Early interpretations[2] saw it as loot; more recent views[3] prefer to see it as diplomatic gifts or payment for military service.
The description of the discovery[4] suggests it was buried in a pit dug within a house cluster on the uppermost levels of the western shoulder of the hill.
During the Roman Iron Age, Traprain Law was a major local political centre beyond Hadrian's Wall.
Some were direct copies[6][7] or restorations of the originals; others were modified for contemporary taste, for instance by turning a spoon into a tea strainer.
Another key category in the hoard was toilet silver - vessels used for bathing or personal hygiene, such as cosmetic containers,[14] fluted water basins,[15] and fragments of mirrors.
The mixture of material indicates the hoard was put together from many different original sets of silver, and many different owners are represented among the ownership graffiti on the vessels.
It is suggested that the silver was converted to bullion at times of economic crisis within the Roman world, and was then used for diplomatic gifts or as payment for military service.