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Gladiators after the fight, José Moreno Carbonero (1882)
1 July, 2018 - 15:44 Julia Huse

Gladiators: Were any of them Christian?

The persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire is no secret. Christians posed a dangerous threat to the security of the Empire by refusing to worship the pagan gods, whose favor was seen as...
The Gladiators of Rome
25 May, 2018 - 01:47 dhwty

The Gladiators of Rome: Blood Sport in the Ancient Empire

The ancient Romans were well known for many things – their engineering marvels, their road networks, and the establishment of Roman law throughout the empire. They were, however, also renowned for...
The helmet of a heavily armed ‘secutor’, first century AD. Rógvi N. Johansen, Department of photo and medie Moesgaard
3 July, 2017 - 01:55 ancient-origins

Roman Gladiators Were War Prisoners and Criminals, Not Sporting Heroes

For centuries, the bloody gladiator conflicts that the Romans staged in amphitheatres throughout the empire have engrossed and repelled us. When it comes to gladiators, it is almost impossible to...
Mythbusting Ancient Rome – Throwing Christians to the Lions
5 December, 2016 - 00:50 ancient-origins

Mythbusting Ancient Rome – Throwing Christians to the Lions

CHRISTIANS TO THE LIONS! rang without end through all quarters of the city. So writes Henryk Sienkiewicz in his novel Quo Vadis (1895). By the end of the 19th century, the image of cowering...
Dramatic painting portraying gladiators in the arena. Jean-Léon Gérôme's 1872.
30 July, 2015 - 04:04 Fiona McCoss

The Real Lives of the Gladiators of Rome – The Unfathomable Sport of Life and Death

Roman gladiators are some of the most iconic characters in history and have defined how we think of entertainment in ancient Rome. Their portrayal in films and stories has turned them into archetypal...
Wild carnivorous animals emerge from a trap door into the Colosseum. ‘The Christian Martyrs' Last Prayer, by Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1883.
8 June, 2015 - 22:08 Mark Miller

Complex Elevator and Trap Door System for Raising Wild Animals into the Colosseum Reconstructed

Many thousands of people suffered violent deaths in the gladiatorial contests of the Colosseum and other arenas of the ancient Roman empire. Innumerable animals killed and were killed in the blood-...
Colosseum
7 June, 2015 - 03:51 Mark Miller

Ancient Roman Tunnel from Gladiator Training School to Colosseum set to be Revived

Authorities hope to preserve some ancient Roman history with the restoration of a tunnel that runs from a gladiator training school to the Colosseum, where brutal gladiatorial bouts took place. Parts...
Inside the Roman Colosseum.
27 January, 2015 - 22:31 Mark Miller

Red-painted numbers helped Romans find their seats in the Colosseum

Archaeologists have discovered that the carved seat numbers in the Roman Colosseum had been painted red to make the seats easier to see, assuring orderly, trouble-free seating of the crowd--who then...
Shackled adult and child skeletons unearthed in ancient Roman necropolis in France
5 December, 2014 - 00:42 aprilholloway

Shackled adult and child skeletons unearthed in ancient Roman necropolis in France

An archaeological team in France has unearthed a Gallo-Roman necropolis in Saintes, France, in which the remains of a group of adults and a child were found with iron shackles around their wrists,...
A mosaic depicting gladiators
16 November, 2014 - 22:21 Riley Winters

The legendary Spartacus: Gladiator and leader of slaves against the Romans – The Final Stand (Part 2)

(Read Part 1) The Final Stand Led by the Roman gladiator Spartacus, the Third Servile War stretched on from 73-71 BCE – it was an attempt by thousands of Roman slaves to escape the gladiatorial ring...
Spartacus
16 November, 2014 - 11:30 Riley Winters

The legendary Spartacus: Gladiator and leader of slaves against the Romans – Part 1

Thracian born Roman gladiator, Spartacus is now considered the stuff of legend. To this day, books, movies, and TV shows have been created to highlight the strength of this rebel slave and the power...
Gladiators
28 October, 2014 - 22:39 aprilholloway

New evidence suggests Gladiators consumed plant ash for bone strength

A new study published in the journal PLOS ONE has revealed evidence that gladiators drank a beverage made from plant ash, vinegar, and water that was rich in calcium, essential for enhancing bone...
Rome's Colosseum
7 July, 2014 - 03:21 aprilholloway

Colosseum of Rome, a Condominium in Medieval Times

The Colosseum of Rome is infamously known as the site of brutal gladiator battles in which slaves, Christians, and gladiator fighters were mercilessly slaughtered for the enjoyment of the emperor and...
Gladiator School
26 February, 2014 - 22:43 aprilholloway

Gladiator School Discovery Reveals Hard Lives of Ancient Warriors

Archaeologists have revealed the almost complete remains of a Roman school of gladiators on the banks of the Danube in Austria and have used sophisticated 3D reconstruction techniques to bring to...
Trophy Skulls - Headhunters in London
16 January, 2014 - 03:21 johnblack

Gruesome evidence of ancient Roman head hunters in London

A report in the Journal of Archaeological Science published earlier this year revealed grisly evidence of beheadings and brutality inflicted upon the Roman Empire’s gladiators, criminals and war...