The Hallaton Treasure – a haul of more than 5,000 silver and gold coins and a silver-plated Roman helmet found in a field near the village seven years ago – is due to go on display in the museum later this year in a £934,000 project.

And the Mail took an exclusive behind-the-scenes look this week to find out how the plans are coming along.

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the find is the helmet.

Made of an iron frame covered in silver gilt, it is one of the most ornate Roman cavalry helmets ever found and, due to its fragile nature, was lifted out of the ground in a soil block to protect it.

Experts from the University of Liverpool carried out 3D scans to record every detail before the painstaking work of removing the soil from around it began at the British Museum.

Zara Matthews, keeper of Harborough Museum, said: “The silver is really thin. We’re talking cigarette paper thin.