For the residents of the broader area, the amphitheatre in Burnum must certainly have been the place to see spectacular battles, and a visit to the amphitheatre would have been an indispensable part of the social life of the Romans
Scientists believe that gladiatorial fights could have arrived in Rome from three cultural circles: from Etruria, Campania, or the Greek cities in the south of Italy. In Etruscan and Greek tombs, frescoes with scenes of fighting were discovered above the grave vaults. Livy stated that Roman allies from Campania staged ceremonial battles after the victory over the Samnites. At the end of the 4th or the beginning of the 3rd centuries BC in Rome, gladiatorial fights were held as part of the funerary ceremonies (ludi funebri). The first was recorded in 264 BC. Over time, the number of fighting pairs grew steadily. As rich aristocratic families in Rome accumulated enormous wealth throughout the 2nd and 1st centuries BC due to the sudden expansion of the Roman state to new provinces, the influx of slaves was constant, and hundreds of gladiatorial pairs were already present in the games. Despite the fact that the Senate had to limit their numbers, the fights became an increasingly important political means of recruiting people. Not only slaves participated in them, but citizens also fought, some even from prominent senatorial families.
The first permanent, stone amphitheatres were built in the south of Italy, where the first schools managed by masters (lanistae) were founded. From the most famous school, the one in Capua, the Spartacus slave revolt started in 73 BC. From Augustus onwards, the emperors realized the importance of gladiatorial games for the unification of the state and the maintenance of the imperial cult. The heads of the most important gladiatorial schools were paid from the funds of the imperial administration. The fights surpassed all previous ones in number, variety, and extravagance, and their organization became the exclusive right of the emperor. They were far more expensive than theatre performances (ludi scaenici) and chariot races (ludi circenses). The participants were prisoners of war and convicts, but also included free people who volunteered.
A key point in the development of the games was the construction of a huge amphitheatre in Rome, which was started by Vespasian in 70 AD. The amphitheatre was inaugurated ten years later under Vespasian’s son Titus. Next to the Colosseum, as that amphitheatre was later called, there were four gladiatorial schools.
There were numerous different types of gladiators, especially since, in addition to the usual duels, performances with special scenarios were also staged, as well as fights with animals and scenes of hunting them. Samnis (the Samnite) and Gallus (the Gaul) disappear at the beginning of the Empire, while Thraex (the Thracian) survived, together with figures that did not change for centuries: murmillo, hoplomachus, retiarius, secutor, eques, provocator. Essedarii fought on British war chariots, bestiarii were trained to fight with animals, and there were even gladiatrices – female gladiators.
For the residents of the broader area, the amphitheatre in Burnum must certainly have been the place to see spectacular battles, and a visit to the amphitheatre would have been an indispensable part of the social life of the Romans. Although gladiators were very often slaves or convicted criminals, this fact did not affect the exceptional popularity they enjoyed among the common people. The popularity of gladiators is shown by records and frequent depictions in art. Gladiators can also be found as a decorative motif on oil lamps from Burnum, where gladiators of the murmillo and hoplomachus type can be clearly identified.
As the battles were deadly, prayers and sacrifices were an integral part of the rituals before and after the fight. It is common for there to be a shrine dedicated to Nemesis, the goddess of retribution and protector of gladiators, inside or near the amphitheatre. The Burnum amphitheatre is no exception, and during the excavations a sanctuary was found in the western part (created by partitioning off a staircase) with a small stone altar for burning offerings and several oil lamps.
A permanent gladiatorial group (familia gladiatoria) or training school (ludus) probably did not exist at Burnum. Ludi would have been occasionally held, with the hosting of traveling gladiator companies or on special occasions, such as the staging of spectacles with prisoners of war (from the Judean war of Vespasian and Tito).
