The discovery of a rare, 2,000-year-old, gladiator knife handle has recently been found at Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland England by archaeologists, and curators are overjoyed by its discovery.
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The detailed, copper-alloy handle shaped like a 'Secutor' gladiator, reveals the status of the Roman gladiator's class. The left-handed knife handle is carved with such detail, it reveals a helmet and shield, along with a defined sculpting of the gladiator's body, and stance.
Found in the Tyne River at Corbridge Roman Town on Hadrian's Wall, expert curators have revealed that it is rare to find a Roman piece of this magnitude in northeast England.
"This beautifully made knife handle is a testament to how pervasive this celebrity culture was, reaching all the way to Hadrian's Wall at the very edge of the Roman Empire," Frances McIntosh, collections curator for Hadrian's Wall and the North East at English Heritage stated.
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In films, such as Gladiator, and Gladiator II, these arena soldiers of battle are always depicted as muscular, strong men, making them extremely attractive to individuals drawn to their stature. In Roman times, real gladiators also carried the same physique, particularly the Secutor gladiator.
"Strong and muscular, gladiators had sex appeal and would receive gifts from women," according to McIntosh. Sometimes even high-status women would apparently defy the class difference and run off with gladiators or would fall in love with gladiators," she continued.
"Even now, almost two thousand years later, the fascination around gladiators persists and has expanded even further into modern popular culture, as evidenced by the excitement surrounding the new Gladiator film sequel," McIntosh said.
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Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland, England has been a fortified wall structure in place for just over 1,900 years: its construction began in 122 A.D., and its purpose was to separate the province of Brittania from lands north of the wall.
To this date, Hadrian's Wall is an impressive structure that can be seen from England into Scotland. Its stone facade stretches 73 miles in length from the east coast to the west coast of the United Kingdom.
Hundreds of artifacts and archaeological discoveries have been unearthed at or near Hadrian's Walls throughout the years. Many of them were Roman artifacts. This latest find helps to further reveal the lives of the Romans in the heart of England.
"Despite being enslaved and socially outcast due to their profession, gladiators could become huge celebrities," Frances McIntosh, English Heritage's Collections Curator for Hadrian's Wall and the North East, said in the statement.
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