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Gladiators brought to life in new exhibition

James Grant
BBC News, Northamptonshire
Reporting fromNorthampton Museum & Art Gallery, Northampton
James Grant/BBC A woman in a black dress stands next to a yellow wall with black outlines of two men fighting with swords and shield with the word "Gladiators" written in black above them.James Grant/BBC
Jill Birrell from Northampton Museum & Art Gallery said the local artefacts were "interesting"

A touring exhibition exploring the world of Roman gladiators has opened in Northamptonshire.

Northampton Museum & Art Gallery is hosting Gladiators of Britain, which offers insight into the gladiators who lived in the county and the wider country.

Local finds included two Nene Valley vessels depicting gladiators, fragments of an engraved glass from a Roman villa near Nether Heyford, and a clasp knife discovered in Piddington.

Jill Birrell, curator at Northampton Museum & Art Gallery, said: "[The items] show us the Romans who did live here engaged in spectacle culture... they made objects that have gladiators depicted on them and bought them, used them and lost them in the county."

James Grant/BBC A glass cabinet containing a glass cup, two small urns and a shard of glass.James Grant/BBC
Four artefacts from Northamptonshire were on display, including Nene Valley pottery

Gladiators are traditionally associated with arenas like the Colosseum in Rome, but many fights took place across Britain.

There was no amphitheatre in Northamptonshire, with the closest being at St Albans - formerly known as Verulamium.

There were 25 artefacts in the exhibition, including the Hawkedon Helmet - the only confirmed piece of gladiatorial armour from Roman Britain. It was possibly plundered from Colchester - known then as Camulodunum - during Boudica's rebellion of AD60.

According to the British Museum, the heavy bronze helmet originally had a tinned surface, and the wearer's face would have been encased in a hinged mask with eye guards.

James Grant/BBC A woman in a black dress stands next to a wall chart showing different types of gladiators. James Grant/BBC
Anna Willi from the British Museum, hopes the exhibition will change the public's perception of gladiators

Another key exhibit is the Colchester Vase from AD175, discovered in a Roman-era grave in 1853.

Anna Willi, the curator for ancient Mediterranean life at the British Museum, added: "There are misconceptions about gladiatorial fights... we are trying to dispel some of these myths.

"For example, there were rules to the fights, there were umpires, and people didn't always fight to the death. In fact, a bout would last around 15 minutes because a dead gladiator was much more expensive than a wounded one that could fight more."

Gladiators of Britain is at Northampton Museum & Art Gallery until 7 September.

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