Exhibition with finds from a Roman fort at Inveresk, including two newly conserved altars from its Mithraeum, to explore the Roman occupation of Scotland.
Roman Scotland: Life on the Edge of Empire opens at the National Museum of Scotland on 14 November 2026, and it's the first exhibition to look in detail at the Roman attempts to conquer Scotland. It runs until 18 April 2027, so there's plenty of time to fit it in over the winter.
At its heart are finds from a second-century AD Roman fort at Inveresk in East Lothian, which was home to the world's most northerly Mithraeum — a temple to the god Mithras. Two spectacular altars from that temple, newly conserved and on display for the first time, are the show's centrepiece. Around them, the exhibition brings to life the community that grew up around the military base: soldiers, their families, traders, craftworkers and enslaved people, and the relationships the locals in occupied land had with them, from bloodshed to diplomatic deals.
It's not just the Inveresk finds, though. The exhibition pulls together recent research, significant loans from across Europe and previously unseen archaeological discoveries to tell new stories of the Roman occupation in Scotland and reshape how we understand the country's relationship with the Roman world. It was made possible with the support of the Roman Scotland Exhibition Supporters Circle.
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Tickets range from £3.00 to £15.00 per person, and you'll find it at the National Museum of Scotland on Chambers Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1JF, from 14 November 2026 through to 18 April 2027.
