He could have been born in the northern parts of England, perhaps Yorkshire, where winters are cold enough to produce the isotopic signature recorded in his teeth.

Or he could have been born in coastal Scandinavia or in the trading communities along the Baltic.

The data does not resolve this question, and the researchers are careful not to claim it does.

What The DNA Actually Says

The ancient DNA analysis of Conquest Man’s remains was carried out by researchers at the Francis Crick Institute, one of the world’s leading centers for this kind of work.

Recovering usable ancient DNA from medieval remains is challenging: DNA degrades over time, and contamination from modern sources is a constant methodological concern.