Tomb Of The Real 'Gladiator' Found

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Tomb of the Real 'Gladiator' Found

 

(Oct. 17) - The tomb of the real-life gladiator who inspired Russell Crowe's Hollywood version has been discovered, the Scotsman reported.

The tomb of Marcus Nonius Macrinus is "the most important Ancient Roman monument to come to light for 20 or 30 years," senior archeologist Daniela Rossi told The Scotsman. "This is without doubt an extraordinary find." The demolition of a warehouse to make room for a housing complex turned up the tomb.

 

The Italian Culture Ministry unveiled the find Thursday in Rome, along with a handful of other remarkable discoveries, including a vast tomb complex workers found during a rugby stadium renovation, the Associated Press reported.

Macrinas, from Brescia in north Italy, served Emperor Marcus Arelius as a confidant. Macrinas was the pro-consul of Asia, and the emperor wanted him to lead Roman troops in battle against Germanic tribes to the north, the BBC reported.

There, the similarities with Crowe's character ends. In the movie 'Gladiator,' the emperor's son kills his father to take power, and Crowe's Maximus Decimus Meridius, left for dead, rises to prominence as an enslaved gladiator and avenges the murder.

The real life warrior never fell from glory. The Hollywood version draws on bits of Sparticus, who led a slave revolt, and Narcissus, a wrestler who strangled an emperor, according to the Times of London.

 

"Chronologically we are in the same period and the war is the same, but the movie character has a very sad story and comes to a terrible end while ours becomes a rich and famous man," Rossi told the BBC. The real life hero did battle in the late second century.

The find includes a row of columns at least 15 yards long, Rossi told the news channel, and more than 10 inscriptions of Macrinus' name. The site along the Tiber River looks to have been damaged by flooding, but remains so well preserved that experts might include it in a planned archeological park, the Times said.

Rossi hopes to find the sarcophagus, as well as missing inscriptions that might tell how the great man died, she told the Independent.

But researchers have a tight timeline. The site, just north of the city, is primo real estate, the Independent reported. While the Italian construction firm has given money to the project, they want to start building again -- possibly by Christmas.

 

Cool!