A NEW exhibition has opened in Peebles, enabling residents and history lovers to uncover more about the Roman invasion of Scotland.

The Live Borders Museum team at the Tweeddale Museum and Gallery have just opened ‘The Offensive Romans’ a touring exhibition on Burnswark and the Romans in the town.

The display not only digs up the past, but brings with it the question; “Was Burnswark Hill in Dumfriesshire the site of a Roman training camp or a scene of bloody conflict between invading Romans and the native people of Southern Scotland?”

This particular question has puzzled many archaeologists since the 18th century. An imposing table-top hill in flat surroundings, Burnswark was first occupied some 3,000 years ago.

It has been an important site throughout the Bronze Age, Iron Age, Roman occupation of Britain, the medieval period, plus the Civil War in the 17th century.

Supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, a team of archaeologists carried out a dig at the site in September, 2015.

The team used modern methods of metal-detecting and soil testing to further investigate the area, and with input from experts from around the UK and abroad in Germany, fresh new evidence is being presented to tell the story of Burnswark and the Roman invasion of Scotland.

Admission to the exhibition is free and opening times are Monday to Friday between 10.30am to 12.30pm and again between 1pm to 4pm, plus on Saturdays between 9.30am to 12.30pm. Tweeddale Museum is closed on Sundays.

A tiny statuette of Jupiter, the king of the gods in Ancient Roman mythology, is also on display as part of ‘The Offensive Romans’ exhibition in the Chambers Institution.

The only known Scottish figurine of Jupiter, it shows him standing with a thunderbolt in his right hand and pointing with his raised left arm.

It was reportedly found in 1960s at Kingsmeadows and came to Peebles through the Treasure Trove process in the 1990s after a period in England.