Roman Gladiator School Essay

In the past, the way gladiators lived was a mystery. Due to recent archaeological developments, researchers have discovered more information about the way gladiators lived. Archaeologists use new technology to discover gladiators’ bodies and the places they lived. A recent discovery presented a gladiator school which is the first one found outside of Rome, Italy. Archaeologists are still using their technology to unearth more about a gladiator’s life.
In Vienna, Austria, archaeologists have found a gladiator school. The school was built in the 2nd century, and it is colossal. The school “includes cellblocks, a training arena, and a bath complex”(Walters, paragraph 1). This discovery is huge because most gladiator schools have been destroyed or built over. The team of archaeologists found almost all of the remains of the Roman gladiator school. Their discovery has changed the way people understand how gladiators lived.
Since the gladiator school was discovered, the archaeologists have interpreted how the gladiators’ lives were.

“They were prisoners. They lived… in a fortress with only one gate out,” says archaeologist Wolfgang Neubauer. At least 80 gladiators were trained at the school, and they lived there year- round. Many gladiators were forced to fight because they were slaves or prisoners of war. Other gladiators volunteered to fight in hope of winning fame and fortune. Eventually, Neubauer and his team plan to analyze bones to learn more about the gladiators’ diet and lives.
Gladiator fights are publicized as very brutal, and the warriors killed their opponent.

It has been discovered that actually the duels did not always result in death. The Roman gladiators were thought of as athletes who were highly trained. They wanted to fight not die. “And since gladiators were expensive to prepare and maintain, killing off mass numbers of them would have been a bad business decision for the lanistae who owned and trained them”(Death, paragraph 10). The decision of the winner was based on a contestant being wounded or worn out. On occasion, the sponsors would pay to stage a fight for the death, but they would have to pay the trainers for it. In 2007, scientists discovered a graveyard at Ephesus, Turkey. The graveyard contained thousands of bones of gladiators. Some skeletons displayed healed wounds while others showed brutal deaths. Although being a gladiator was very hazardous, the fights would not always end in

death.
Since archaeologists have discovered more about gladiators, it has changed the way people understand how gladiators lived. They have discovered gladiator schools, graveyards, and training facilities. Also, researchers learned that not every gladiator battle was supposed to end in death. Most gladiators were trapped into living their life, but others wanted to be a gladiator. Hopefully, archaeologists will uncover more about gladiators’ lives.