Gladiator vase made in Colchester

[guy]

The Colchester vase depicting two gladiators was first found in Colchester in 1853. There is now evidence it was locally manufactured with local clay around AD 160-200. This may confirm that gladiator fights did, in fact, occur in Britain. Or, at least, fans of gladiatorial fights lived in Britain. There had been no previous evidence of gladiator contests in Britain.

Background history of  Colchester:

The ancient Roman city (Camulodunum) was the first legionary fortress established after the Roman invasion of Britain in 43 AD. 
It was attacked and destroyed by Boudicca in 61 AD.

It was later rebuilt. It has the only Roman Circus (chariot racetrack) in Britain. It also has two of Britain’s five Roman theaters, including Britain’s largest with 5000 seats.

By the Second and Third centuries AD it may have had 30,000 inhabitants.

 

Quote

New tests prove the Colchester Vase was made of local clay around AD 160-200 and that an inscription bearing the names of two featured gladiators was cut into the clay before firing, rather than afterwards, as previously assumed. It was therefore an intrinsic part of the vessel’s original design rather than a later addition to a generic arena representation. That means the vase was the ultimate in sports memorabilia, perhaps commissioned by a gladiator trainer or owner, or someone else involved with such contests.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/mar/04/evidence-reveals-gladiators-fought-in-roman-britain

https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/colchester-vase-0018017

http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/66650
 

 

Recent evidence of a Roman Circus has been found in Colchester:

 

 

 

Edited March 7, 2023 by guy

[guy]

There is further evaluation of the cremated remains in the Colchester vase. 
 

Quote

Measuring 9 inches (23 centimeters) tall and weighing over 2.2 pounds (1 kilogram), the Colchester vase depicts three gladiator scenes with three types of combatants: human-human, human-animal, and animal-animal. In one scene, "bestiarii" (beast fighters), labeled Secundus and Mario, are fighting a bear, while in another, Memnon and Valentinus fight as "secutor" (chaser) and "retiarius" (net man), a fight that pitted a lightly armored man against one with a trident and a net, as a metaphor for the fisherman and his prey. Valentinus is described as being in the 30th legion, which was stationed in northwestern Germany, and Memnon is annotated with the Roman numerals VIIII, meaning he fought and survived nine times.

 

Quote

 

Scientific analysis of the cremated bones have revealed that they are the remains of a robust man who was older than 40 when he died. His teeth showed that he did not come from Colchester but rather southwestern England, or possibly from beyond the British Isles. But he wasn't one of the gladiators mentioned on the vase. "We don't think there's a strong case for making the remains those of a performer," Pearce said.

Steven Tuck, a professor of history and classics at Miami University in Ohio who was not involved in this study, told Live Science in an email that "the cremated individual could have been a fan of gladiators in general or of a particular gladiator." 

The use of the gladiator vase as an urn, however, may suggest an even more personal connection. "I think it more likely he was associated with this event in some way," Tuck said. "Since we know some of the trainers were former gladiators themselves, he could have easily been a retired gladiator who was still involved in the spectacle."

 

 

 

https://www.livescience.com/gladiators-fought-in-roman-britain-action-packed-cremation-urn-carvings-reveal

Edited March 11, 2023 by guy