Latest news with #ScottishCrannogCentre
Daily Record
28-04-2025
- Science
- Daily Record
Ancient cloth which lay at bottom of Perthshire loch for thousands of years goes on display
A rare piece of fabric that lay buried under silt at the bottom of a Perthshire loch for nearly 2500 years has gone on display. It was found in 1979 when an Iron Age loch dwelling house, the Oakbank Crannog, was excavated on Loch Tay. The woven piece of cloth is believed to be one of the oldest of its kind in Britain and dates back to the early to middle part of the Iron Age. It is now on show for the first time - within a climate controlled cabinet – at The Scottish Crannog Centre's Iron Age village, visitor centre and museum, near Kenmore. The textile had previously been thought too fragile to display, but it will be a permanent exhibit at the centre following a painstaking stabilisation and conservation process, funded by Museums Galleries Scotland. Experimental archaeologist and volunteer at the centre Maureen Kerr said: 'The exciting thing is that there's nowhere else in Scotland, and very few places in the rest of the UK, that has a textile of this size and age. 'The weave on this fine textile is called a 2/1 twill which is really unusual for the time in southern Britain and northern Europe as most twill weaves were 2/2. 'This sheds considerable light on the technologies society had in the Iron Age. 'Twill weaves, which this textile is part of, is a dense, flexible fabric, very similar in appearance to our modern denim weave. It has been made, we think, on a two-beam loom, or a warp-weighted loom. 'This, combined with the fact that there are the remnants of a possible hem indicating that it could have been part of a piece of clothing, makes it a rare and special discovery.' Crannogs – dwelling houses built on stilts or stone over water – usually had a bridge connecting them to the shore. Very few exist outside of Scotland and Ireland. The first crannogs in Scotland were built on lochs from Neolithic times. The Scottish Crannog Centre director Mike Benson commented: 'We are absolutely thrilled to be able to invite the public to come and see this amazing find. 'This piece would have been made by a whole community, from the shearing of the sheep, to the processing and dyeing of the wool to the weaving of the textile. 'Our Centre today is very much about community and the one thing that unites all of us is our common humanity through the ages.' The 'Oakbank Textile,' has been analysed by University of Glasgow archaeologists who have radiocarbon dated the material to between 480 - 390 BC. University of Glasgow senior lecturer in archaeology Dr Susanna Harris said: 'There are very few early textiles of this date and we think this is the first one of this type, of 2/1 twill, in Scotland. Wool was such an important material in Scotland it's been exciting to analyse this piece. 'It's great that the Scottish Crannog Centre has taken this step. It's really important finds like this go on display. It may be a small piece of textile but it tells us a lot about the heritage of Scottish textiles.'
The National
23-04-2025
- Science
- The National
Historic archaeological find in Scottish loch go on display
The woven fabric, believed to be one of the oldest of its kind in Britain, was found in Loch Tay in Perthshire where it was naturally preserved by the silt on the bottom. It was discovered in 1979 when an Iron Age loch dwelling house, known as the Oakbank Crannog, was excavated. (Image: Martin Shields) It is now on public display for the first time at the Scottish Crannog Centre's Iron Age village, visitor centre and museum, on the banks of Loch Tay. The textile was previously thought to be too fragile to go on show but it has now gone through a painstaking stabilisation and conservation process, funded by Museums Galleries Scotland. It is on display from Wednesday and is being housed safely in a climate-controlled cabinet. READ MORE: Elon Musk to reduce role at Doge as Tesla struggles to sell cars Mike Benson, director of the Scottish Crannog Centre, said: 'We are absolutely thrilled to be able to invite the public to come and see this amazing find. 'This piece would have been made by a whole community, from the shearing of the sheep, to the processing and dyeing of the wool, to the weaving of the textile. 'Our centre today is very much about community and the one thing that unites all of us is our common humanity through the ages. 'We're really looking forward to finding out what people make of this rare textile, which is part of our past but also a hugely important part of our present and future. 'We hope people will be drawn to see this exhibit, and the rest of our extensive collection, for years to come.' Scottish Crannog Centre (Image: Martin Shields) The fabric, known as the Oakbank Textile, has been analysed by archaeologists at the University of Glasgow who have radiocarbon dated the material to between 480 and 390BC. Dr Susanna Harris, senior lecturer in archaeology at the university, said: 'There are very few early textiles of this date and we think this is the first one of this type, of 2/1 twill, in Scotland. 'Wool was such an important material in Scotland, it's been exciting to analyse this piece. 'It's great that the Scottish Crannog Centre has taken this step. It's really important finds like this go on display. It may be a small piece of textile but it tells us a lot about the heritage of Scottish textiles.' READ MORE: Reform UK attack 'Scottish political class' over exclusion from anti-far-right summit Crannogs were dwelling houses built on stilts or stone over water and usually had a bridge connecting them to the shore. The first crannogs in Scotland were built on lochs from Neolithic times and very few are said to exist outside of Scotland and Ireland. The centre's reconstructed crannog was destroyed in a fire in 2021. Last year the Scottish Crannog Centre reopened to visitors on a new and enlarged site near Kenmore and the team are well on the way to completing a new crannog using sustainable and historical construction methods.
The Herald Scotland
23-04-2025
- Science
- The Herald Scotland
Fragments of Iron Age textile found in loch go on show for first time
It was discovered in 1979 when an Iron Age loch dwelling house, known as the Oakbank Crannog, was excavated. It is now on public display for the first time at the Scottish Crannog Centre's Iron Age village, visitor centre and museum, on the banks of Loch Tay. The Scottish Crannog Centre is situated at Kenmore near Aberfeldy (Martin Shields/PA) The textile was previously thought to be too fragile to go on show but it has now gone through a painstaking stabilisation and conservation process, funded by Museums Galleries Scotland. It is on display from Wednesday and is being housed safely in a climate-controlled cabinet. Mike Benson, director of the Scottish Crannog Centre, said: 'We are absolutely thrilled to be able to invite the public to come and see this amazing find. 'This piece would have been made by a whole community, from the shearing of the sheep, to the processing and dyeing of the wool, to the weaving of the textile. 'Our centre today is very much about community and the one thing that unites all of us is our common humanity through the ages. 'We're really looking forward to finding out what people make of this rare textile, which is part of our past but also a hugely important part of our present and future. 'We hope people will be drawn to see this exhibit, and the rest of our extensive collection, for years to come.' The fabric, known as the Oakbank Textile, has been analysed by archaeologists at the University of Glasgow who have radiocarbon dated the material to between 480 and 390BC. Dr Susanna Harris, senior lecturer in archaeology at the university, said: 'There are very few early textiles of this date and we think this is the first one of this type, of 2/1 twill, in Scotland. 'Wool was such an important material in Scotland, it's been exciting to analyse this piece. 'It's great that the Scottish Crannog Centre has taken this step. It's really important finds like this go on display. It may be a small piece of textile but it tells us a lot about the heritage of Scottish textiles.' Crannogs were dwelling houses built on stilts or stone over water and usually had a bridge connecting them to the shore. The first crannogs in Scotland were built on lochs from Neolithic times and very few are said to exist outside of Scotland and Ireland. The centre's reconstructed crannog was destroyed in a fire in 2021. Last year the Scottish Crannog Centre reopened to visitors on a new and enlarged site near Kenmore and the team are well on the way to completing a new crannog using sustainable and historical construction methods.
