IT'S a sight not seen in 550 years – but the lost tomb of Scotland's most famous king will be on view when a special exhibition comes to Dunfermline next year.

The tomb of Robert the Bruce, originally sited in Dunfermline Abbey, has now been reconstructed both in digital and 3D form, following years of painstaking detective and digital work.

Thanks to the collaboration of a number of national bodies, working with Historic Environment Scotland, the canopied, white marble royal tomb has been brought back into existence in digital form.

It will have its from showing tomorrow (Friday) at the Stirling Smith Art Gallery, and gallery director Elspeth King confirmed the 3D tomb would come to its “natural home” next year, although no dates have yet been set.

She said: “Historical, sculptural, scientific and digital information has been used to model in virtual form, and to place it in its architectural setting in the choir of Dunfermline Abbey.

“By far the greater part of the Dunfermline tomb has been lost, yet the few surviving marble fragments are readily identifiable as elements of the arcaded tomb chest and canopy, typical of the French monuments, and allowed the team to piece together the overall design of the whole monument.”

Specialists working with the few marble fragments found with the discovery of the king's body in 1818 used the latest digital technology to reconstruct the tomb.

Ms King added: “Very little is known to survive of the effigy, but it is highly probable that this would have followed the conventionalised pattern of the French royal effigies at St Denis.

“Using only written records and a few marble fragments, the task has been as tricky as cloning a dinosaur from a fossilised egg. The results are amazing.”

Robert the Bruce reigned from 1306 to 1329. His body is buried at Dunfermline Abbey, while his heart is interred at Melrose Abbey.

The Stirling Smith exhibition will be opened by his descendant, Lord Charles Bruce, at 11am on August 5.