This joint Archaeology and Textiles Group lunch-time lecture by Peter Eslea MacDonald, will explore the discovery and analysis and reconstruction of a piece of tartan found in a peat bog in Glen Affric in the north-west highlands around forty years ago.
Recent scientific research identified the colours involved, subsequent C14 testing dated the piece to circa 1500-1600 AD, making it the oldest known surviving specimen of true tartan in Scotland.
Peter is an internationally recognised Tartan Historian. He has been studying and researching tartan for the past 40 years and is the leading authority on 18th and early 19th century patterns and techniques, particularly those of the weaving firm William Wilson & Son (1765 – 1926). He is a self-taught hand-weaver with some 30 years of experience and has demonstrated and lectured widely, including in; USA, Canada, Japan, Korea and New Zealand.
Peter acts as technical and historical advisor to The Scottish Register of Tartans and is principal advisor on tartans to the High Council of Clan Donald. He is the author of numerous research papers on historical tartans and tartan artefacts as well as being the author of The 1819 Key Pattern Book, One Hundred Original Tartans. He has designed numerous tartans over the years (including The Edinburgh Tattoo, British Airways, Chanel and more recently, the King Charles III tartan) and is a consultant for a variety of museums and organisations in the UK and overseas, as well as film, television, radio and print media. Peter is a member of The Highland Society of London and The Royal Celtic Society.
