Scots And English Division Is 10,000 Years Old

Keith Sinclair, in the Herald (Glasgow) (April 12, 2004):

THE ancient split between the Scots and the English is older than previously thought, a new academic theory claims.

The difference between the English and Scots, Welsh, Irish and Cornish has traditionally been attributed to the influence of invading forces such as the Anglo-Saxons, Celts and Vikings as they settled in different parts of Britain hundreds of years ago.

However, an Oxford don who was a guest speaker at the Edinburgh Science Festival last night believes the difference originates much further back, to thousands of years, and the proof is in the genes.

Professor Stephen Oppenheimer is professor of clinical sociomedical sciences at Oxford, and has written a book tracing humankind from its origins and developing a theory of the original inhabitants of Britain.

He said that the Celts of western Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Cornwall were descended from an ancient people living on the Atlantic coast when Britain was still attached to mainland Europe, while the English were more closely related to the Germanic peoples of the interior. As evidence, he cited genetic data showing the Celts were more closely related to the Basque people of south-west France and the Celts of Brittany and Spain, while the English were closer to the Germans descended from the Anglo-Saxons.

In the past, the split was attributed to "migration, invasion and replacement", but Professor Oppenheimer said the difference was established long before Britain was even an island.

He said: "The first line between England and the Celts was put down at a much earlier period, say 10,000 years ago."