Roman Gladiator Sculpture Discovery In England

For years, Leicester's Roman amphitheatre was thought to be a myth, but today new archaeological discoveries are helping provide evidence for the existence of this ancient structure. Historian Dr Simon Elliott has come to the Jewelry Wall Museum in the heart of the city to join the investigation. Well welcome Simon, this is the Jewelry Wall and we are in the heart of Roman Leicester, otherwise known as Ratae Coriolta Vorum, and we're stood in the Roman Bath House. This is what the ruins are all around us, still standing today, excavated by Kathleen Kenyon in the 1930s, and it all leads us to our amazing brand new museum, the Jewelry Wall Museum, which will tell everything you need to know about Roman life in Leicester. Apart from possibly one thing, apparently we don't know where the amphitheatre was in Roman Leicester. This is true sadly, however, we found some interesting new things that I'd like to show you, which may just be the crucial evidence we're looking for. Follow me. So Simon, this is what I've been really excited to show you today, and this is a bronze key handle that was found on an excavation just a few hundred yards from from where we are now. It came out of the ground as basically what was thought to be just a lump of mud and considerably weighty, so when they realised it was it was bronze they thought, okay, it's just bronze. As the archaeologists start to pick away, what they first noticed was these faces that started to appear and stare right back at the archaeologists. As it's been cleaned up by the experts, what you'll find here is an amazing and really intricately decorated key handle. Solid bronze, clearly a lion, which is about to devour what appears to be a barbarian. He's got that traditional sort of mane hair, the bulging eyes, he's got a naked torso and his trousers on. Wrestling, as you come around there you can see the lion, you know, properly wrestling with this individual. They're having a full-on fight. Wow. And then beneath them you've got these other figures that appear to be children, some possibly older than the others. This one certainly looks like he's trying to protect this other child here who may be holding a boulder. So are they acting defensively from a wider problem? And again, two more on this side. It is amazingly intricate and the amount of craftsmanship and the, I suppose, expense that would have gone into creating this really shows it was a valued, valued item. Jim, can I hold it? Of course. I've got to say, it's absolutely gobsmacking. I mean, the level of detail. It's not just showing people as emotionless, as emotion coming out here. This is a lion eating a bloke's head and the chances are below it looks like they're children, so that's his family or his wife and children. So the question then is, what is this representing to Romans who saw it? And for me, the context has got to be the arena. So in the Roman world, four kinds of public entertainment, the arena, you have the hippodrome, chariot racing, you have the theatre. This is specifically for me depicting a scene from the arena. Then the context would be either it's part of the Beasants in the morning, so the Venatori, which are the Beasants, where you have Venators who are trained gladiators to hunt beasts, hunting and fighting with beasts in the arena for people's entertainment. Or you have Bestiari, who are criminals who are thrown into the pit with the beast and are given a spear, so at least they've got a vague chance. Or it could be part of the lunchtime entertainment as you're having your olives, etc. The public executions, and one of the ways you could be executed in public in the Roman world is Damnatio ad Bestias, so basically you chain to a post and a lion is set on you. This looks to me as though that's what it is. You have a barbarian here, the kind of beard you're looking at makes him look as though he's representing a German probably, and his family being tied to a post, being attacked by a lion. So it's interesting in what it tells you about the Roman attitudes to casual violence. Like all peoples of the past, their like is a bit different, and this attitude to casual violence is completely different. This is for public entertainment. So are you saying our barbarian friend here is a criminal potentially, or do we think the fact that he's a barbarian in his own right is purely an act of punishment for a crime committed? I don't think the Romans would have actually made a difference actually. If he's a captive barbarian, he's either going to become a slave or he's going to become entertainment in the So the context here is it's the later second century, the Marcomannic Wars taking place on the Danube etc. This could be a captive who's come from the Danube, he's sent here for some reason, and he's ended up sort of been in the arena. He's been depicted here in Leicester of all places. That's the thing isn't it? How does something like this end up in the Midlands in about 160 AD? It's much easier to explain how the German ended up here than the lion. So let's consider the exotic animals for the arena. They've been used in Roman arenas from the beginning of the second century BC. The more exotic the better. Lions come from North Africa in the Roman world, they're Barbary lions, by the way hunted to extinction by the Romans. So it would take two weeks to get a lion by ship from Carthage to Rome. So the lion is captured in North Africa, put in a cage, he's then put on a ship and then he's sent to Ostia, which is the port of Rome, and then it goes to Rome. And that lion would end up in the Colosseum. So this actually is from Ostia. This is an engraving from Ostia. Here you can see the Ferossa, it's a lighthouse in Ostia. Here you can see the Valoris, who are the sailors who are looking after the sails. This is the Remiges, who in this case is controlling the oars. And then three cages here. Right, yeah, you can see them quite clearly actually when you explain it. Three very unhappy lions. Now the three's interesting there, Jim, because of the mortality rate, you have to get these from the Atlas Mountains to Ostia. Not Leicester at the moment, we're just talking about Ostia. Okay, get to Rome. So probably one in three dies. Okay, so only two of those would get into the Colosseum. And when they get there, they're worth probably 150,000 silver denarii, which is the equivalent today of probably $100,000. You've got to be a wealthy gentleman to have one, let alone three, on abodes. Yeah. And that's just to get them to Rome. And who's the wealthiest gentleman in the Roman Empire? Well, I'd have to suggest it might be the emperor himself. Absolutely, right. So let's extrapolate, let's take that through to Britain, the wild west of the Roman Empire. Why do we have a lion, an indication of a lion here in Roman Leicester? The context has got to be an imperial visit, I think. I'm still quite blown away by the fact we might be thinking about lions in Roman Leicester. Perhaps Leicester is now famous for its tigers, perhaps once upon a time it was famous for its lions. Who knows? Very good point there, Jim. So let us then extrapolate the lions going from Carthage, now it's not going to Ostia and Rome, it's now going from Carthage to Marseille. From Marseille, it's going down the Rhône to the Lyon, Rome and Leuvenham. From there, it's going down the Seine, which takes into central France, from there to the Channel Coast. Then it's going to cross probably from Boulogne, probably going to cross Dover or Richborough, and then from there it's probably going to use the coast or the trunk road system, and it's going to eventually get to Leicester. Now the mortality rate for that journey, which will take probably three months, is 80%. So you would need five lions leaving Carthage to get one alive, probably quite mangy, when it gets to Leicester. But let's face it, most of the people who live in Leicester have never seen a lion. They can't tell the difference between a mangy lion and a first-class lion. This is true. But also, in the logistics you're talking about there, in terms of the time and the effort and the money, if you're wanting to bring one to Leicester, you've got to plan it, you've got to time it. So you would want it to arrive for a specific event, a specific time, and as we're thinking, it's an imperial visit. So there are two imperial visits we can think of. One's Hadrian and the other one is Septimius Severus. Hadrian, obviously, is interesting because we think Leicester really takes on its Kivitas capital. Probably around the time Hadrian comes, there's a whole redevelopment of the town at that point. There's a new street grid played out, which we're tying with that. But obviously, to get Septimius in is a very interesting thought because there are other artefacts that have been discovered in the city which almost directly reference Septimius Severus, and also North Africa, where he was from. And now we're starting to join some very interesting dots. So Simon, the next thing I would really like to show you is this fantastic piece of Samianware, which was discovered, again, not too far away from where we are sat right now. And what's really exciting about it is the inscription which has been carved into the surface. So what we have here is Veracunda Ludia, Lucius Gladiator. Now, in terms of our thoughts around a theatre or an amphitheatre in Leicester, then this really feels like the second core piece of evidence in our story. Veracunda Ludia. So Ludia, we're thinking an actress, and Lucius Gladiator kind of speaks for himself. We've got two people, two people who were in Leicester, you know, 2000 years ago. We know their names, and they're here. And what I think is even better about this is the fact that we've got this little hole here. Now that's been bored through. And I suspect one of them has put a leather bit of string or a bit of leather thong through that. They've tied it up. They've worn it around their neck and kept it close to their heart. This is a love story of Leicester. This is the lovers. This is what's so beautiful about this piece of Samian ware. Made in the south, west of France. And if you've got the name of the lady, you've got the name of the man, you've got the fact it's a love token, etc. It tells a real, real story of real people. You know, it's an absolute sort of insight into the Roman world. And also talking about types of entertainment in the Roman world. So we've already spoken about the beast hunts, and we've spoken about the public executions in the arena, the amphitheatre. But now we have the third and final big act in the arena of today's entertainment, which is the gladiatorial combat. So here is our gladiator, Lucius. But then we can segue from that onto a posher kind of Roman entertainment. So we move away from the arena to the theatre, where people are going to see plays and speeches and oratory, rhetoricians, etc. And we have an actress. So this is amazing, absolutely amazing. It tells a real story of real people, an absolute snapshot in time. So Jim, we've been talking about public entertainment in the Roman world, and all the various types of public entertainment, but they didn't happen every day. So in the arena, the amphitheatre, as an example, most events were on religious holidays. So is there any examples of Roman religion in Leicester? Well, yes, Leicester has numerous items and links to religions from around the empire. As you know, Romans were a polytheistic society, so they worshipped many different gods from around the empire. And we still have evidence here today. We'll start off with this beautiful torso of the goddess Venus. So it's clearly a votive figurine. It may perhaps have come from a personal shrine in somebody's home, or perhaps something that was bought at one of these big festivals going on through the town, like you were mentioning. So for me, Jim, what you're looking at here is a house or lorries in a laurarium, which you tend to get in very high quality townhouses. So firstly, the extrapolation here is that you've got really rich people living in Roman Leicester, because they've got a laurarium with lorries in. What kind of date is this? So this is about second century, which would tie in perfectly with Leicester becoming that Kyrgyzstan capital for the Roman Empire. And so we know there are some substantially large Roman townhouses and villas very close to the city centre. So this would tie in perfectly with that analysis. When was this found? This is found. This is one of our older items. So this is actually coming back from the Victorian period. Those are the excavations close by that happened then. For me, the importance is, again, the human engagement with it. Because whoever had this in their house as a lorries in the laurarium, really, really valued it. It was a really important part of their life. They wake up in the morning, they pray to the statue of Venus. Before they went to bed in the evening, they pray to the statue of Venus. So although for us, it looks like a sort of a broken piece of pottery. Actually, it was something very, very, very powerful in the lives of whoever owned it. Now then, Jim, what's this? So now this, we're moving on through our pantheon of gods. We have this amazing silver intagliano ring, which when you press it into wax, you can actually see the impression of Mars. Wow. So this is a significant, if you feel the weight of that, it's quite a chunky piece of silver. You know what, mate? That's really, really chunky, right? So I think, well, it's Mars, so it's going to be military. And would it be worn by a legionary? Would it be worn by an officer? Well, for me, an officer. Because it is silver. It's highly valuable, really weighty as well. So whoever lost that was having a very bad day, a really bad day. It's interesting you mention the military aspect, because one of the other gods that we know was present in the town, or was worshipped in the town, was the Persian god Mithras. And not far from us there, we've excavated a Mithraeum, who, as you'll probably know, was a Persian god. And he was particularly favoured by the Roman military. So we start to build the story now of Leicester's military, especially in those early days, perhaps, presence in the town. Well, in the early days, I mean, Leicester's associated with the Ninth Legion, isn't it? And it's the Ninth Legion which founds the Roman town of Leicester, probably. Probably initially as a fort, before it moves on and later founds Lincoln. So this could probably be a ring from somebody from the Ninth Legion. But we've got another military item here as well, don't we, Jim? So this, to me, looks like a lead seal. Now, what can we read on it? This is really interesting. So what we've got is the letters L-E-G. Right. So three, so the Third Legion. And then you can just about see the letters C-Y-R and an O. Ah, Kyrenica. Kyrenica. Third Legion Kyrenica, who I believe have links to North Africa, is that correct? Originally stationed in the scorching heat of North Africa in Egypt, and then later in Syria, Legio III Kyrenica was a force to be reckoned with. Its main role was protecting the empire's eastern borders, thousands of miles away from Britain, which makes its mention on this object all the more fascinating. Here we have direct evidence of Romans from North Africa, or at least goods from North Africa, arriving in Roman Leicester. So this seal, Legio III Kyrenica, you can see it there very clearly. How did that get here? Would this be an indication that perhaps you have the military involved in getting the lions here? If there's an imperial presence, let's say Hadrian or Septimius Severus, that's even more likely. Septimius Severus is a North African emperor, this is a North African legion. Which would be phenomenal if that's what this is showing us, because there is another item that we have in the collection which also appears to reference Septimius Severus. Oh, what's that? Which is a curse tablet, the Sabinianus curse tablet, and she essentially says a pot of silver has been stolen, and she references this septusonium. She would like to see the god strike down the thieves that stole her silver, and it's that reference to a septusonium which I think is quite unique for England in the Roman period. The septusonium was a grand structure built in Rome by Emperor Septimius Severus in 203 AD. Located at the southeastern corner of the Palatine Hill, it served as both a decorative façade and a monumental feature. So we're looking at North African lions, a North African legion, and potentially a North African emperor, all in Leicester. So it's a phenomenal story. That is amazing. Wow. Despite these archaeological discoveries, the precise location of the amphitheatre remains elusive. But by studying the layout of the modern city, Jim has developed a theory that could bring us closer to unravelling this age-old mystery. So Jim, we're looking here at a map of Leicester today, but in this map, you can see the Roman city too. Yeah, if you know where to look, you can see the Roman city quite clearly, and you can see some of the key elements that you would expect to find in a Roman town. So, for example, we are stood right here where our Roman baths are. Perfectly placed, because right across the road here is where we have our Roman forum and basilica, and just behind it, our Roman marketplace, our Macallum. We have our Temple of Mithras just here, and we have our theatre just here. We have a number of very rather nice townhouses in this sort of area of the town, and some villas. But one thing we are currently missing in our Roman town is an amphitheatre, which is what we would expect to find. So I have a theory on where that might be. So if we follow the line of the Roman wall, which comes sort of from the river about down here in the southwest, it comes up across the town. Southgate here would have been where the Roman south gate was. We follow the wall between Friar Lane and Millstone Lane up to the corner of Gallow Tree Gate here, and we have the meeting of the wall, the eastern wall and the southern wall in this corner here. Now, as we know, medieval street plans often follow those of the former Roman ruins that were still there, which is why we have all our wiggly lines. And there's one part of the corner of the town, which is just here, which has this amazing medieval street pattern of these curved walls, which makes me think that we've got a nice empty part of the town here, which hasn't been excavated, right tucked into the southeastern corner of the town. And if we're going to be anywhere, that's our spot for the Roman amphitheatre. Well, in terms of location, that's exactly where it will be. The amphitheatre in most Roman towns is away from the fine living. It's the basis of entertainment in the Roman world, the amphitheatre, the arena, beasts, hunts, public executions, gladiators. So it's well away from where the posh people live. It's well away from the public buildings, like the Basilicum Forum, etc. That's an ideal location for it. I mean, that would be fantastic, because like you say, over here, all of our high-end towns and next to the theatre, which is a more respectable entertainment, which is allowed over here around our civic centre. This really is the dark end of the town, isn't it? So that's going to be, I mean, for me, the next phase of uncovering the story of Roman Leicester Rattay is going to be finding the amphitheatre. Well, if we're allowed to do that, that is a place to start. Fantastic. We'll be following this story as it develops, so remember to like the video and subscribe to the channel so you're first to hear when we release an update. Thanks again to Jim and the team at the Jewellery Wall Museum for giving us access to these incredible artefacts. Do you believe they help prove the existence of an amphitheatre here in Leicester, or do you need to see more evidence? Let us know in the comments below.