A Note on the Sheep that Grew the Wool for Channel Island Knitwear.

The article outlines the archaeological and historical evidence about the native sheep that provided the original raw material for the Channel Island knitwear. Textile remains show that European Iron Age sheep has a range of colours: black, grey, and white, while the Soay are brown. The excavation of a thirteenth-century house in Saint Helier, Jersey yielded a few bones from at least two sheep. Microscopic examination of a short length of woollen yarn found confirmed the identification as wool containing some hairy fibers and it was suggested that it had been dyed with carmine red.