Tartan Stretches back Two Millennia –

From Asterix to Spode Bargains

If you have kids they might have discovered the joys of Asterix the Gaul. This pint size strong man owes his strength to a magic potion and the shock is it isn’t whisky. But you might have also noticed that Tartan often features in Gallo Roman times.  The history isn’t always very accurate, but the adventures are great fun.  I once got to meet Albert Uderzo the artist of the series, but Albert spoke only French and he wasn’t thrilled by his trip across the channel. It wasn’t a classic meeting. But it brings to mind the oldest piece of tartan from Scotland’s history. This tartan piece is only 7 centimetres long and it offers a window into the times when Rome was retreating from Scotland.

 From the Antonine Wall

The fragment isn’t glamorous. It is dulled by the millennia and frayed at the edges. It was found near the remains of the Antonine Wall near Falkirk, which you’ll remember was the one further north of Hadrian’s Wall and which the Romans abandoned around 165 AD when the Picts proved too hardy and too fierce. This oldest tartan remnant which was found in 1933 and is some 1,700 years old is lodged in the National Museums of Scotland.

Falkirk Centre of Romano British Culture!

Almost unbelievably Falkirk and the nearby town of Camelon were major centres back in the day. The locals indulged in organised chariot racing, not just riding mopeds like madmen late at night. And way back in the second century tartan was highly fashionable throughout northern Europe, but it didn’t have the family based roots that modern clan tartans show.

We Love a Bit of History

But here at James Pirie we love a bit of history and a bit of the romance of the tartan, but most of all we love a bargain. If you want a tartan bargain then look no further we have one of the world’s great brands in Spode with the lovely Glen Lodge Tartan to put your teacake or dainty ginger cake on. And guess what they are on offer.

https://www.jamespirie.com/glen-lodge-tartan-red-8-plate.html

https://www.jamespirie.com/glen-lodge-tartan-tan-8-plate.html