At a glance
- When
- about 1200 to 146 BCE
- Where
- the Levantine coast, and colonies across the Mediterranean including Carthage
- Entries in our catalogue
- 184 (135 individual genomes)
- Countries of the finds
- 5
What ancient DNA shows
In the Levant itself, Iron Age Phoenicians from sites such as Sidon were genetically continuous with the Bronze Age Canaanites before them.
A large 2025 study in Nature of Punic sites in Sicily, Sardinia, North Africa and Iberia found very little Levantine ancestry in the western colonies. Most individuals carried ancestry resembling Sicilian and Aegean populations, with North African ancestry also common, which suggests that Phoenician and Punic culture spread largely by people adopting it rather than by mass settlement from the east.
Their genetic legacy today
Levantine Phoenician ancestry is a large part of the background of present-day Lebanese and neighbouring Levantine populations. In the western Mediterranean, Punic era people were drawn mostly from the region itself.
Phoenicians samples in the MYDNATLAS catalogue
Our ancient DNA catalogue holds 184 entries whose culture label names the Phoenicians. 135 of them are individual genomes; the others are reference entries, such as averages of several individuals, and samples flagged as outliers. Half of the 184 dated entries fall between 632 BCE and 300 BCE, with a median of 479 BCE.
Where they were found
| Country | Entries |
|---|---|
| Italy | 77 |
| Tunisia | 67 |
| Lebanon | 25 |
| Israel | 12 |
| Spain | 3 |
Most common labels
| Label | Entries |
|---|---|
| Punic (Tunisia) | 63 |
| Phoenician (Akhziv, coastal Israel) | 12 |
| Phoenician-Punic Sicily (Marsala/Lilybaeum, early phase) | 11 |
| Phoenician (Lebanon) | 8 |
| Punic (Roman-Period Sicily) | 8 |
| Phoenician-Punic Sardinia (Tharros, early phase) | 6 |
Measured from the live catalogue on 2026-10-17. Dates are those recorded for each entry; the archaeological dates of the culture are given above. See our data sources for where the samples come from.
Compare your DNA with the Phoenicians
To see how close you sit to Phoenicians samples, you need your DNA as G25 coordinates. Download your raw data file from your testing company, convert it, and MYDNATLAS compares your coordinates with these entries and the rest of the catalogue, period by period, in its closest population and mixture tools.
- Download your raw DNA file: step by step for each testing company.
- Upload it from 23andMe, AncestryDNA, MyHeritage or FamilyTreeDNA, or another supported provider.
- Explore the results with the period by period breakdown and closest populations.
Start free: browse the Population Encyclopedia. The Population Encyclopedia is free to browse with a free account; analysing your own DNA needs a paid plan.
Questions
How many Phoenicians samples does MYDNATLAS hold?
Our ancient DNA catalogue holds 184 entries labelled as Phoenicians, of which 135 are individual genomes; the rest are reference entries such as group averages, and flagged outliers. Figures measured 2026-10-17.
Where were the Phoenicians samples found?
They come from 5 countries, most often Italy, Tunisia, Lebanon, Israel and Spain. Half of the dated entries fall between 632 BCE and 300 BCE.
Did the Phoenicians leave a genetic trace in the western Mediterranean?
Less than once thought. The 2025 study found that people buried at Punic sites in the west carried little ancestry from the Levant, so the Phoenician legacy there is mainly cultural.