gladiators

11 Stories

'Gladiators' Will Fight in the Colosseum Again

It's a tourist contest from Airbnb, and not everyone is thrilled about it

(Newser) - The ancient Roman Colosseum will be the venue of gladiator fights—albeit staged—for the first time in two millennia under a $1.5 million sponsorship deal with Airbnb that aims to promote "a more conscious tourism," per the AP . Critics beg to differ.
  • The contest: Eight of
...

Latest Stadium Upgrade Is to the Colosseum

A retractable floor will be added, covering tunnels that fighters used to pop up on cue

(Newser) - A modern ballpark typically serves a US city for 20 to 25 years, a sports economic expert says, per USA Today . Rome's Colosseum, by contrast, was used for four centuries, so it's not surprising that the place needs some work. Italy is now launching a renovation that will...

Roman Gladiators' Diet May Surprise You
 
 Roman Gladiators' 
 Diet May Surprise You 
in case you missed it
Oct 25, 2014 7:02 AM CDT

Roman Gladiators' Diet May Surprise You

Fighters were vegetarians, drank ashes after training as a tonic

(Newser) - You'd figure a typical Roman gladiator to be a real meat-and-potatoes guy, right? You'd be figuring wrong—at least if you were talking about gladiators from the city of Ephesus. Anthropologists have found that bones uncovered from a gladiator graveyard in the ancient city (once the capital of...

Inside the Tough Life of an Ancient Roman Gladiator

Researchers map out Roman 'prison'

(Newser) - After discovering a well-preserved ludus gladiatorius (read: gladiator school) near Vienna in 2011, researchers mapped it out using radar and overhead surveys, the BBC reports. Now, they're revealing details of the terrible life of an ancient Roman gladiator—enslaved as part of what was a "big business,"...

London Romans Piled Skulls in Pits
 London Romans 
 Piled Skulls in Pits 
STUDY SAYS
Jan 15, 2014 6:34 AM CST

London Romans Piled Skulls in Pits

Some may have been gladiators' remains

(Newser) - Slob Romans living in ancient London, it seems, just left decapitated heads lying around in open pits for years, a study suggests. "It is not a pretty picture," a researcher tells the Guardian . "At least one of the skulls shows evidence of being chewed at by dogs,...

Radar Finds Preserved Roman Gladiator School

It's near Vienna, Austria ... but still underground

(Newser) - Archeologists near Vienna, Austria, say underground radar has made a spectacular find: a Roman gladiator school that appears to be in better shape than any found so far, reports Der Spiegel . It even still has the wooden post used to represent an opponent in the arena. Don't bank on...

Gladiator Thugs Busted at Colosseum

Cop centurions sent in as Rome cracks down on racketeers

(Newser) - Gladiators and centurions clashed in front of Rome's Colosseum this week as police attempted to crack down on thugs targeting tourists. Undercover officers dressed as centurions were sent in to investigate the dozens of fake gladiators, centurions, and Roman legionnaires who make their living outside the ancient stadium, posing...

Pompeii's 'House of Gladiators' Collapses

Experts blame collapse on mismanagement

(Newser) - Archeologists accused the Italian government of mismanaging the Roman ruins at Pompeii after a 2,000-year-old house once used by gladiators collapsed over the weekend. The "House of the Gladiators"—used by gladiators as a locker room and training area—was known for the frescoes of military adventures...

Skeletons Mark Historic Gladiator Graveyard

York remains show evidence of lion bites

(Newser) - Scientists have determined that a puzzling collection of skeletons discovered in England is the best-preserved Roman gladiator graveyard ever found. Lion bites, headless corpses and hammer marks on skulls are clues that the 80 skeletons found over a decade were gladiators buried in York, which was a Roman provincial capital...

Athletes Put Lives on the Line
 Athletes Put Lives on the Line 
OPINION
Jan 28, 2009 3:25 PM CST

Athletes Put Lives on the Line

(Newser) - When Willis McGahee was wheeled off the field during the AFC championship game, “it was impossible not to fear the worst,” writes Wendy MacLeod in the Washington Post. And when she tried to find his status online, she turned up a YouTube video entitled, “McGahee Gets ‘...

Gladiators Will Fight Again in Coliseum

Events to commemorate emperor set for next year

(Newser) - Gladiators will return to Rome’s Coliseum next year, the Times of London reports, marking the 2,000th anniversary of the birth of the emperor who ordered the landmark constructed. A series of shows will recreate “the sights, sounds and smells” of Ancient Rome, one archaeologist said, promising authenticity....

11 Stories
Most Read on Newser