Roman Scotland: life on the edge of Empire
Fraser Hunter
Tuesday, 15th December 2026
Eastgate Theatre, Peebles, 7.30 p.m.
Three times the Roman empire tried to conquer Scotland, and three times it failed.
This talk will look at the Roman frontier from the big picture of imperial success and failure to the lives of the people who lived through it. This is a story of soldiers, and of the communities who travelled with them, the wives and children, the craftworkers and traders. It is also a tale of interactions, from bloodshed to diplomacy, as the local peoples of Scotland tried to deal with these imperial incursions.
The talk gives the background to a major exhibition running at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh from 14 November 2026-18 April 2027, and will show how amazing objects can bring alive these tales of the frontier.
Artist’s depiction of the Roman fort at Trimontium near Melrose in the Scottish Borders
Credit: Painting by David Simon, © Trimontium Trust
Fraser Hunter is principal curator of the Iron Age and Roman collections at National Museums Scotland.
He has excavated and published widely on the relationships between the Iron Age and Roman worlds, and is the curator of the exhibition at the National Museum on “Roman Scotland: life at the edge of Empire”.
