The shepherd tartan is likely to be the oldest of our tartans. Originally this could be woven from the wool taken directly from white and black sheep, meaning that no dye was required to create the pattern.
The Shepherd tartan is also known as the Nothumberland, Border, Border Reiver tartan, due to being associated with the shepherds in the Scottish Borders. It's the official tartan of the Nothumberland County and Shepherd family. In addition to these names it is also known at the Falkirk tartan because a piece of cloth with this pattern was discovered on the neck of a jar containing roman coins dated to 260 AD.
