Quote:
Originally posted by Neul_Oran
At Culloden, aren't there a lot of large mounds where the dead Scots were buried, in mass graves? I'll take a wild guess that they were recognized by their tartan, because I also heard that there are grave markers on the mounds with clan names on them.
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There are a lot of large mounds, marked by stones with the names of the Clans buried beneath - but they wern't identified by the Clan tartans - the mounds were marked because local people knew which Clans were buried in which graves. It was the local traditions which enabled the marking of the graves, many long years after the battle.
The Clans at Culloden didn't all wear the same tartans. The concept of Clans all wearing the same tartan is more prevalent now than it was then. Although there is some evidence to suggest that some Clans did wear the same, or similar patterns, it was likely that these were regional tartans as opposed to Clan tartans. Many of our modern Clan tartans also have more recent origins. Some bits of pre-Culloden tartan have survived, and some portraits show early tartans - but a lot of what we know consider our Clan tartan is a more modern design.
There is a legend that says that Heather won't grow on the graves of the Clans. I have been there - and although there is a plant growing over the graves, it isn't the Heather which covers the deforested battlefield.
It is a very moving place - and there is an excellent interpretive centre there, with very helpful & knowledgeable staff. I highly recommend visiting the Battlefield to get a true sense of what truly happened there.