Reading the thesis more carefully may I suggest that between conflicts shields might be cleaned or perhaps neutralised and stored- the paint no longer active. When conflict seems to be about, perhaps there is ceremony in repainting. Repeated cleaning and repainting could lead to a kind of polish to the front of the shield surface. So perhaps contrary to the suggestion that it is recent, it could well be an old example, bearing in mind that highland exploration did not occur until the 1930s.
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