For hundreds of years, bloodthirsty spectators would gather across the Roman Empire to watch gladiators fighting for their lives.
These gruesome contests are traditionally associated with arenas like the Colosseum in Rome but many took place across Britain.
A 2,000-year-old helmet and artworks depicting battles are among the evidence of these brutal events.
They form part of a new touring exhibition which starts at the Dorset Museum in Dorchester in January.
Exhibits include finds from the town’s Maumbury Rings – a Neolithic henge transformed into a Roman amphitheatre nearly two centuries years ago.
There is no direct evidence that gladiatorial games took place there but it was imagined by Thomas Hardy in his 1886 novel, The Mayor of Casterbridge, as “excavated cells for the reception of the wild animals and athletes who took part in the games”.
A key exhibit is the Colchester Vase from AD175, discovered in a Roman-era grave in 1853.
Researchers recently discovered its decoration depicted a real battle between two gladiators in Colchester – Memnon, a secutor, and his retiarius opponent, Valentinus.
Secutor and retiarius were classes of gladiator, routinely pitted against each other.
The retiarius was typically armed with a fishing net and trident while the secutor was heavily armed but would often tire more quickly as a result.
The vase depicts Memnon as the victor with Valentinus raising his finger in defeat.
The Hawkedon Helmet is the only confirmed piece of gladiatorial armour from Roman Britain, possibly plundered from Colchester – known then as Camulodunum – during Boudica’s rebellion of AD60.
According to the British Museum, the heavy bronze helmet originally had a tinned surface and the wearer’s face would have been encased in a hinged mask with eye guards.
Nicholas Cullinan, Director of the British Museum, said the exhibition would “reveal the humans behind the helmets”.
Dorset Museum executive director Claire Dixon said: “Visitors will be able to explore the rarely told story of gladiators in Britain and we will be showcasing our own collections that include Roman archaeology, mosaics and stories from across the county.”
The exhibition – a British Museum Partnership Exhibition with Colchester and Ipswich Museums – will be at Dorset Museum from 25 January until 11 May.
It will also visit Northampton Museum and Art Gallery, Chester’s Grosvenor Museum and Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery in Carlisle
