New bronze age find in Lancs

[Duncan Head]

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/sep/30/pristine-pressed-flower-among-jaw-dropping-bronze-age-finds

Spearheads, axes, pressed flowers ...

[Imperial Dave]

 

[Patrick Waterson]

"Though the flower is a unique find, comparable discoveries have been made in Ireland and Scotland ..." so does the thistle predate the Scots as we know them as a cultural symbol?

I know the tradition that at Largs (AD 1263) a would-be stealthy Viking encountered a thistle with a tender portion of his anatomy and thus inadvertently raised the alarm alerting the Scots to the Viking surprise attack.  This, we are told, caused this humble weed to be adopted as a national symbol.  And yet the thistle appears to have significance - of some cultural form - much earlier, and south of the border.

Intriguing.