Twenty five thousand years ago when our DNA markers arose in what is today called “The Fertile Crescent” There are no records of the civilizations of The Fertile Crescent except myths that have been written, some in the form of religious literature. The first records of human community in the area arose around 3000 BCE. It was during that period that Babylon became a center of learning, science and religion.

While all humanity originated on the African continent and migrated to other parts of the globe our particular genome settled in the Fertile Crescent and, after the 2nd century CE migrated to other parts of the planet including Europe. It is in this migration that my ancestors came to be in Scotland.

It is assumed that it was in the area of the Fertile Crescent where humans started domesticating wheat:

You can read about those studies by clicking here.

This was also during the time that there was a land bridge that joined the asian continent with North America through was is today called the Bering Strait.

Our first ancestors lived in the Fertile Crescent and, without much fear of contradiction, I submit that they more than likely were there for at least 24 thousand years until they began the migration, primarily westward that spread our DNA markers throughout Anatolia and The Levant.

It is very possible that our very early ancestors, from around 3000 BCE were migrants from the Fertile Crescent to what is today the Levant. Our DNA has matched me with a number of those who have been tested from Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Israel and other areas of the Middle East. From what we can determine, our ancestors in the Middle East came west as a result of recruitment into the Roman Army.

Roman Soldiers who trained in Hama, Syria were stationed in what is today Northern England and Scotland during the first century CE. One can read more about the Syrian Archers that were stationed along Hadrian’s Wall by clicking here.

The Roman Military Research Society has posted extensive information the internet about the Roman Soldiers in Scotland. One can read about it by clicking here.

We do know that the migration of J2 was mostly east in the centuries subsequent to the arising of our DNA. In genealogy you have to be able to “put two and two together” as the saying goes. While we cannot know some things for certain, we can guess pretty accurately how our DNA got to Scotland. The Syrian Archers would have trained and would have probably been from the area around what is today Hama, Syria. They would have been commissioned in the Roman area for a quarter of century. There is hardly a doubt that our soldier trained in Hama, travel to Spain and trained more and then was dispatched to Scotland or Northern England.

Our soldier could well have been pagan since the Babylonian religions were primarily pagan. Whatever his religion, the indications from the research around Hadrian’s wall is that the Roman soldiers there build shrines to pagan gods. I am of the opinion that it would be taking unwarranted liberty with a story we do not know certain that claim that our soldier was not also pagan. In 18th Century Scotland our family were associated, to some extent, with the Scots Covenanters who were Presbyterians.

Our soldier would have been in Spain for a few years before going to Scotland. It is unlikely, but not impossible that he married in Spain. Generally, the Roman soldiers were not supposed to marry while they were in service to Rome. Since it is almost certain that he met someone and married in Scotland, that means that our family has been in Scotland for over two thousand years. But, Scotland still is not the final stop in the sojourn to the American Colonies.