Roman Scotland: Life on the Edge of Empire

'Roman Scotland: Life on the Edge of Empire' will reshape our understanding of Scotland’s relationship with the Roman world.    

This exhibition will bring the military communities of Rome’s most northern frontier to life through new research, significant loans from across Europe, and previously unseen archaeological discoveries.

Visitors will encounter objects and stories that bring a vibrant and diverse frontier community to life. This will include finds from a 2nd century AD Roman fort at Inveresk, East Lothian. Central to the exhibition will be two spectacular altars from the fort's Mithraeum (a temple to the god Mithras). 

A critical question is how local groups dealt with this invasion. The exhibition will reveal a wide range of interactions, from bloodshed to diplomacy, and consider their effects.

Too often, views of Roman Britain stop at Hadrian's Wall. As the exhibition will explore, the Empire extended much further north, up to Scotland's central belt and deep into the north-east. This had lasting effects on Scotland’s people and history.

This exhibition is made possible with the support of the Roman Scotland Exhibition Supporters Circle.