A Roman gladiator knife handle has been recovered from a river near Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland, with the find furthering speculation that the 'celebrity cult' of gladiators spread to the far frontiers of the Roman Empire.
The rare discovery was made in the River Tyne at English Heritage's Corbridge Roman Town site. Made from copper alloy, the knife handle is cast in the shape of a gladiator holding a shield.
The figurine is left-handed, which would have been considered unlucky at the time. English Heritage have therefore suggested that it could be a representation of a specific gladiator, similar to the memorabilia of sports stars that we see today.
The knife handle depicts a secutor gladiator, identified by its large rectangular shield and helmet. Secutor gladiators were specifically trained to fight retiarius gladiators (who were armed with a trident, weighted net and a dagger) in a display designed to dramatise an encounter between the 'fish' (secutor) and 'fisherman' (retiarius).
Dr Frances McIntosh, English Heritage's Collections Curator for Hadrian's Wall and the North East, says, 'Despite being enslaved and socially outcast due to their profession, gladiators could become huge celebrities.'
'Gladiators had sex appeal and there are cases of high-status Roman women falling 'in love' with these lowly fighters, despite the vast social difference. 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.'
'Even now, almost 2,000 years later, the fascination around gladiators persists and has expanded even further into modern popular culture.'
English Heritage plan to display the 2,000 year-old knife handle at Corbridge Roman Town in 2025, along with other finds from the River Tyne.
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