# Population Genetics > mtDNA Haplogroups >  Roman mtDNA?

## Stev

Does anyone know what or mtDNA haplogroup, the ancient Romans belonged to?

thanks

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## Nasturtium

I can't believe no one else has answered this yet...
I've read some studies of Roman DNA, and generally they look to the Etruscans, and the Tuscans. I saw one study that mentioned HV, and JT were prominent. In the study of the Tuscans, it was a pretty wide range of haplogroups, H being the most prominent.
Dienekes mentions a study of pre-Roman, Iberian mtdna's:
"The most frequent haplogroup is H (52.9%), followed by U (17.6%), J (11.8%), and pre-HV, K and T at the same frequency (5.9%)."
H1 was found and thought to have originated there. Equally interesting, was what was not found, and you can read more here:
http://dienekes.blogspot.com/2005/07...ian-mtdna.html

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## Maciamo

Only a few ancient samples have been tested to date. 

MtDNA was extracted from 13 individuals from the ruins of a Roman villa in Pompei. 6 of them turned out to be related and belonged to haplogroup T2b. There were also 3 H and 1 HV0.

17 samples from the 3000-year old Nuragic culture in Sardinia were tested. 10 of them belonged to haplogroups H, 1 to hg V, 2 to hg U2, 1 to hg J, 3 either to H or U, and one was unidentified.

Based on these 30 samples, H has an overwhelming proportion (about 50%), but the overall frequency is rather similar to the modern Italian population.

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## Stev

Thanks so much Maciamo, May I ask a quick ques:
My mtdna is H (subgroup also H...through gene tree testing) and my Y haplogroup is R1b1b2, Is it safe to say that I might be descended from the romans? My family on both sides come from southern Italy.

thnx

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## Maciamo

> Thanks so much Maciamo, May I ask a quick ques:
> My mtdna is H (subgroup also H...through gene tree testing) and my Y haplogroup is R1b1b2, Is it safe to say that I might be descended from the romans? My family on both sides come from southern Italy.
> 
> thnx


Half of all Europeans belong to H and R1b1b2. These haplogroups existed many thousands years before Rome was founded. Just to give you an idea, haplogroup H was identified in the remains of a 30,000 years ago Cro-Magnon from Russia.

But if you are Italian, there is 100% of chance that many of your ancestors were Roman. By Roman, I suppose that you mean the original Italic tribe that founded Rome ? During the Empire, most of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East was officially Roman. So you could say that people from all these countries today have Roman ancestors.

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## Zbigniew_Paesano

If Half of all Europeans belong to H and R1b1b2, it means that the rest belong to R1a1a, I, J ... It was then brought by the indo-european speakars during 3000 BC and onward. But those came from the east (russian steppe) so they must have carried the H as well (from Cro-magnon). What are the other than H Y-haplogroups and wherefrom and how did they come to Europe?

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