This gladiator mural was unveiled just last week from the Ancient Roman city of Pompeii. The unusually graphic depiction of a bleeding fighter — holding his thumb up, a gesture to signal for mercy — was found by archaeologists in a building thought to have been a bar and brothel. Since we know that gladiators trained nearby the tavern, scholars think maybe the fighters would have gone to drink and consort with the sex workers on the second floor afterward. The two types of gladiators shown are the “murmillo” and the “Thracian,” the former wearing the arm guard on his right side. Murmillos were styled to mimic the look of Roman legionaires, and they were frequently pitted in battle against the “Thracians,” whose attire signaled traditional enemies of Rome.
Source(s): See “Pompeii dig unearths fighting fresco in gladiators’ ‘fighting tavern,'” Angela Giuffrida, _The Guardian_, October 11, 2019.
