tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/orkney-14059/articlesOrkney – The Conversation2023-11-13T17:33:47Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2167692023-11-13T17:33:47Z2023-11-13T17:33:47ZOrkney’s lost tomb – how my team and I made the Neolithic discovery<p>Orkney, off the north coast of Scotland, <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/514/">is renowned for</a> its remarkably well-preserved monuments. Many of these are Neolithic (10,000 BC to 2,200 BC) and consist of stone circles and chambered tombs, which are still highly visible in the landscape. Chambered tombs are monuments built of stone with a chamber area designed to hold the remains of the dead. </p>
<p>In many parts of Britain, chambered tombs have been robbed for stone, and while this was also the case on Orkney, most sites do not seem to have been as badly affected as in other parts of the country.</p>
<p>In 2020 one of my team encountered a series of letters preserved in National Museums Scotland’s library relating to a dispute over some Neolithic objects discovered in Orkney in the 19th century. </p>
<p>This led us to a newspaper account in the Orkney Herald in 1896, which reported that Orkney antiques specialist <a href="https://sketchfab.com/hugoandersonwhymark/collections/james-walls-cursiters-artefacts-c80ed66f100b4db380dc83533806d74d">James Walls Cursiter</a> had encountered a series of archaeological discoveries made by the son of the landowner at Holm, on the east side of Orkney’s mainland. </p>
<p>The finds included a <a href="https://sketchfab.com/hugoandersonwhymark/collections/james-walls-cursiters-artefacts-c80ed66f100b4db380dc83533806d74d">mace-head made from gneiss</a> (a metamorphic rock with a distinct banding), a plain stone ball and eight skeletons. They were found within the ruins of a stone mound that had previously supplied stone to build a nearby farmhouse. The surviving stonework was interpreted by Cursiter as the remains of a “chambered burial mound”. </p>
<p>This discovery was rapidly forgotten. By coincidence, a recently discovered archaeological notebook belonging to Cursiter revealed further details of the finds. This included a sketch of the monument and, most importantly, an approximate location of the discovery. </p>
<p>All of this appeared to suggest that there may well be an unknown chambered tomb, mostly destroyed, but surviving to some extent nevertheless awaiting rediscovery.</p>
<h2>Discovering the tomb</h2>
<p>In 2022 a geophysical survey was carried out in the same location as described by Cursiter. Among other features, these surveys located a substantial archaeological anomaly on top of a prominent mound almost precisely in the location described as a position of the monument.</p>
<p>In 2023, we decided to open up a trench to see if anything survived. When we arrived at the site, it did not look promising. All that remained on the ground was a very slight grassy dome which had clearly been ploughed over the years. In a field of many grassy knolls, it was hard to see how this was anything exceptional. Yet, the location was quite prominent, with views out over the landscape in many directions, comparable to other passage tombs in the area. A passage tomb is a type of chambered tomb with a long thin passage leading to a central chamber with smaller cells off the main chamber. </p>
<p>As we peeled off the turf, we quickly came down onto heavily disturbed soil containing smashed Victorian ceramics and stone rubble. This came from a nearby farmhouse that had robbed stone from the tomb in order to build their barn. There was no rubbish collection then, so their waste went out on to the fields. But scattered among this recent material were small fragments of bone which looked much older. </p>
<p>As we dug further down, we started to encounter the lower walls of a stone structure, exactly as described by Cursiter. Much of the bone within the stone structure was highly fragmentary, which seemed to reinforce the idea that this monument had been mostly destroyed in the 19th century. </p>
<p>However, in one of the side cells off the main passage – which was largely filled with small stone rubble that accumulated from the dismantling of an intact side cell which would once have had a high roof – we found a perfectly preserved and undisturbed Neolithic tomb deposit. </p>
<p>This consisted of a minimum of 14 burials of seven adults and seven children. The skeletons were placed in a variety of different positions. Two were crouched (knees to chest) and laid on their side, while another was tightly flexed with the knees pulled tight to the chest, and placed face down. Two were placed in the grave embracing one another, with the remains of two young children placed on their heads. </p>
<p>This level of preservation is remarkable. It is quite unusual to find tomb deposits intact and so well preserved.</p>
<p>In revealing and excavating these remains, we have found a lost passage tomb, but also revealed that these finds will not be preserved forever. The soil added into the monument during the Victorian destruction of the site has been eroding the bones ever since, so it is now a race against time to retrieve what survives. </p>
<p>The human remains will enable to us discover many different aspects of peoples’ lives in the Neolithic age, including what they ate and how they died. It also shows that in a landscape where many monuments are exceptionally well preserved, there are still new and exciting discoveries to be made.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vicki Cummings receives funding from Society of Antiquaries of London and Orkney Islands Council for work on this project</span></em></p>It is unusual to find a tomb so intact and so well preserved.Vicki Cummings, Professor of Neolithic Archaeology, Cardiff UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2093522023-07-07T14:29:18Z2023-07-07T14:29:18ZThe history behind Orkney’s vote to ‘join Norway’<p>For the third time in half a century, Orkney, UK, has raised the issue of its Nordic origins and an apparent desire to embrace them once more. Earlier this week, Orkney Islands Council voted on a <a href="https://www.orkney.gov.uk/Files/Committees-and-Agendas/Council-Meetings/GM2023/GM04-07-2023/Item%2015%20Notice%20of%20Motion.pdf">motion</a> to begin exploring options of “greater subsidiarity and autonomy”, potentially looking beyond the UK and Scottish borders to build “Nordic connections”.</p>
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<img alt="A July front page of Orkney's newspaper, The Orcadian" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536299/original/file-20230707-23-fswcxe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536299/original/file-20230707-23-fswcxe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=557&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536299/original/file-20230707-23-fswcxe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=557&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536299/original/file-20230707-23-fswcxe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=557&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536299/original/file-20230707-23-fswcxe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=700&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536299/original/file-20230707-23-fswcxe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=700&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536299/original/file-20230707-23-fswcxe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=700&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The front page of The Orcadian newspaper this week.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.orcadian.co.uk/">The Orcadian</a></span>
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<p>This decision has made <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-66066448">national</a> and <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/03/scotlands-orkney-islands-consider-quitting-the-uk-to-join-norway.html">international</a> headlines. These were centred on the possibility that the island group, located ten miles from the north coast of Scotland, may seek to become a Norwegian territory. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.shetnews.co.uk/2020/09/09/sic-to-explore-ways-of-achieving-self-determination-after-elected-members-back-motion">similar motion</a> was passed in the neighbouring Shetland Islands in 2020. Could this be the latest constitutional crisis to rock the United Kingdom?</p>
<p>As these news reports typically highlight, Orkney and Shetland were <a href="https://www.shetlandmuseumandarchives.org.uk/blog/550-years-ago-how-shetland-became-part-of-scotland-part-2">part of the Norwegian and Danish kingdoms</a> until their annexation by Scotland in 1472. Orcadians and Shetlanders do not identify as Norwegians or Danes today, but they retain distinct identities which for some – though not all – include aspects of this Norse heritage. </p>
<p>Orkney’s motion joins a long history of attempts by activists and local politicians to use this distinct identity to draw attention to grievances with central government.</p>
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<h2>Back to Scandinavia</h2>
<p>In August 1967, Orkney’s largest settlements of Kirkwall and Stromness awoke to a poster campaign <a href="https://photos.orkneycommunities.co.uk/picture/number1586.asp">calling</a> for Orkney to return “Back to Denmark”. One poster declared: “Orkney is dying under British rule, reunite with Denmark now.” The campaign produced widespread news coverage, making headlines in Edinburgh, London, Denmark and even as far away as Singapore.</p>
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<img alt="A black and white image of five people drawing protest posters in Orkney." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536300/original/file-20230707-21-t5tnv2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536300/original/file-20230707-21-t5tnv2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536300/original/file-20230707-21-t5tnv2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536300/original/file-20230707-21-t5tnv2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536300/original/file-20230707-21-t5tnv2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=608&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536300/original/file-20230707-21-t5tnv2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=608&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536300/original/file-20230707-21-t5tnv2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=608&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Pro-breakaway campaigners in 1967.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mathew Nicolson</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>The immediate trigger was the government’s policy of centralising police forces and water boards into regional bodies, abolishing Orkney’s local institutions. It was feared that Orkney’s local government would soon follow. There were also grievances concerning the expensive cost of transport and the government’s inadequate response to a shipping strike the previous year.</p>
<p>In an interview with The Observer, one campaign organiser was described as “plainly delighted with the astonishing commotion he has caused”, clearly recognising the potential for this provocative use of Orkney’s distinct identity to draw attention to the islands’ grievances. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.orcadian.co.uk/">The Orcadian</a>, Orkney’s sole newspaper, declared “it was all a joke” that had taken the rest of Britain “for a ride” – before adding: “but it has its serious side”.</p>
<p>Orkney’s Nordic ties were invoked again in 1986. Amid a campaign against a proposed expansion to <a href="https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/full/10.3366/shr.2021.0498">Dounreay nuclear power station</a> in Caithness, activists from Orkney and Shetland drew up the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/mar/25/orkney-shetland-people-referendum-edinburgh-london">Declaration of Wyre</a>.</p>
<p>Addressed to the kings of Norway and Denmark, the declaration called on them to “consult on our constitutional status” and to “inquire into the legality in international law of siting a nuclear processing plant … in an area of unresolved constitutional status.” Once again, historical ties to Scandinavia were used to highlight a contemporary and thoroughly modern political concern.</p>
<h2>Political failures</h2>
<p>As in 1967 and 1986, Orkney Islands Council’s motion to explore greater autonomy and Nordic connections is centred on current political issues. The council is frustrated at failures to reach an agreement with the Scottish government to fund the replacement of its ageing inter-island ferries or secure adequate ferry fare subsidies. </p>
<p>There is also anger at the broader trend of centralisation that followed the re-establishment of the Scottish Parliament in 1999.</p>
<p>Invoking the possibility of constitutional change, especially when this draws on the islands’ Norse heritage, is a proven strategy for gaining media and political attention. External actors are often willing to make use of eye-grabbing headlines or gain additional ammunition for national constitutional quarrels. </p>
<p>This is well understood by activists and local politicians. Orkney council leader James Stockan acknowledged that the media response to his motion has been “a remarkable result”.</p>
<p>So is this simply a PR stunt hatched by a council seeking additional funds at a time of increasing crisis within the UK’s public services? Not entirely. </p>
<p>There is a <a href="http://www.scottishgovernmentyearbooks.ed.ac.uk/record/22892">real history</a> of pro-autonomy sentiment to draw on, articulated to its greatest extent in the 1980s by the now defunct <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=qps14mSlghcC&pg=PA76&lpg=PA76&dq#v=onepage&q&f=false">Orkney Movement</a>. Most Orcadians (and Shetlanders) would endorse the principle of decentralisation. But more radical visions for autonomy have never gained demonstrable majority support.</p>
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<p>Orkney’s councillors are likely entirely sincere in their desire for decentralisation, if perhaps not to the extent of rejoining Norway or becoming a fully autonomous territory. However, neither Orkney nor Shetland’s autonomy motions passed unanimously. Like any other community, there are political differences which can sometimes be overlooked from outside perspectives.</p>
<p>It is unclear how most Orcadians and Shetlanders feel about their councils’ policies. These developments have not seen any meaningful engagement with or interest from the wider population – or, indeed, any electoral mandate from the islands’ voters.</p>
<p>The Orcadian conducted an online survey <a href="https://www.orcadian.co.uk/in-this-weeks-the-orcadian-170/">this week</a> which found a narrow majority of 51.4% support for the council’s policy, with 37.9% opposed. However, as this survey did not follow scientific polling methods and was also open to non-Orcadians to fill out, it can only provide a rough estimate of people’s views.</p>
<p>In contrast to the 1980s, when mobilised campaign movements pressured the councils into taking further action on autonomy, there is no grassroots momentum for constitutional change in the islands today. But it is possible that continued dissatisfaction with central government could lead to growing interest in the subject.</p>
<p>Orkney is not going to become a Norwegian territory and significant constitutional change is unlikely to appear in the near future. That said, the idea of autonomy will continue to be attractive for some. As long as this remains the case, local activists and politicians will continue to use their islands’ distinct heritages in creative ways to make their voices heard.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209352/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mathew Nicolson received funding from the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland.</span></em></p>Bringing up the subjects of autonomy and Norway has always been an effective way for Orcadians to draw attention to their grievances with central government.Mathew Nicolson, PhD Candidate in History, The University of EdinburghLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1196432019-07-03T05:08:31Z2019-07-03T05:08:31ZFrom Shark Bay seagrass to Stone Age Scotland, we can now assess climate risks to World Heritage<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/282140/original/file-20190702-105187-1yf2qmv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Wildfire damage in Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage property, January 2016.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dan Broun</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Climate change is the <a href="https://blog.ucsusa.org/adam-markham/climate-change-is-the-fastest-growing-threat-to-world-heritage">fastest-growing global threat to World Heritage</a>. However, no systematic approach to assess the climate vulnerability of each particular property has existed – until now. </p>
<p>Our newly developed tool, the <a href="https://cvi-heritage.org/">Climate Vulnerability Index</a>, was showcased this week at the <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/sessions/43COM/">UNESCO World Heritage Committee meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan</a>. This CVI provides a systematic way to rapidly assess climate risks to all types of World Heritage properties – natural, cultural and mixed.</p>
<p>We have successfully trialled this approach for two very contrasting World Heritage properties: <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/578">Shark Bay, Western Australia</a> and the <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/514">Heart of Neolithic Orkney</a>, a late Stone Age settlement and series of monuments off mainland Scotland’s north coast.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/shark-bay-a-world-heritage-site-at-catastrophic-risk-111194">Shark Bay: A World Heritage Site at catastrophic risk</a>
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<p>Hundreds of World Heritage properties are already being significantly impacted by climate change. <a href="https://www.icriforum.org/sites/default/files/265625e.pdf">Coral reefs</a>, <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2018EF001139">glaciers</a>,
<a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/tundra/Effects-of-human-activities-and-climate-change">tundra</a>, <a href="https://www.aswm.org/pdf_lib/wetlands_climate_change_0207.pdf">wetlands</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/apr/30/climate-change-damage-to-queenslands-world-heritage-rainforest-as-bad-as-great-barrier-reef">forests</a>, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-06645-9">archaeological sites, historic buildings and cities</a> are all being affected. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/282141/original/file-20190702-105195-tx7vxq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/282141/original/file-20190702-105195-tx7vxq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/282141/original/file-20190702-105195-tx7vxq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282141/original/file-20190702-105195-tx7vxq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282141/original/file-20190702-105195-tx7vxq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282141/original/file-20190702-105195-tx7vxq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282141/original/file-20190702-105195-tx7vxq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282141/original/file-20190702-105195-tx7vxq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Inundation of the World Heritage property Venice and its Lagoon, Italy, in 2015.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>In most cases, climate change results in a deterioration in a property’s “Outstanding Universal Value” – the set of characteristics that led to it being internationally recognised as World Heritage in the first place.</p>
<p>The severity of the current climate impacts varies widely between different properties, as does the timescale over which the damage is occurring. In many places, we can expect climate-related deterioration to accelerate in the future.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/282142/original/file-20190702-105168-akc5wq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/282142/original/file-20190702-105168-akc5wq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/282142/original/file-20190702-105168-akc5wq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282142/original/file-20190702-105168-akc5wq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282142/original/file-20190702-105168-akc5wq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282142/original/file-20190702-105168-akc5wq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=553&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282142/original/file-20190702-105168-akc5wq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=553&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282142/original/file-20190702-105168-akc5wq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=553&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Retreat of the Athabasca Glacier in the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage property.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://mountainlegacy.ca">Mountain Legacy Project/Library and Archives Canada</a></span>
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<h2>The Climate Vulnerability Index</h2>
<p>The CVI applies a risk-assessment approach that builds upon an existing vulnerability framework used by the <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/assessment-report/ar4/">Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change</a>. However, ours is the first such tool specifically customised for application to World Heritage properties and their associated communities.</p>
<p>In assessing a particular property, we look first at the <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/about/world-heritage/outstanding-universal-value">Statement of Outstanding Universal Value</a>, which highlights the internationally recognised characteristics. The vulnerability to physical climate drivers (such as sea level rise) is then assessed, identifying three key drivers most likely to impact those values over an agreed timescale (for instance, by 2050).</p>
<p>The next stage is to evaluate the “Community Vulnerability” – the level of economic, social and cultural risk to the associated community, and its capacity to adapt to future changes.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/282387/original/file-20190703-126355-9hayh8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/282387/original/file-20190703-126355-9hayh8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/282387/original/file-20190703-126355-9hayh8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282387/original/file-20190703-126355-9hayh8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282387/original/file-20190703-126355-9hayh8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282387/original/file-20190703-126355-9hayh8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=537&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282387/original/file-20190703-126355-9hayh8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=537&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282387/original/file-20190703-126355-9hayh8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=537&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Climate Vulnerability Index framework.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://cvi-heritage.org/">Climate Vulnerability Index project</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The whole process is best undertaken in a 2-3 day workshop. Ideally, this includes heritage managers, community members, associated businesses, academics, and other stakeholders.</p>
<p>The aim is to provide guidance that is scientifically robust and practical. Because the workshops are relatively short, they can be periodically repeated as part of management processes. This is important given the rapid pace of climate change.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/282388/original/file-20190703-126345-g3kxiq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/282388/original/file-20190703-126345-g3kxiq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/282388/original/file-20190703-126345-g3kxiq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=207&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282388/original/file-20190703-126345-g3kxiq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=207&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282388/original/file-20190703-126345-g3kxiq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=207&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282388/original/file-20190703-126345-g3kxiq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=261&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282388/original/file-20190703-126345-g3kxiq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=261&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282388/original/file-20190703-126345-g3kxiq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=261&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Seagrass before (left) and after (right) the 2015 die-off in Shark Bay, Western Australia resulting from an extreme marine heat event.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Matthew Fraser</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Key climate drivers determined for Shark Bay were extreme marine heat events, storm intensity and frequency, and air temperature change. Storm intensity and frequency was also identified for <a href="https://www.historicenvironment.scot/archives-and-research/publications/publication/?publicationId=c6f3e971-bd95-457c-a91d-aa77009aec69">Orkney</a>, along with sea-level rise and precipitation change.</p>
<h2>Where to next?</h2>
<p>The CVI method is currently in a pilot phase, but the two trials so far have successfully demonstrated its value as a rapid yet robust assessment tool. <a href="https://www.historicenvironment.scot/">Historic Environment Scotland</a> has recommended that the CVI be applied to other Scottish World Heritage properties and repeated at five-yearly intervals in parallel with management plan reviews. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/282389/original/file-20190703-126400-m9o64m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/282389/original/file-20190703-126400-m9o64m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/282389/original/file-20190703-126400-m9o64m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=374&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282389/original/file-20190703-126400-m9o64m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=374&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282389/original/file-20190703-126400-m9o64m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=374&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282389/original/file-20190703-126400-m9o64m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=469&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282389/original/file-20190703-126400-m9o64m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=469&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282389/original/file-20190703-126400-m9o64m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=469&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Damage to the footpath resulting from higher visitor numbers and increased rainfall levels at the Ring of Brodgar, part of the Scottish World Heritage property, Heart of Neolithic Orkney.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.historicenvironment.scot/">Historic Environment Scotland</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Meanwhile, planning is underway for further trial assessments in the <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1314">Wadden Sea</a>, a network of tidal mud flats along Europe’s northwest coast, and Norway’s <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1143">Vega Archipelago</a>. International colleagues have also proposed trials in Africa and South America.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-un-is-slowly-warming-to-the-task-of-protecting-world-heritage-sites-from-climate-change-80270">The UN is slowly warming to the task of protecting World Heritage sites from climate change</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Scientifically robust, transparent and repeatable assessments will be increasingly important for managing all types of threatened heritage in the face of climate change, and for prioritising actions within World Heritage processes. </p>
<p>Almost all parties to the World Heritage Convention have signed or ratified the <a href="https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement">Paris climate agreement</a>. However, the current global trajectory will not achieve the goal to keep global temperature rise well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels. Immediate and significant action on the causes of climate change is critical. Our new tool can help governments better understand the implications of climate change for the heritage for which they are individually and collectively responsible, and can help them respond in a more strategic way.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article was coauthored by <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/about/staff/staff/adam-markham.html">Adam Markham</a>, Deputy Director of Climate and Energy, Union of Concerned Scientists, USA.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/119643/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Scott Heron receives funding from Australian Research Council and NASA ROSES Ecological Forecasting. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jon Day has worked in two World Heritage properties: Kakadu National Park (1980-84) and the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (1986-2014). He was a director of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority from 1998 to 2014 and represented Australia as a delegate on the World Heritage Committee in 2007-11.</span></em></p>World Heritage globally is threatened by climate change, in all sorts of ways. A new tool identifies the key risks and best strategies for both natural and cultural wonders.Scott F. Heron, Senior Lecturer, James Cook UniversityJon C. Day, PSM, Post-career PhD candidate, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/598342016-05-23T15:11:35Z2016-05-23T15:11:35ZMystery in northern Scotland that is baffling multiple sclerosis experts<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/123580/original/image-20160523-11012-1aj0t7g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Kirkwall harbour, Orkney.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/teflon/8465715232/in/photolist-dU61cs-4yuk6K-g7KGor-4yukgB-nQu6RJ-egi5nb-eh9Dqm-83nkjZ-fdNw8d-6tRs8a-eFyNu4-6tRrZV-oHwrNM-or2SkF-8kVJW6-83qrLu-or3hNM-opqCge-cA2UtJ-anYQfZ-atSQoK-atSQiR-2m1kum-4yndSY-pMbeqp-atSQq6-cckkeh-eeyFYY-opbpU7-FxXuch-puVnk6-oQBwWZ-puVkzH-anAzEG-att5Pf-2S5XL4-E8cfFq-6CJVBX-k9HoX-k9Hpa-73xH3b-e6TfjV-e6YSGf-e6TfDt-e6YT8S-e6Tg12-e6YSRj-e6YTvW-4yndNW-6jKFAp">Martin Deutsch</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The north of Scotland has long been an important part of our quest to understand what causes multiple sclerosis (MS). Though we have known about the region’s high rate of the disease for some time, it moved centre stage after a 2012 study <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22577232">comprehensively revealed</a> staggering levels in the Orkney isles which lie off the northernmost mainland. </p>
<p>The study appeared to heavily support <a href="http://overcomingms.users41.interdns.co.uk/ms-a-to-z/ms-encyclopedia/sunlightvitamin-d-and-ms/">the theory</a> that low UV-B sunlight is a key initiating factor in the damage to pathways transmitting signals to and from the brain that we see in MS sufferers. People who are exposed to less of this light <a href="http://press.endocrine.org/doi/abs/10.1210/jcem-67-2-373">tend to</a> have lower levels of vitamin D in their blood, and studies have repeatedly <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1001866">shown links between</a> low vitamin D and higher MS incidence – <a href="http://www.thelancet.com/journals/laneur/article/PIIS1474-4422(03)00663-X/abstract">most likely</a> interacting with other factors like genetics and plain bad luck. </p>
<p>But now a <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0155633">more recent study</a> has shown that Orcadians have higher vitamin D levels than the Scottish average. So what is going on? Is it back to the drawing board for understanding MS?</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/123634/original/image-20160523-10984-pt2dvv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/123634/original/image-20160523-10984-pt2dvv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/123634/original/image-20160523-10984-pt2dvv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=598&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/123634/original/image-20160523-10984-pt2dvv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=598&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/123634/original/image-20160523-10984-pt2dvv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=598&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/123634/original/image-20160523-10984-pt2dvv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=752&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/123634/original/image-20160523-10984-pt2dvv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=752&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/123634/original/image-20160523-10984-pt2dvv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=752&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Google Maps</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In fact, the authors are careful to point out that the study is not as straightforward as the headline numbers make it appear. They monitored the vitamin D levels in the blood of individuals who have lived on Orkney for at least a generation and compared them to individuals in the same age group from the rest of Scotland. They did find higher than average vitamin D levels among Orcadians, but this was entirely due to two age groups, 60 to 69-year-olds and the 70s and over. </p>
<p>In all other age groups, the study found that vitamin D levels were lower than the rest of Scotland. Indeed the average levels of vitamin D in Orcadians under the age of 40 was substantially lower than their Scottish equivalent, who are <a href="http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Health/Healthy-Living/Food-Health/vitaminD">themselves considered</a> to be at risk of deficiency. This age range is probably the most relevant to understanding MS, since they are more likely to be child bearing and there is a <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21786297">strong correlation</a> between vitamin D levels in the womb and MS susceptibility for the offspring. The group also includes those most likely to develop MS, <a href="http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/43968/1/9789241563758_eng.pdf">which are</a> women in their late 20s and early 30s. </p>
<h2>Vikings and screen addicts</h2>
<p>There are at least two possible explanations for this difference in the age groups: it could be that Orcadians enjoy greater exposure to sun as they get older; or it could be that the younger generation is spending less time outdoors. To assess that first possibility, the study’s authors used lifestyle questionnaires. This helped them establish that the vitamin D data was being skewed by two groups – farmers and financially secure over-60s who take regular foreign holidays. </p>
<p>The prospect of a generational change in Orcadians is more worrying because it might mean that MS levels will rise on the islands. Indeed, there is already evidence of a rise in the past 35 years. Yet the new study hints that lifestyle changes in the older generations is actually the reason for the discrepancy. We will need to see further studies to clarify this. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/123583/original/image-20160523-10986-1kj0cpo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/123583/original/image-20160523-10986-1kj0cpo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/123583/original/image-20160523-10986-1kj0cpo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/123583/original/image-20160523-10986-1kj0cpo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/123583/original/image-20160523-10986-1kj0cpo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/123583/original/image-20160523-10986-1kj0cpo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/123583/original/image-20160523-10986-1kj0cpo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/123583/original/image-20160523-10986-1kj0cpo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘Hay-men to that.’</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/robert_scarth/62846207/in/photolist-6y6Zi-4wYC45-ehktwc-e3gLSG-6DS4j-4Sed7W-aZLu7T-6Jujjn-4Se8VA-6ymtu-4S9XxX-jfuRE-ika2f-6xHLy-f7MR7Z-6ynnE-6y68T-7Wrc2-6y9Md-6y5WC-avumps-djGuRV-6ykX4-2yN7Uh-6yoVe-6ymaa-nh9FZ-79wnHD-6ymCf-6y6La-6y6jF-82RAae-6ymki-6Lw2JR-6ymZh-6ymP4-6N4PcR-6y9Zv-6ykH2-jfuRA-79jUJm-2yN9jJ-iQGZL-6y9dH-6ykv7-4Sa2Le-4Sn8CQ-6y91k-2tiZQ-2yHLoM">Robert Scarth</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So can we reinstate the lack of UV-B light and vitamin D as the prime suspect in Orcadians’ increased risk of MS? Maybe not entirely. <a href="http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/early/2012/05/09/jnnp-2011-301546.full.pdf?hwshib2=authn%3A1464093632%3A20160523%253A114f893b-57ad-4fa6-9ff3-096471e42295%3A0%3A0%3A0%3AQzPtM4gB11BA93TvzPhr7A%3D%3D">While the</a> incidence of MS in Orkney is 402 cases per 100,000, <a href="https://www.mstrust.org.uk/a-z/prevalence-and-incidence-multiple-sclerosis">compared to</a> around 200 in the rest of Scotland and 165 in England, in the even more northerly Shetlands <a href="http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/early/2012/05/09/jnnp-2011-301546.full.pdf?hwshib2=authn%3A1464093632%3A20160523%253A114f893b-57ad-4fa6-9ff3-096471e42295%3A0%3A0%3A0%3AQzPtM4gB11BA93TvzPhr7A%3D%3D">it is</a> 295. Yet Shetlanders should be even more sunlight-deficient than Orcadians. </p>
<p>Maybe the populations of the two island groups are exposed to different levels of sunlight because of differences in their culture or lifestyle, but the work has not been done in the Shetlands to take us beyond speculation here. We also know that genes play a substantial role in MS susceptibility and it cannot be ruled out that genetic difference between populations may play some role. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/123582/original/image-20160523-10994-nk2cgz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/123582/original/image-20160523-10994-nk2cgz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/123582/original/image-20160523-10994-nk2cgz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/123582/original/image-20160523-10994-nk2cgz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/123582/original/image-20160523-10994-nk2cgz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/123582/original/image-20160523-10994-nk2cgz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/123582/original/image-20160523-10994-nk2cgz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/123582/original/image-20160523-10994-nk2cgz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘Not guilty.’</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/nuwandalice/5676900731/in/photolist-9DDANP-5sL5rP-dnvwSe-NAQxv-qYQ7v-edw3A3-4VW71p-gRqXwf-pzDM2E-4ALoQ5-bvLyVm-9h1Qfk-9pJWPX-4isFLs-acQhio-493JpW-bkyXzi-jG36St-jdKVzh-r6Zfvk-cz5s3Q-6W53ot-7ETjUX-r2Ci7s-e71Xgu-riHE35-6W53on-oZBfYQ-6VRzbJ-5rZ7zS-9n33En-qUqhdL-bw7sCn-gRqXCC-7caDtg-2912Rf-fMiSe5-dCSLDZ-bw7t4x-bw7rpx-DBAHy7-bwEGFT-4aqyDC-qmU38A-54VZfR-9n33kP-r6ZfbH-uanhv-8wSqdk-235Kx">Alice</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In this regard, the press has in the past <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2245978/Vikings-blame-Scots-highest-levels-multiple-sclerosis.html">wondered whether</a> the Vikings brought MS to the Orkneys. This seems fanciful because Vikings probably had an even greater influence on the Shetlands. MS incidence in Scandinavian countries <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-1331.2006.01342.x/full">is meanwhile</a> lower than the Scottish average. So if genetics is partly to blame, it’s more subtle than longboats and horned helmets. </p>
<p>In short, the study does raise a mystery, though not the one it first appeared to. It seems to support the sunlight theory of MS after all, but it leaves us asking what cultural shift is occurring in Orkney that is resulting in over 60s having higher vitamin D levels than the rest of the population. Getting to the bottom of that could be a major step towards refining our understanding of what causes the disease.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/59834/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Graham Wright receives Wellcome Trust funding to explore cell-therapy-based treatment for MS.</span></em></p>Orkney’s ultra-high incidence has been linked to the weak northern sun. So how come the more northern Shetlands are less afflicted?Graham Wright, Lecturer in Immunology, Edinburgh Napier UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/352302014-12-16T06:13:02Z2014-12-16T06:13:02ZViking women travelled too, genetic study reveals<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/67252/original/image-20141215-5287-1mrrfb5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mum's gone to Iceland.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-29211424/stock-photo-closeup-portrait-of-viking-woman-in-helmet-with-horns.html?src=HCKp1DLa042VQoC1NAAfUQ-1-32">Creatista/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The traditional picture of Vikings is one of boatloads of hairy men pillaging their way along the coasts of Europe. Though true to some degree, this stereotype has more recently been tempered with the appreciation of Vikings as explorers and settlers, founding colonies from the Black Sea to Canada.</p>
<p>Left out of this picture is their womenfolk, but with the results of state-of-the-art DNA sequencing techniques, geneticists from Norway and Sweden have provided <a href="http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/370/1660/20130384">a picture of the Viking world</a> that reveals women travelled to settle in far-off places – and this appears to be true of born-and-bred Norsewomen as well as those from the lands visited. </p>
<h2>Handed down the maternal line</h2>
<p>The study, published by the Royal Society, sequenced DNA from 45 Norwegian, Viking-age skeletons. This was mitochondrial or mtDNA which, unlike <a href="http://theconversation.com/are-you-a-viking-yes-but-so-is-everyone-else-14144">most DNA</a>, is passed down from mother to child with no input from the father. Children have near identical mtDNA to their mothers, their mother’s mothers, and so on. If you go back far enough, every person who has ever lived falls somewhere on a single, branching, <a href="http://theconversation.com/will-i-am-indian-but-does-it-matter-15215">maternal family-tree</a>.</p>
<p>Within the tree, mutations lead to changes in the mtDNA sequence of one individual, which are then inherited by all of their female-line descendants. This means that by comparing differences across many individuals from known geographical locations, we can build up a picture of the movements of the women of the past. The mtDNA of the 45 skeletons was compared to many others which have been previously sequenced from around north-western Europe. Using a variety of statistical tests, several things became apparent.</p>
<p>Many of the mtDNA sequences were shared between those from Norway and those of the lands the Vikings colonised. This supports archaeological and historical sources which suggest that the Norsemen often married at home and were accompanied on their voyages by their wives. However, the picture is not uniform from place to place. </p>
<p>Relatively close to Scandinavia, in Orkney and Shetland, modern populations show similar levels of ancestry coming from Norse-folk of each sex. Further away in Iceland, people owe more of their ancestry to Norsemen than to Norsewomen. This poses the question, who were the remaining Viking wives? It seems unlikely that they were pre-existing Icelanders, as Iceland was largely uninhabited before the arrival of the Vikings. Although there is some evidence for habitation, it was on a small scale, and maybe by then extinct. The Viking Sagas mention the presence of <a href="http://www.why.is/svar.php?id=4802">monks</a>, but even if they were real, they would be male and also – one imagines – celibate. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/67146/original/image-20141214-6030-synn44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/67146/original/image-20141214-6030-synn44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/67146/original/image-20141214-6030-synn44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=346&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/67146/original/image-20141214-6030-synn44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=346&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/67146/original/image-20141214-6030-synn44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=346&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/67146/original/image-20141214-6030-synn44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/67146/original/image-20141214-6030-synn44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/67146/original/image-20141214-6030-synn44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The Vikings had legendarily itchy feet.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Krzewińska et al., 2014</span></span>
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<h2>Where are the Viking women at?</h2>
<p>One test showed that if the genetic contribution of Norwegians is subtracted from Icelandic mtDNA data, what remains is most similar to Orkney and the Western Isles of Scotland. So it seems likely that Gaelic women from these islands arrived in Iceland with the Vikings, or else had been integrated into these colonial Viking communities in previous generations and passed down their mtDNA to those that made the voyage to Iceland.</p>
<p>Either way, it shows that many more women than men from invaded lands were assimilated into Viking colonies. Maybe this shouldn’t surprise us – around the world, it’s much more common for women than men to join the family or tribe of their spouse when married. The Vikings also enslaved prisoners from defeated peoples, and wherever men own slaves, they will father children by them. Again its not surprising that female slaves would leave more of a genetic legacy than their male counterparts.</p>
<p>The study also suggests this dynamic may have been the norm back in Norway too. Two of the 45 samples (both from female skeletons buried in the Norse fashion) appear to have mtDNA not typical of the Vikings. One had a sequence previously seen among Scandinavia’s northernmost people, the Saami (or Lapps) – probably a Saami woman who married a Viking, or the female-line descendant of one. </p>
<p>The other skeleton had mtDNA from a branch of the family tree common across Asia. There are many possibilities, but again it is likely this woman (or her maternal-line ancestor) was brought back by Vikings from a voyage to Russia or the Byzantine Empire.</p>
<h2>New tools, new knowledge</h2>
<p>With ever-improving tools for geneticists, we can now look further into the genetic subtleties of the past. This study used skeletons excavated in the days before DNA sequencing was an option. Until recently, such specimens have been un-sequenceable due to <a href="http://blogs.sciencemag.org/origins/2009/09/ancient-dna-25-years-of-agony.html">DNA contamination</a> from the modern people who have handled them. Today’s techniques make it possible to differentiate modern from ancient DNA sequences, which opens up the prospect of returning to the many museum specimens in collections worldwide to see what further answers they might hold of the Vikings’ many adventures.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/35230/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daniel Zadik does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The traditional picture of Vikings is one of boatloads of hairy men pillaging their way along the coasts of Europe. Though true to some degree, this stereotype has more recently been tempered with the…Daniel Zadik, Postdoctoral researcher in genetics, University of LeicesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.