SivVulk
03-06-2006, 07:22 PM
Gladiators may have fought and died to entertain others in the brutality of the Roman arena but they appear to have abided by a strict code of conduct which avoided savage violence, forensic scientists say.
Tests on the remains of 67 gladiators found in tombs at Ephesus in Turkey, centre of power for ancient Rome's eastern empire, show they stuck to well defined rules of combat and avoided gory free-for-alls.
Injuries to the front of each skull suggested that each opponent used just one type of weapon per bout of face-to-face contact, two Austrian researchers report in a paper to be published in Forensic Science International.
Savage violence and mutilation, typical of battlefields 2,000 years ago, were out of order.
And the losers appear to have died quickly.
Despite the fact that most gladiators wore helmets, 10 of the remains showed the fighters had died of squarish hammer-like blows to the side of the head, possibly the work of a backstage executioner who finished off wounded losers after the fight.
The report confirms the picture given of battles in the arena by Roman artwork, which suggests gladiators were well matched and followed rules enforced by two referees.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060222/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_science_gladiators;_ylt=AqrYVwpbwXFBVyMIQ 1MIBrntiBIF;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--
Here's my two cents (using info from a paper i wrote last semester): while it's relatively easy to stage a gladiatorial fight between two or more combattants, whether by having rules on where to strike with the sword or fighting with blunted swords, fights between gladiators were but one form of combat in the Ancient Roman World.. Other forms included naumachiae (giant sea battles typically involving slaves and prisoners of war), bestiaris specially trained gladiators squaring off against animals and venatores executions where unarmed convicts/prisoners of war were pitted against animals.
The bestiari fights could range from one on combat to a fight between thousands of men versus thousands of animals.. (for example Caesar once put on a fight between 5000 infantrymen and 5000 elephants.
My question is: How regulated do you think gladiatorial games were? Do you think only fights between the most renowned gladiators were staged? All combats were staged? Or do you think it was a free for all?
Tests on the remains of 67 gladiators found in tombs at Ephesus in Turkey, centre of power for ancient Rome's eastern empire, show they stuck to well defined rules of combat and avoided gory free-for-alls.
Injuries to the front of each skull suggested that each opponent used just one type of weapon per bout of face-to-face contact, two Austrian researchers report in a paper to be published in Forensic Science International.
Savage violence and mutilation, typical of battlefields 2,000 years ago, were out of order.
And the losers appear to have died quickly.
Despite the fact that most gladiators wore helmets, 10 of the remains showed the fighters had died of squarish hammer-like blows to the side of the head, possibly the work of a backstage executioner who finished off wounded losers after the fight.
The report confirms the picture given of battles in the arena by Roman artwork, which suggests gladiators were well matched and followed rules enforced by two referees.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060222/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_science_gladiators;_ylt=AqrYVwpbwXFBVyMIQ 1MIBrntiBIF;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--
Here's my two cents (using info from a paper i wrote last semester): while it's relatively easy to stage a gladiatorial fight between two or more combattants, whether by having rules on where to strike with the sword or fighting with blunted swords, fights between gladiators were but one form of combat in the Ancient Roman World.. Other forms included naumachiae (giant sea battles typically involving slaves and prisoners of war), bestiaris specially trained gladiators squaring off against animals and venatores executions where unarmed convicts/prisoners of war were pitted against animals.
The bestiari fights could range from one on combat to a fight between thousands of men versus thousands of animals.. (for example Caesar once put on a fight between 5000 infantrymen and 5000 elephants.
My question is: How regulated do you think gladiatorial games were? Do you think only fights between the most renowned gladiators were staged? All combats were staged? Or do you think it was a free for all?