Researchers trace Celtic language roots to modern day Czech republic

Scientists identified a migration wave from the territory of the modern day Czech Republic as the primary source for the spread of Celtic languages to the British Isles.

Researchers published their findings in the journal Nature after analyzing DNA from more than 4500 skeletal remains across Europe. The study challenges a long held theory that Celtic languages originated from communities on the western coast of Europe who maintained maritime contacts between Ireland, Britain, France, and the Iberian Peninsula.

Instead, the genetic data points to a migration that occurred between 3200 and 2800 years ago. During this period, people from the region of the modern day Czech Republic moved westward. Guus Kroonen, a historical linguist from Leiden University and the University of Copenhagen, stated that this specific migration wave explains the presence of Celtic languages in all areas where they were historically spoken.

The people who moved during this time belonged to the urnfield culture, a group known for a burial ritual where they burned the deceased and placed the ashes in urns. The research also revealed that the Irish have a closer genetic connection to the inhabitants of Central Europe than previously thought.

However, the study notes that the origins of the Irish population are diverse, as they also carry genetic traces of a group that arrived in Ireland approximately 4500 years ago from the Eurasian steppe. The researchers cautioned that DNA analysis alone cannot prove which language a population spoke, as languages can spread without the migration of people.