Archaeologists in England have discovered a rare 2,000-year-old Roman knife handle in the shape of a gladiator, proving that these iconic fighters' acclaim reached as far as the outer limits of the Roman Empire. The find comes just in time for the highly anticipated release of the movie "Gladiator II."
The handle is made of copper alloy and depicts a gladiator with a helmet and a shield. The figurine represents a secutor gladiator: a heavily armored class of fighter whose name was derived from the Latin words for "chaser" or "pursuer" and specialized in close-quarters combat against the retiarius gladiator, a more agile net-and-trident-wielding class of gladiator.
