An ancient painting with bloody gladiators found in Pompeii

If you will ever be in Italy, be sure tovisit the territory of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii. Once upon a time it was a very busy place, but in the year 79 AD, the ashes of Mount Vesuvius fell upon it. The bodies of thousands of people and ancient buildings remained under a layer of frozen rock, so today this place is a treasure for archaeologists and one of the most interesting places for tourists. Recently, in the fifth region (Regio V), closed to ordinary people, researchers found a box with witchcraft items. Now scientists talked about the excavation of an ancient painting depicting fighting gladiators.

Archaeologist at the excavation site

For many, this can be a big discovery,but gladiatorial fights were not invented by the Romans. Deadly fights arose in an ancient civilization called Etruscans somewhere in the VI century BC. However, in ancient times, this sight was available only to rich people, but already in Rome, this type of struggle became entertainment for ordinary people. With the growing popularity of gladiatorial fights, their cruelty also grew.

How did the gladiatorial battles go?

Unknown artist applied drawing with dimensions1.12 × 1.5 meters on wet plaster with water-based paints of red, yellow and blue. It depicts the most common form of fighting among gladiators. On the left is the so-called murmillon - one of those gladiators who was armed with a short Roman sword and a rectangular shield. To the right is the wounded Thracian, who belonged to the form of fighters armed only with a crooked dagger.

Murmillon and Thracian during the battle

Gladiators, as it should, are fighting almostnaked torso - their bodies are wrapped only in a leather loincloth called a subligacul. However, their heads are protected by a helmet with wide brim, crest and trellised visor. It is believed that such helmets did not prevent the gladiators from looking around and perfectly protected them from hitting from above.

By the way, once archaeologists unearthed the oldest cheese, which turned out to be deadly

The artist perfectly depicted pouring from the bodyThracian blood. According to the head of the excavation, Massimo Ozanne, the battered fighter is clearly asking for mercy from his opponent. The fact is that during gladiatorial fights a wounded man could always ask his opponent to save his life. As the winner did with his opponent, no one knows - in the figure there are no marks on the outcome of the battle.

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Where did the gladiators rest?

On the left corner of the figure, archaeologists also found a partanother picture. Like the main one, it was painted on a white background and had a red frame. Someone’s legs are painted on it, but archaeologists are unlikely to be able to find out the full plot of the drawing, because the main part of the picture was destroyed over time.

The surviving part of the second figure

On the surface of the wall with a picture, archaeologists foundtraces of a wooden staircase. Based on this, they suggested that the ancient painting adorned the climb to the second floor of the inn. According to the researchers, there was one of two rooms: either the inn of the innkeeper, or rooms with prostitutes. Such places were a favorite place of gladiators, so there is nothing surprising in the presence of such a picture on the wall of the inn.

By the way, on the topic of gladiators I recommend watching the series "Spartak: Blood and Sand." It is known that the most famous gladiator in the world could act both as a murmillon and as a Thracian.

Also, the fact that this institution could be a favorite place of gladiators is hinted at its location. Previously, just three blocks from this building, archaeologists found a gladiatorial barracks.