Contrary to popular belief, the bagpipes were not invented in Scotland or Ireland.The oldest evidence of a bagpipe shows the origin of the instrument on a Hittite slab excavated from Euyuk in the early 1900s. The discovery in this small village in Asia Minor placed the origin of the bagpipes in the Middle East. The pipes eventually spread to the Greeks and Romans. Bagpipes were popular with the Romans, who took the pipes with them when they ventured out to conquer new territory. The bagpipe spread to Britain, Ireland and Scotland, the main countries traditionally associated with the babpipes, beginning around the 13th century. Though not immediately popular there, the bagpipes grew into a favorite in these regions in the 1800s.
