The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)

David’s field of dreams held Dairsie Hoard

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One of the most significan­t Roman finds in recent years was made in a field in Fife by a teenage boy on one of his first outings with a “low end” metal detector.

David Hall was just 14 when he struck lucky at a detectoris­ts’ rally near the village of Dairsie in 2014.

His discovery amounted to more than 400 pieces of silver and became known as the Dairsie Hoard.

Dating back to the late 3rd Century, it is the earliest known example of “hacksilver” from anywhere in Europe.

Archaeolog­ists think it may have been used by Roman soldiers to bribe Picts while passing through Scotland. It is thought it was hacked into pieces by the Romans, before being buried then shattered by centuries of ploughing.

The find changed historians’ understand­ing of Roman activity at that time. It was thought that dishing out silver sweeteners was restricted to the Roman frontier but the Dairsie Hoard suggests they were going to great lengths to keep the troublesom­e northern tribes on side, particular­ly in the east of Scotland, where the Picts were proving themselves a force to be reckoned with.

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