A Roman oil lamp shows two female gladiators fighting like men—strong visual proof women fought. An ordinary Roman oil lamp shows two gladiators with unmistakably female features, fighting in the same ...

A ‘Secrets of the Dead’ installment considers the possibility of female gladiators in the ancient empire.

This rare depiction may be the greatest surviving monument to women in the Roman arena. In the British Museum, a marble relief from ancient Rome captures two named female gladiators in full combat.

When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. This Roman-era relief depicts two female gladiators fighting each other in Halicarnassus, an ...

Roman gladiators’ fights to the death have inspired morbid fascination for millennia. But for something seemingly so well-documented, it’s rare for archaeologists find physical evidence of such combat ...