Peat Preserves

In the 1950s, Tammy Umphray, a Foula man, found a mitten buried in the peat.  It appeared to be ancient as it had been woven, suggesting it was made before knitting was devised. Earlier this year, the Shetland Museum sent it to Glasgow University for radiocarbon dating. It was found to date back a thousand years to 970. So while it is early Norse in origin, the wool from which it was made looks just like present-day Foula wool. So something has remained constant despite the millennium of sheep-breeding that has taken place.

Scottish Islands Explorer - has been preserved for 1% of this time