A tiny gladiator uncovered in England tells of the reach of Roman celebrity

LONDON — The tiny copper gladiator stands ready for battle, decked out in a helmet and armor, an elaborate shield held in front as if bracing for his opponent’s blows.

The figure, just 3 inches tall, is some 2,000 years old and was once perched on the handle of a knife. It was found almost three decades ago by a diver in the river Tyne, near Hadrian’s Wall in northern England, which was for hundreds of years the northern frontier of the Roman Empire.

The knife handle remained in the diver’s private collection until it was recently offered on loan to English Heritage, a charity that manages many of the country’s historic monuments.

It will go on display in the museum at Corbridge Roman Town at Hadrian’s Wall next year, the charity said Friday in a well-timed announcement that coincided with the release in Britain of Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator II” film, starring Paul Mescal.

Experts say the copper figure is evidence of how the celebrity status of gladiators reached into every corner of the once-sprawling Roman Empire, including the far-flung outposts of Britain.

“It is rare to find a piece of gladiator memorabilia in Britain, and to find such a well-preserved and interesting piece is particularly remarkable,” Frances McIntosh, English Heritage’s curator for Hadrian’s Wall and the North East, said in a statement.

Gladiators were enslaved but could become major celebrities, as the bloody spectacles of the gladiator games played a major part in Roman cultural life, McIntosh said. As a result, gladiators inspired memorabilia from ceramics to cups to figurines.

According to English Heritage, the figure is a secutor, a class of gladiator with specific armor. The charity noted that the knife handle depicts a “strong muscular fighter with heavy equipment including a large shield, sword and helmet,” and said that because it appears to be left-handed, which would have been considered unlucky at the time, the figurine could even represent a specific person.

The figure was found at Corbridge Roman Town, a historic site now managed by English Heritage and nestled along Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland, once a key defensive fortification at the Roman Empire’s northwestern reaches.

The man who discovered it will lend it to English Heritage, along with other Roman objects he found in the river, for an exhibition next summer.

Corbridge, now an archaeological site where visitors can walk through the remains of town streets, was for hundreds of years a bustling supply stop for Roman civilians in the area. It remained so until the end of the Roman presence in Britain at the start of the fifth century, when it was abandoned.

Britain was part of the Roman Empire for almost 400 years, beginning in A.D. 43 with an invasion under the emperor Claudius and lasting until around the year 410, when Roman troops withdrew from the island back into continental Europe. But the Roman era forever shaped the island, leaving behind a vast network of roads, fortresses, grand baths and villages.

And, it appears, they left behind some of their fan memorabilia, too.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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