For over three centuries, the inhabitants of the country that was to become Scotland faced the might of Rome, resulting in some of the most extraordinary archaeology of the ancient world. What brought at least five Emperors and their vast armies to this corner of the Empire?

Much has been written about this period, a time when the facts are sometimes even more extraordinary than the fiction.

John Reid, Chair of the Trimontium Trust, will share some of his insights into this turbulent period.

Speaker - John Reid

After setting out to train as an archaeologist at Glasgow University in 1974, I changed direction to study medicine. After attaining my basic medical degree (1979), I specialised in imaging of the heart and lungs, ultimately becoming the cardiac radiologist for Edinburgh Royal Infirmary (1986-1996). I then went on to become the associate Medical Director of Borders General Hospital and the Specialty Adviser to the Chief Medical Officer of Scotland (1996-2016). I spent a brief period as an adviser to the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna and a year in Boston, Massachusetts. During this period, I was also President of the Astronomical Society of Edinburgh.

I returned to my primary interest of Roman period archaeology in 2012. I have been the chairman of the Trimontium Trust - a Roman History Society - in the Scottish Borders for over twenty-five years.

At Trimontium we have an active education, research and outreach programme and we also run a small award-winning independent museum based in the Ormiston Institute in Melrose. Our £1.5m project to renovate and extend the Trimontium museum in Melrose was completed in 2021. We have just completed a second project to build a 1.1m community archaeology centre.

I have a specialist interest in the ballistic capabilities of the Imperial Roman Army. I devised and co-led the investigations at the Roman siege site of Burnswark Hill in Dumfriesshire for three years (2014-16). We have also been carrying out investigations at the site of Newstead Roman fort and have collaborated recently with RGK (German Archaeological Institute) on work in Dumfriesshire and the Scottish Borders (2021-2023). Our current interests (2021-2023 include the Roman fort at Ambleside.

I authored the Current Archaeology article, ‘Battle for Burnswark’ and have recently published our Burnswark findings in the prestigious Journal of Roman Archaeology (JRA 2021). In collaboration with the Universities of Bochum and Frankfurt, I have published a paper on Roman Sling Bullets from St Albans (Britannia 2022).

2023 saw the publication of my first book, ‘The Eagle and the Bear: A new history of Roman Scotland’ (2023 – Birlinn, Edinburgh). This year I was also awarded an MBE for services to culture and heritage