Descendants of Great Moravian Noblemen Identified

BRNO, CZECH REPUBLIC—Czech Radio reports that a study of Y-chromosome markers has identified 18 men who are descended from Great Moravian noblemen who lived in what is now the Czech Republic some 1,000 years ago. A team of researchers led by Ludĕk Galuška of the Moravian Museum compared samples of DNA obtained from 340 living men whose surnames appeared in historic registry records with samples of 75 men buried in high-status graves near the town of Uherské Hradište between the ninth and thirteenth centuries A.D. The large town is thought to have been a center of the Holy Moravian Empire, featuring a large church and baptistery, and inhabited by dukes, noblemen, craftsmen, tradesmen, farmers, and probably slaves. Galuška was surprised to find so many descendants still living in the area. “You have to realize East Moravia used to be a very restless area bordering Hungary,” he explained. “It was affected by a number of wars, such as the Thirty Years War, so the local inhabitants suffered a great deal and were greatly affected by all the conflicts.” For more, go to “Off the Grid: Prague, Czech Republic.”