Early piece from Glen Affric

[figheadair]

I was going through the STA's collection recently and was surprised to come across the origial piece of the so called Glen Affric tartan.



I knew of this specimen but not the fact that the STA had it. It was donated to their predecessor organisation the Scottish Tartans Society in, I think, the mid-1980s. The piece was found in a bog in Glen Affric some 30 odd years ago by someone walking their dog. I don’t know exactly where or if the site was fully investigated but presume that there was no apparent body or the police would have been involved, at least initially.

Although this tartan is offered as special weave by a number retailers as the Glen Affic tartan (I classify it as an Unnamed 17th/early 18th century tartan found in Glen Affric) the reconstruction bears little resemblance to the original. Having done a brief examination I could not see anything that remotely looks like a red. This is possibly a rare example of a poorer Highlander's plaid which had a plain or dull base colour over-checked with fine stripes of easily obtainable dyes.

[Orvis]

Peter - Are you planning to do a paper on this piece of tartan, perhaps giving some details (size, whether the sett is off-set (if known), if a selvedge is visible and whether it is herringbone, and perhaps give a reconstruction of the original colors)?

Perhaps the use of color in tartan could be explained as a general indicator of social status - or did 17th/18th century Scots (especially Gaels) see this issue in the same way some of us modern tartan students do?

Anyway, just some thoughts...

[figheadair]

Gerry,

It's the list. Given its early date and rough weave it's certainly one that needs some detailed examination.

[Damion]

What weights were these old tartans?

[figheadair]

What weights were these old tartans?

As with modern cloth, there was not on size fits all. In this particular case I estimate that the material would be something like an 11oz cloth in today's language. Not something for keeping one warm on the hilll then and more likely a decorative piece for someone of higher status, perhaps a woman.

The latter offers the interesting possibility that it 'could' be the remnant of an arisaid type garment, especially as the presumed original ground colour was white/cream/light brown or some such shade. I hasten to add, there is no definitive evidence for this and it could equally have belonged to a man. With no evidence of a body one must assume that it was probably lost rather than deliberately buried.

[Damion]

Thanks for that.
I wonder how much warmth even the average plaid would have provided a man back then given that they're generally described as thin. They seem more like the outer shell of what would be layers of shirts and a jacket, not much use on their own but good at stopping the wind and rain.

[figheadair]

What you need to near in mind is that almost nothing of the common man or woman's clothing survives. They owned very little and generally wore it until it felll apart, then the left overs were used for something else. There are descriptions of thicker cloth, just little actual evidence of it.

[ThistleDown]

The 'need' for comfort and warmth was different in the past, as well.

[JasonMc]

The 'need' for comfort and warmth was different in the past, as well.

There's also evidence the climate was in a minor ice age from the 15th - 18th centuries and the general temperatures were much lower, especially in the northern latitudes. Used to being colder in deed!