Archaeologists Find Female Gladiator

Sept. 12, 2000 -- A young woman who was cremated and buried withcostly goods centuries ago in Roman London may be the firstdiscovery of a female gladiator, archaeologists said today.

The woman, estimated to be in her 20s, was identified by a fragment of a pelvis. She wasburied with one dish decorated with the image of a fallen gladiator,and other vessels with symbols associated with gladiators, saidHedley Swain, head of the Early Department at the Museum of London.

Specialists at the museum believe it may be the first discoveryof a female gladiator’s grave anywhere in the world.

Signs of Status

“There is evidence of a very exotic and high-status feast,including dates, almonds, figs and a dove,” Swain said. There werealso remains of pine cones imported from the Mediterranean, whichapparently were burned as incense.

Three lamps found in the grave were decorated with images of theEgyptian god Anubis. This jackal-headed deity was associated withthe Roman god Mercury, and Swain noted that slaves dressed asMercury were employed to drag away the bodies from amphitheaters.

Jenny Hall, curator of early London history at the museum,estimated that there was a 70 percent chance this was a femalegladiator.

“The fact that we have this association with gladiatorsindicates that she was a gladiator, or someone deeply involved withgladiators,” Hall said.

“It is obviously quite a wealthy burial,” she added.

Other Women Warriors

It has long been known that women fought as gladiators.

There is an inscription in Pompeii which refers to women in thearena, and to the Emperor Septimius Severus, who ruled from A.D.193 to 211.

Gladiator graves have been excavated at Trier, Germany, butthese did not include the trappings of wealth, Hall said.

The grave was found within a walled Roman cemetery on the southbank of the Thames, in what is now Southwark.

Archaeologists from the museum also continue to analyze theresults of their excavations of the Roman amphitheater found near theGuildhall in the financial district.

That amphitheater had room for 7,000 spectators, which wouldhave been about a third of the population of Roman London.