Looted Gladiator Relics Recovered

Jan. 31, 2007 — Bare-chested gladiators, immortalized with their swords and shields on marble panels, have been recovered from the garden of a private home 25 miles north of Rome, following a three-year police investigation.

Carved from high quality Carrara marble, the pieces are more than 2,000 years old and are thought to have been looted from a nearby tomb dating back to the early 18th century.

"We found the marble reliefs carefully placed one next to the other a half a meter below ground," general Pietro Ciani of the special art squad police, said at a presentation of the marbles at Rome's Villa Giulia museum.

According to the investigators, the 3-foot-long, foot-thick marble pieces were ready to be taken to Switzerland and then sold to collectors.

"Under Italian law, those who found the panels would have earned a quarter of their commercial value had they delivered them to the archaeological superintendency. Now they will have to be happy with a trial," prosecutor Paolo Giorgio Ferri said.

Along with the gladiator reliefs, the police found fragments of other marble sculptures, including the remains of a toga-clad statue and a broken inscription with the words "Rius Marci filius" — meaning Rius, son of Marcus.

The "son of Marcus" was likely a wealthy magistrate in charge of the "ludi gladiatorii," ancient Rome's favorite blood sport.

The panels offer unique, lifelike images of the early days of gladiatorial combat. In the portraits, gladiators are equipped with swords, shields and basic armor and are surrounded by trumpet and horn players.

"The reliefs are extremely well-preserved and finely carved. The attention to detail is impressive," said Anna Maria Moretti, the superintendent for antiquities in the area north of Rome.

All the bare-chested gladiators depicted in the panels are engaged in dramatic duels.

"We can see a gladiator stepping on the hand of his opponent. The downed gladiator raises a finger in the typical gesture used to plea for mercy. Another scene shows a dying gladiator, falling on the ground with his shield irremediably lost," Moretti said.

After restoration, the panels will be put on display at the Lucus Feroniae archaeological museum in Fiano Romano, near Rome. Lucus Feroniae, the site where the sanctuary of the goddess Feronia stood, probably also housed the ancient tomb of the magistrate.

"The presence of the panels at the museum will point to Lucus Feroniae as a very important archaeological site," culture minister Francesco Rutelli said.