Trimontium museum expansion gets Scots taxpayer finance

Now a specialist Roman history museum that tells the story of that heritage is to be refurbished and expanded with the help of a £395,000 funding boost.

It is hoped the investment in the Trimontium Museum in Melrose will attract thousands of new visitors to the area every year, providing a significant boost to the local economy.

READ MORE: Scotland's Insider Guide: Melrose 

The Trimontium Trust has been awarded a £394,902 grant from the South of Scotland Economic Partnership (SoSEP) to help towards a refurbishment project with a total cost of more than £1.25 million.

The funding will be used to develop a learning programme which will enable visitors to contribute to archaeological research.

Dr John Reid, chairman of the Trimontium Trust, said: "The Trust is grateful to SoSEP and Scottish Government and our other partners for supporting our vision to develop this to a scale and quality which compliments the other excellent attractions in Melrose and the wider Borders.

"Newstead Roman Fort lies in an area incredibly rich in historical heritage.

"The Trimontium Trust has been proud to share its story for over 25 years from our small museum in Melrose, overlooked by the ancient hill fort on Eildon Hill."

The museum focuses on the fort and visitors can see tools used by soldiers to build the fort.

READ MORE: Scotland's Insider Guide: Melrose 

Pottery, examples of glassmaking, and replica armour are among the other items on display.

Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing said: "This funding will allow the Trimontium Trust to expand on the great work it is already doing to promote the rich Roman and Iron Age history of the Scottish Borders.

"The refurbishment of the museum will allow the trust to display more artefacts from the local area and improve the visitor experience.

"Our tourism industry plays a vital part in the Scottish economy.

"People choose to visit Scotland for our culture, heritage and scenery. This SoSEP funding in the South of Scotland will help support and maximise the economic potential of that region."

Trimontium takes its name from the Eildon Hills, that being Latin for the place of the three hills.

Last year sections of a 2,000-year-old wall were revealed as part of the Roman outpost.

The Roman stones were uncovered by the Midlothian-based AOC Archaeology Group during work to lay four and a half miles of water main between Newstead and Earlston. The wall sections were inside a Roman site comprising at least four temporary camps.

The fort itself was started in the first century AD under the governor of Britannia, Julius Agricola.

It had three layers of defences, the first being the central fort itself with its earthen defences built during the first century. The second layer is a series of four ditches built during the last part of the second century. There is an additional series of walls and trenches in the west annex.

At its height, it housed around 1,500 soldiers and would have included dwellings as well as baths, shops, including trades such as glass and pottery-making, ironworking and weaving.

Trimontium and its settlements were first excavated in 1905, and there have been three major excavations since, starting in 1947, 1989 and 1996.

The fort is featured in Rosemary Sutcliff's novel The Eagle of the Ninth. While the characters Marcus and Esca are travelling through Valentia in search of the lost Eagle standard of the Ninth Legion, they spend a night there.

Finds made at Trimontium include a collection of Roman armour said to be the best of its kind, including the ornate Newstead Helmet, an iron Roman cavalry helmet dating back beyond 100AD and known as the Roman face of Scotland.

Those finds are on display at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh illustrating the history of the Roman army’s occupation of the south of the country.