Legacies of Rome: Roman Silver and its impact in Scotland

The fourth and fifth centuries AD are elusive periods in Scotland’s history, but recent studies of silver objects at National Museums Scotland are providing exciting new data and theories.

On one hand, fresh analysis of the hoard of late Roman hacksilver from the Traprain Law hillfort in East Lothian has revealed new perspectives on this famous find, transforming it from ‘pirate’s loot’ to a story about frontier politics and economic and political turmoil. On the other, new work on the supposedly ‘early Medieval’ hacksilver hoards from Norrie’s Law in Fife and Gaulcross in Aberdeenshire, traditionally dated to the sixth or seventh century, pulls them into context of the Romans and reveals new styles of silver emerging in a changing frontier.