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Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Photo: Gladiators Played by the Rules, Skulls Suggest


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The skull (center) of an ancient Roman gladiator bears two holes consistent with the spacing of the prongs on a trident (shown right, piercing skull) found near his grave.

Depicted in the drawing at top left, the victim was likely a secutor, a fin-helmeted type of gladiator meant to represent a fish. His killer was probably a retiarius, a type of fighter that took the guise of a fisher and often fought with a net, a trident, and a dagger.

Images courtesy Fabian Kanz