Genetic characterization of a 12th-century princely burial in St. Sophia Cathedral of Veliky Novgorod

The necropolis of St. Sophia Cathedral in Veliky Novgorod, Russia, as noted in chronicle sources and cathedral inventories, contains the burials of five princes from the Rurikid dynasty and two princesses from their families. To clarify the genetic ancestry of two of the buried individuals, whose remains preserved the skeletal elements required for genetic analysis, DNA extracted from the remains was sequenced. Genetic analysis has revealed that the male individual from the sarcophagus near the southern wall of the Nativity side-chapel carries the Y-chromosomal haplogroup N1a and can be identified with high probability as Mstislav Rostislavich the Brave. Analysis of DNA extracted from female skeletal remains from the reliquary shrine in the Martyrius Porch revealed no close kinship with any of the known genomes of Rurikid dynasty members. A sculptural facial reconstruction based on the skull of Prince Mstislav Rostislavich and a digital facial approximation based on the cranium of the female individual were performed.