The discovery of a 2,000-year-old knife handle in England featuring a gladiator suggests the enslaved fighters’ celebrity appeal extended to Roman Britain, experts say.
The copper alloy figure depicting a secutor – a gladiator class – features a helmet and shield.
It is likely based on a real-life fighter, as he is shown to be left-handed, which historians believe would have been considered unlucky at the time.
The item was found by two divers in the River Tyne near Corbridge in Northumberland, and is thought to have been bought as a souvenir.
English Heritage said: “It provides new proof that gladiators’ celebrity status extended to the very edge of the Roman empire.”
Dr Frances McIntosh, from English Heritage, said she believes the figure was commissioned by a fan.
She said the knife handle “was really quite spectacular” and could be an example of gladiator “memorabilia”.
“It’s not just a generic person so that’s really exciting as well, to have a specific person potentially represented, which means that the person who owns that knife has made that really purposeful decision to commission and get that knife handle made of a gladiator they are a fan of,” she said.
Dr McIntosh said it is “not just the colosseum in Rome” – depicted in the film Gladiator and its sequel Gladiator II, released in the UK today – that held fights in front of spectators.
There are examples of at “least 12 amphitheatres where gladiatorial combat was held in Britain”, she said.
She said there could have been travelling gladiator teams putting on bouts throughout the country, including at Hadrian’s Wall, which was built by the Romans to defend against the Picts – northern tribes in Scotland.
Dr McIntosh added: “Anything that kind of puts the past in the public eye and makes them think that it could be really exciting, could only be good for heritage sites.”
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The object has never been put on display since its discovery in the 1990s.
However, members of the public will be able to see it when it goes on display for the first time at Corbridge Roman Town – Hadrian’s Wall, a World Heritage site, in 2025.
Gladiator II is directed by Sir Ridley Scott and stars Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, Connie Nielsen and Pedro Pascal.
Its world premiere took place in London this week and was attended by the King.
