A hoard of Roman silver discovered in Fife in 2014 is to go on show to the public for the first time.

The Dairsie Hoard, dating to the 3rd Century AD, was found by David Hall, a metal detectorist, when he was 14.

The Hoard will be on show at the National Museum of Scotland in October.

It is the earliest ‘hacksilver’ from anywhere beyond the frontiers of the Roman Empire.

Hacksilver refers to objects which has been hacked into pieces, and thus converted into raw silver bullion.

Archaeologists think the silver came to Fife as a gift or payment from the Roman world.

The hoard had been shattered by ploughing.

Conservators and curators have undertaken a "daunting jigsaw puzzle", reconstructing four Roman vessels from over 300 fragments.

Dr Fraser Hunter, principal curator at the National Museums Scotland said: "New archaeological evidence is rewriting our understanding of Roman frontier politics, and silver was a key part of this.

"It’s a fascinatingly complex picture that shows interaction and realpolitik, with the Romans changing their approach to deal with different emerging problems, and local tribes taking advantage of Roman ‘gifts’.

"The Dairsie hoard is internationally significant. It’s the earliest evidence for a new phase of Roman policy in dealing with troublesome tribes, using bribes of silver bullion in the form of hacked silver vessels."

Mr Hall added: "This was really my first proper find.

"I didn’t realise how important it was at first, but it’s been really exciting to be able to come and see what National Museums’ curators and conservators have been able to do to clean it up and to examine it to work out what it is."

The exhibition, Scotland’s Early Silver, will show how silver, not gold, became the most important precious metal in Scotland over the course of the first millennium AD.