'Roman Life - Gladiators’

Romans both admired and despised those who were unfortunate enough to become gladiators. Despite being considered to be at the lowest level of society, images of gladiators were used decoratively in homes and mementoes were produced of favourite fighters e.g. the Colchester Vase. This talk will explore what it meant to be a gladiator, their training, and the dichotomy around this briefest of career paths.

Colchester Archaeology Talks 2021

The 'Roman Life' series of talks from Richard Bale explores different aspects of living in Roman times using archaeological and historical evidence. Each talk seeks to reveal the hows and whys of a topic, so that we can understand both the similarities and differences with our Roman ancestors.

Please note : This series of talks describe and discuss aspects of Roman Life from an archaeological and historical perspective. Due to the nature of the period, some items may cause offense to a modern audience. The intention of the presenter is to be informative and to represent the Roman period as accurately as possible, both for its good elements and bad. If the ZOOM participant is under the age of 16, they should seek the approval of a parent or guardian before the session commences.

Richard Bale, Romanist.