What did gladiators ever do for the Romans? Designed their body armour
A 1,800-year-old artefact sheds light on the influence slave-fighter chic had on Rome’s military
AN INCREDIBLY rare piece of a Roman soldier’s armour inspired by gladiators has been reconstructed from more than a hundred ancient fragments.
The 1,800-year-old shattered brass arm guard is just the third – and most intact – to be found from the entire Roman Empire.
Similar guards were commonly employed as arm protection by gladiators fighting in the amphitheatre.
However, experts say it was “unusual” for it to be used by the Roman military.
The ancient piece of armour is set to be displayed in its entirety for the first time when it goes on loan from the National Museums Scotland to the British Museum in London next month for a Roman army exhibition. The arm guard dates back to between 100 to 200 AD, and while they were typically made of iron, the brass on this particular piece denoted the senior ranking of the soldier to whom it belonged.
Richard Abdy, curator of Roman and Iron Age coins at the British Museum, said: “The flexible arm guard is an iconic piece of equipment for Roman gladiators, so it is unusual to see it as a sword arm protection for Roman soldiers too.
“Its display, posed with classic legionary segmental body armour, is stunning.
“The latter is also possibly derived from gladiator kit and we even think that the training regime for the amphitheatre originally inspired combat training of the professionalising Roman army.
“The image of Roman soldiers and gladiators appropriately unite in one artefact – two characteristic strands of the dark side of Roman civilisation that have long fascinated public imagination.”
Experts spent weeks reconstructing the arm guard from fragments discovered at the Trimontium fort site near Melrose, Scottish Borders, in 1906.
The pieces have been in National Museums Scotland’s collection for more than a century, with the upper section previously on display for 25 years.
Now that all fragments have been reassembled, the arm guard will go on permanent display in the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh after the British Museum exhibition ends.
Fraser Hunter, principal curator of prehistoric and roman archaeology at National Museums Scotland, said: “This is an incredibly rare object, and it’s great that this exhibition gave us the opportunity to rebuild it.
“The transformation is striking. Now that it’s been reconstructed, you can picture the legionary who once wore it.
“It was both protection and status symbol – brass was expensive and would have gleamed like gold on his sword arm.
“It offers a vivid connection to this important period when Scotland sat on the Roman Empire’s northern frontier.”
Bethan Bryan, assistant artefact conservator at National Museums Scotland, said: “It’s been a privilege to work on such an extraordinary piece of Scotland’s history.
“Approaching this ancient jigsaw puzzle required careful consideration and it was important to make sure we could display the piece in a manner as near as possible to how it would have looked 2,000 years ago.
“I’m thrilled that it can now be seen by audiences in a new light and has been preserved for generations to enjoy.”
‘It was both protection and status symbol – brass would have gleamed like gold’