Tomb of the real Gladiator hero found beneath Rome warehouse

Archaeologists uncover columns depicting warrior icon in remains of 1,800-year-old mausoleum

ARCHAEOLOGISTS have unearthed the tomb of the Roman warrior who inspired the title role in Ridley Scott's epic Oscar-winning film Gladiator, starring Russell Crowe.

Marble columns and a Latin inscription to Marcus Nonius Macrinus have been uncovered at a 1,800-year-old stone mausoleum built in his honour on the banks of the River Tiber at Saxa Rubra, not far from the headquarters of Rai, Italy's state-run television station.

The site, which also includes friezes and stone blocks, was discovered as a warehouse was being demolished to make way for a housing development.

The remains are located north of Rome, near the ancient road, the Via Flaminia, which once connected the city to the Adriatic, on Italy's east coast.

Although parts of the tomb have crumbled into the Tiber over the centuries, enough has been recovered during months of excavation that experts are discussing the possibility of rebuilding the tomb as the centrepiece of an archaeological theme park.

This would also include the house of Empress Livia, the wife of Emperor Augustus, at Prima Porta nearby. This villa occupied the high ground dominating the view down the Tiber valley to Rome and some of the walling that retained its terraces can still be seen.

Except for the terracing – the gardens are currently being excavated – all that can be seen today are three vaulted subterranean rooms, from the largest of which the fresco decor of an illusionistic garden view was removed to Rome, where it has recently been installed in the Palazzo Massimo, following cleaning and restoration.

Marcus Nonius Macrinus was from the northern Italian city of Brescia.

He was consul in AD154 and proconsul of Asia from AD170 to 171. Consuls were the highest civil and military magistrates in ancient Rome.

His villa on the shores of Lake Garda is also under excavation.

Macrinus was said to have been a particular favourite of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, who ruled Rome between AD161 and 180, and became part of the emperor's inner circle after he won numerous battles for him.

Macrinus had also achieved major victories in military campaigns for the previous emperor, Antoninus Pius, who ruled from AD138 to 161.

Elements of the general's life were incorporated into Ridley Scott's fictional main character, General Maximus Decimus Meridius, played by Crowe.

In the film, Maximus is portrayed as a friend of Marcus Aurelius, who is murdered by his ambitious son, Commodus, played by Joaquin Phoenix.

After this fictional event, Maximus falls from grace and ends up in exile in North Africa.

He later returns to Rome as a hardened gladiator, to take revenge on Emperor Commodus for the murder of Marcus Aurelius and of his own family.

Daniela Rossi, a senior city archaeologist in Rome, said in a press conference yesterday: "This is without doubt an extraordinary find.

"It was particularly exciting to be present when the columns and Latin inscription were found," he said.

"It's easily one of the most important finds of ancient Rome to have been unearthed in the last 20 or 30 years. I'm very emotional about it."

Cristiano Ranieri, who led the archeological team at the site, said the tomb had long ago collapsed into the mud but its columns, roof and decorations were intact.

BACKGROUND

THE word gladiator comes from the Latin root gladius, meaning sword.
Gladiators were professional fighters in ancient Rome who fought against each other, wild animals and condemned criminals, sometimes to the death, for the entertainment of spectators.

These fights took place in arenas in cities from the Roman Republic period through the Roman Empire.

The earliest known gladiatorial games were held in 310BC by the Campanians to re-enact their military success over the Samnites.

Julius Caesar eventually owned so many gladiators that the senate, fearing the use to which such a "private army" could be put, passed a law limiting private ownership to no more than 640 gladiators.

The first gladiator fights took place in wooden amphitheatres during the afternoon.

The first permanent amphitheatre in Rome dates to around 30BC. The Colosseum was unveiled in AD80.

Gladiator fights would be preceded by animal-on-animal fights, animal hunts and public executions of condemned criminals, who were sometimes required to fight each other until only one was left alive.