complete set of heads it is impossible to say how many of the Worthies are missing. There is a strong chance they either are, or were, there. That would fit if you understand the ceiling as a hall of fame placing the Stewart dynasty alongside these great role models from the past."