Iron age men left home to join wives’ families, DNA study suggests

The research team say genetic evidence and modelling suggest the iron age community in Dorset was matrilocal: ie the women stayed put with men moving to join them. Photograph: Bournemouth University/PA

From Neanderthals to royal courts, history seems awash with women upping sticks to join men’s families, but researchers have found that the tables were turned in Britain’s Celtic communities.

Researchers studying DNA from iron age individuals in Britain have found evidence that men moved to join their wives’ families – a practice known as matrilocality.