The Grosvenor Museum in Chester has announced it is welcoming a touring exhibit called “Gladiators of Britain” this autumn.
To this day, the thrilling events featuring enslaved warriors and wild animals in the amphitheatre are among the standout features of Roman culture for many.
This travelling exhibition unites some of the UK’s most significant historical objects from Roman times to tell the tale of Britain’s ancient venues and those who fought and died in them as the crowds roared. The exhibit will investigate how important spectacle was to Roman culture, but also looks at the acts of violence carried out in the arena for entertainment.
The exhibition will include the “Hawkedon Helmet”, which to date is the only item of confirmed gladiatorial armour from Britain’s Roman era and the “Colchester Vase” (Courtesy of Colchester Museums), a relic that records a historic battle between two authentic gladiators. These showcase loans will be supported by a range of other treasures that illustrate how popular gladiators were in Roman society.
The touring exhibit will examine Roman entertainment in each local region it visits, tracing the footsteps of the fighters who battled it out in Britain’s amphitheatres. It operates in partnership with Ipswich and Colchester Museums and was inspired by a recent event that ran at Colchester Castle titled “Gladiators: A Day at the Roman Games” that included items loaned by London’s British Museum.
Gladiators of Britain will now be at the Grosvenor Museum from Saturday, September 20 to Sunday, January 25. The museum is simple to find at 27 Grosvenor Street in Chester.