14 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Scotland’s oldest tartan discovered in Highlands bog

According to new research, a piece of fabric discovered in a bog in the Scottish Highlands may be the oldest traditional tartan ever discovered.

New tests on a scrap of fabric found in a Highland peat bog in the early 1980s have concluded that the iconic checked material is likely to have been created in the 16th century.

Discovered in a peat bog in Glen Affric in the Scottish Highlands, the faded fabric features traces of green and brown dye and belonged to an unknown clan.

Researchers used dye analysis and radiocarbon dating to determine the tartan’s age. The investigation found four possible colors in the fabric, via high-resolution digital microscopy, including green, brown, and possibly red and yellow.

Researchers discovered no artificial or semi-synthetic dyes were used in the tartan’s creation, leading them to believe it predates the 1750s and was most likely created between 1500 and 1600. This making it the oldest known piece of true tartan discovered in Scotland.



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



The Glen Affric tartan, thought to be the oldest in Scotland, which will be displayed in a new exhibition at the V&A Dundee from next month. Photo: Alan Richardson / V&A Dundee
The Glen Affric tartan, thought to be the oldest in Scotland, which will be displayed in a new exhibition at the V&A Dundee from next month. Photo: Alan Richardson / V&A Dundee

STA’s head of research and collection Peter MacDonald explained that the testing process took almost six months and that the organisation was “thrilled with the results”, adding, “In Scotland, surviving examples of old textiles are rare as the soil is not conducive to their survival”.

This piece’s survival is most likely due to it being buried in peat, which prevents exposure to air and other factors that could have further damaged it.

Experts have said the tartan was more of a rustic fabric, more associated with an outdoor working garment rather than somebody of high status.

It may have belonged to the Clan Chisholm, which controlled the area at the time, although researchers are unable to make any firm conclusions.

The tartan measures around 21in by 17in (55cm by 43cm).

The piece of Scottish history is expected to go on display at the Scottish V&A Dundee museum’s Tartan exhibition.

V&A Dundee

Related Articles

An Ancient Large Clay Vessel “Hum” 1.75 Meters High Unearthed in Kyrgyzstan

9 March 2024

9 March 2024

During recent archaeological excavations in the town of Uzgen in the Osh province of Kyrgyzstan, a 1.75-meter-high clay vessel known...

A 1,700-year-old trident discovered in Assos ancient city in TĂŒrkiye

10 October 2023

10 October 2023

An iron trident, believed to be used for fishing, dating to the 3rd or 4th century A.D. has been discovered...

Homo Sapiens are older than we previously thought

16 January 2022

16 January 2022

Researchers have discovered that Omo I skeletons, previously thought to be less than 200,000 years old, are 230,000 years old....

Excavations Near Stonehenge Uncover Bronze Age Barrow Cemetery

4 June 2023

4 June 2023

The Cotswold Archeology team excavating at the site of a planned housing development near Salisbury, England, has unearthed a giant...

An ancient Roman road has been discovered in the Venice Lagoon

24 July 2021

24 July 2021

Researchers discovered a Roman road submerged in the Venice Lagoon. The finding suggests that substantial communities may have existed in...

The historic Egyptian Palace is being demolished, it may hold a surprise underneath

27 August 2021

27 August 2021

The cause for the evacuation and demolition of the ancient Tawfiq Pasha Andraos Palace, located in the precincts of the...

Will new Technology be able to Solve the Mystery in Masovia?

14 May 2021

14 May 2021

Although there are about 500 medieval tombs found in today’s Masovia and Podlasie cities, the question of who these tombs...

4,500-Year-Old Dog Teeth-Adorned Bags Found in Germany May Have Been Elite Baby Carriers

11 July 2025

11 July 2025

Archaeological excavations near Krauschwitz reveal rare decorated leather bags buried with women and infants—shining new light on Neolithic burial customs...

A unique discovery in the ancient city of Aphrodisias, the city famous for its sculptors in the Roman World, “As if he were a breathing God”

30 July 2024

30 July 2024

A marble ‘Zeus head’ was found in the ancient city of Aphrodisias, located within the borders of the Geyre neighborhood...

Huge funerary building and Fayoum portraits discovered in Egypt Fayoum

4 December 2022

4 December 2022

The Egyptian archaeological mission working in the Gerza archaeological site in Fayoum revealed a huge funerary building from the Ptolemaic...

The latest discovery at the villa Civita Giuliana, north of Pompeii, the remains of a slave room

7 November 2021

7 November 2021

Ella IDE Pompeii archaeologists announced Saturday the discovery of the remnants of a “slave room” in an exceedingly unusual find...

Over 70 Archaeological Sites Identified in Canada’s Chilcotin Region, Uncovering SecwĂ©pemc Pit Houses Over 4,000 Years Old

29 March 2025

29 March 2025

Recent archaeological findings indicate that the SecwĂ©pemc people’s historical presence in the Chilcotin region of British Columbia, Canada, is more...

Radiocarbon dating makes it possible for the first time to check the extent to which archaeological findings match historical events from written sources

17 November 2023

17 November 2023

Researchers from the Austrian Academy of Sciences have published a new radiocarbon dataset for Tel Gezer, one of the most...

A 2000-year-old wooden figure was unearthed in a Buckinghamshire ditch

13 January 2022

13 January 2022

An extremely rare, carved wooden figure from the early Roman era has been discovered in a waterlogged ditch during work...

Archaeologists discover a “Seleucid satrap tomb” in the ancient Greek (Seleucids) city of Nahavand in Iran

16 May 2022

16 May 2022

Archaeologists announced on Saturday that they discovered a tomb believed to be the tomb of a Seleucid satrap or general...