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A 2,000-Year-Old Gladiator Tomb Has Been Found in Italy

It wasn’t immediately clear if the fighter had died in battle.

A 2,000-year-old gladiator tomb has been discovered in a necropolis outside of Naples, Italy. Archaeologists excavating the ancient city of Liternum, in present-day Giugliano in Campania, discovered a cemetery with about 20 graves, according to the regional ministry for archaeology, fine arts and landscape. One of the tombs bears the epitaph of a gladiator carved into a piece of marble. The inscription is a “precious document for understanding the role and memory of these fighters in Roman society,” the ministry said in a statement. Although there were some female gladiators, the tomb appeared to belong to a man. His identity, age and cause of death were not immediately clear. Gladiator battles sometimes went to the death, but more often a heavily wounded fighter would surrender. Thousands of people competed in the public battles starting in about the 3rd century BCE. The Liternum gladiator was buried in a deep rectangular pit carved out of stone, suggesting a link with religious cult practices. There’s evidence gladiator blood was used in religious rituals and was believed to cure serious diseases.