A rare and pristine example of gladiator memorabilia found in the River Tyne is to showcase and shine a light on a 2,000-year-old culture of celebrity and sex appeal.
English Heritage said the copper alloy figurine would have been a decorative handle on a folding knife. Found near Corbridge, Northumberland, it provides evidence that the superstar status of gladiators extended to the far reaches of the Roman empire.
“It’s amazing, it’s absolutely pristine,” said Frances McIntosh, English Heritage’s Curator of Collections for Hadrian’s Wall. It is rare to find any example of gladiator memorabilia in Britain, but “to find such a well-preserved and interesting piece is remarkable”.
“This beautifully crafted knife handle is a testament to how pervasive this celebrity culture was, reaching as far as Hadrian’s Wall at the very edge of the Roman Empire.”
McIntosh said successful gladiators became celebrities and had sex appeal. “There are a lot of rumors you see of high society women falling in love with gladiators,” she said. “Often an insult about someone was that they were fathered by a gladiator, that they were the son of a gladiator because their mother… you know.”
The handle will be displayed in 2025. The news coincides with the release this week of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II, 24 years after the original, starring Russell Crowe.
The new film, starring Paul Mescal, has divided critics, with the Guardian calls it “exciting” and the times calls it “dry”.
However, for some Roman history experts it is a matter of accuracy, with some scenes such as a gladiator riding a rhinoceros – “suicide” – and the Colosseum being filled with water and sharks. “The Romans were not at all familiar with the shark as an animal,” said the classical academic Kathleen Coleman told the BBC.
Nor would they always fight to the death, McIntosh said. “Training a gladiator is a big investment. They can’t die every time.”
The Tyne knife handle depicts a gladiator known as a secutor, a muscular warrior who carried heavy equipment including a large shield, a heavy helmet with limited visibility and a sword.
A secureur was trained to fight a gladiator called a retiarius, a more agile and unencumbered fighter who carried a net, a trident and a dagger. A retiarius fought without his face covered, which meant that the most handsome men were often chosen for the role.
The gladiator fights would usually complete a day of entertainment that began with animal hunts and was followed by executions of prisoners.
The Tyne object shows someone who is left-handed, which is unusual as it was considered bad luck.
“It could be that it’s a very specific gladiator because gladiators were celebrity culture in the Roman world,” McIntosh said. “Gladiators were great and individual gladiators, if they won several games, then they become more famous.”
How the souvenir ended up in the river is a mystery. “You always wonder,” says McIntosh. “Did it fall out of someone’s pocket? Did someone throw it in? It’s probably a one-time commission and you’ll be pretty pissed off if you lose it.”
English Heritage said it plans to display the memento at Corbridge Roman city in 2025 along with other finds from the Tyne.
