An ancient jigsaw puzzle: Reconstructing a Roman arm guard from Trimontium Fort in the Scottish Borders

How do you solve a nearly 2,000-year-old jigsaw puzzle? That is the challenge which faced Bethan Bryan, a conservator at National Museums Scotland, when she began the process of piecing together dozens of fragments from a Roman arm guard dating to the middle of the 2nd century. Her job was to recreate how the brass armour would have looked on a legionary’s arm, in preparation for its loan to a major exhibition at the British Museum, Legion: life in the Roman army (see the section at the bottom of this page), after which it will go on permanent display at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. National Museums Scotland conservator Bethan Bryan with the reconstructed Roman arm guar