A textile manufacturer in Scotland has recreated the oldest-known piece of Scottish tartan ever found, which was buried for centuries.

Discovered approximately forty years ago in a peat bog, the Glen Affric Tartan underwent testing organized by The Scottish Tartans Authority last year to confirm it was the oldest surviving piece of tartan, dating back to between 1500-1600 CE.

Although earlier cloths have been discovered in Scotland, this is the first to show a distinctive tartan pattern with multiple crossing lines of different dyed yarns, which in the United States have come to be known as plaid or flannel.

The House of Edgar, Scotland’s specialist manufacturer and distributor of tartan fabrics and
highlandwear accessories, and home to some of the finest and most respected craftspeople in the industry, worked under the guidance of Peter Macdonald, a tartan historian and Head of Research & Collections at the not-for-profit Scottish Tartans Authority to recreate the Glen Affric tartan for people to wear as it could have been when it was first dyed then woven.

It features the original thread count, as well as the colors that dye analysis of the original tartan had confirmed—this included the use of green, yellow, and red, which would have come from woad or indigo to create the green along with other natural dyes.

Woad was the name of a plant from the cabbage family and mustard genus called Isatis tinctoria, and was cultivated for centuries as a natural blue dye, including in England, but would eventually be replaced by Indigofera tinctoria.

“I create new tartans every day but this project is truly special—a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to recreate a piece of history,” said Emma Wilkinson, the Designer for House of Edgar who worked on the project.

“Tartan is such an iconic piece of Scotland’s identity and it has been a true pleasure to see this fabric come back to life to be enjoyed for generations to come.”

The reconstructed tartan is included along with 28 contrastingly new tartans in The House of Edgar’s new collection entitled Seventeen Eighty-Three, the year in which the company first started textile production.

The new Glen Affric tartan is available for businesses to purchase from The House Of Edgar and the public can request it from any highlandwear supplier, with a percentage of all sales going to The Scottish Tartans Authority to support its work preserving the fabric of the nation.

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