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Colchester Vase
The Colchester Vase is an ancient Roman British vase made from local clay from Colchester, England, dating to 175AD, depicting a gladiator battle between two individuals: Memnon and Valentinus, which are believed to be stage names. It was discovered in a Roman-era grave in 1853, which held the deceased's cremated remains. It is currently held in the Colchester Castle Museum collection, and is renowned as one of the finest pieces of Roman-British pottery in existence. Description The vase is 17.5 cm in diameter and 22.5 cm high, weighs 1 kilogram and is made of coarse local clay. It is a variant of Ancient Roman pottery, called black ware, which was used primarily for storage or cooking. The vase derives either from Durobrivian or Castor Ware. It was discovered in 1853 in West Lodge Road by local antiquarian John Taylor, who donated it to the Colchester Castle Museum. The vase contained the cremated remains of a 40+ year old, non-local resident. Initially presumed t ...
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Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the territory that became the Roman province of ''Britannia'' after the Roman conquest of Britain, consisting of a large part of the island of Great Britain. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. Julius Caesar invaded Britain in 55 and 54 BC as part of his Gallic Wars. According to Caesar, the Britons had been overrun or culturally assimilated by the Belgae during the British Iron Age and had been aiding Caesar's enemies. The Belgae were the only Celtic tribe to cross the sea into Britain, for to all other Celtic tribes this land was unknown. He received tribute, installed the friendly king Mandubracius over the Trinovantes, and returned to Gaul. Planned invasions under Augustus were called off in 34, 27, and 25 BC. In 40 AD, Caligula assembled 200,000 men at the Channel on the continent, only to have them gather seashells () according to Suetonius, perhaps as a symbolic gesture to proclaim Caligula's victory over th ...
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Secutor
A secutor (''pl.'' secutores) was a class of gladiator in ancient Rome. Thought to have originated around 50 AD, the secutor ("follower" or "chaser", from ''sequor'' "I follow, come or go after") was armed similarly to the '' murmillo'' gladiator and like the ''murmillo'', was protected by a heavy shield. A secutor usually carried a short sword, a gladius, or a dagger. The secutor was specially trained to fight a retiarius, a type of lightly armoured gladiator armed with a trident and net. Equipment The secutor wore a '' subligaculum'' (loincloth) and a '' balteus'' (a wide belt much like that of the retiarius). On his right arm he wore a '' manica'' (a heavy linen or metal wrapping tied with leather thongs). On his left leg he wore an ''ocrea'' (a greave made of boiled leather or metal). He also carried a '' scutum'' (a curved rectangular shield) to protect himself. The very distinctive helmet of the secutor had only two small eye-holes, in order to prevent a retiarius' tri ...
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Romano-British Pottery
The Romano-British culture arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest of Britain, Roman conquest in AD 43 and the creation of the Roman Britain, province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Celtic Britons, Britons, a people of Celts, Celtic language and custom. Scholars such as Christopher Snyder (historian), Christopher Snyder believe that during the 5th and 6th centuries – approximately from 410 when the Roman legions withdrew, to 597 when Augustine of Canterbury, St Augustine of Canterbury arrived – southern Britain preserved an active Sub-Roman Britain, sub-Roman culture that survived the attacks from the Anglo-Saxons and even used a vernacular Latin when writing. Arrival of the Romans Roman troops, mainly from nearby provinces, invaded in AD 43, in what is now part of England, during the reign of Emperor Claudius. Over the next few years the province of Roman Britain, Britannia was for ...
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Gladiatorial Combat
A gladiator ( , ) was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their lives and their legal and social standing by appearing in the arena. Most were despised as slaves, schooled under harsh conditions, socially marginalized, and segregated even in death. Irrespective of their origin, gladiators offered spectators an example of Rome's martial ethics and, in fighting or dying well, they could inspire admiration and popular acclaim. They were celebrated in high and low art, and their value as entertainers was commemorated in precious and commonplace objects throughout the Roman world. The origin of gladiatorial combat is open to debate. There is evidence of it in funeral rites during the Punic Wars of the 3rd century BC, and thereafter it rapidly became an essential feature of politics and social life in the ...
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Black People In Ancient Roman History
In classical antiquity, Greek and Roman writers were acquainted with people of every skin tone from very pale (associated with populations from Scythia) to very dark (associated with populations from sub-Saharan Africa (Aethiopia). People described with words meaning "black", or as Aethiopes, are occasionally mentioned throughout the Empire in surviving writings, and people with very dark skin tones and tightly-curled hair are depicted in various artistic modes. Other words for people with other skin tones were also used. According to the historian Frank Snowden, skin tones did not carry any social implications, and no social identity, either imposed or assumed, was associated with skin color. Although the color black was associated with ill-omens in the ancient Roman religion, racism as understood today developed only after the classical period: "Aethiopes" In classical antiquity, terms such as ''afer'', ''maurus'', ''niger'', ''ater'', ''fuscus'', ''perustus'', or ''melas'' ...
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Memnon
In Greek mythology, Memnon (; Ancient Greek: Μέμνων, ) was a king of Aethiopia and son of Tithonus and Eos. During the Trojan War, he brought an army to Troy's defense and killed Antilochus, Nestor (mythology), Nestor's son, during a fierce battle. Nestor challenged Memnon to a fight, but Memnon refused, being there was little honor in killing the aged man. Nestor then pleaded with Achilles to avenge his son's death. Despite warnings that soon after Memnon fell so too would Achilles, the two men fought. Memnon drew blood from Achilles, but Achilles drove his spear through Memnon's chest, sending the Aethiopian army running. The death of Memnon echoes that of Hector, another defender of Troy whom Achilles also killed out of revenge for a fallen comrade, Patroclus. After Memnon's death, Zeus was moved by Eos' tears and granted him immortality. Memnon's death is related at length in the lost epic ''Aethiopis'', likely composed after ''The Iliad'', circa the 7th century Befo ...
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Xanten
Xanten (, Low Rhenish: ''Santen'') is a town in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the district of Wesel. Xanten is known for the Archaeological Park, one of the largest archaeological open air museums in the world, built at the site of the Roman settlements '' Colonia Ulpia Traiana''. Other attractions include the medieval town centre with Xanten Cathedral, many museums and large man-made lakes for various watersport activities. Xanten is visited by approximately one million tourists a year. It is also the only German town with a name that begins with ''X''. Geography Xanten is made up of three boroughs ('' Ortsteile''): ''Hochbruch'', ''Niederbruch'', and the ''town centre''. Other localities (''Bezirke'') belonging to the town of Xanten include ''Birten'', ''Lüttingen'', ''Marienbaum'', ''Vynen'', ''Obermörmter'', ''Wardt'', ''Mörmter'', ''Willich'', ''Beek'' and ''Ursel''. Parts of a nature reserve called ''Bislicher Insel'' a ...
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Germania Inferior
''Germania Inferior'' ("Lower Germania") was a Roman province from AD 85 until the province was renamed ''Germania Secunda'' in the 4th century AD, on the west bank of the Rhine bordering the North Sea. The capital of the province was Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium (modern-day Cologne). Geography According to Ptolemy (2.9), Germania Inferior included the Rhine from its mouth up to the mouth of the ''Obringa'', a river identified with either the Aar or the Moselle. The territory included modern-day Luxembourg, the southern Netherlands, part of Belgium, and part of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany, west of the Rhine. The principal settlements of the province were Castra Vetera and Colonia Ulpia Traiana (both near Xanten), Coriovallum ( Heerlen), Albaniana ( Alphen aan den Rijn), Lugdunum Batavorum ( Katwijk), Forum Hadriani ( Voorburg), Ulpia Noviomagus Batavorum ( Nijmegen), Traiectum (Utrecht), Atuatuca Tungrorum ( Tongeren), Bona ( Bonn), and Colonia Agrippinensi ...
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Legio XXX Ulpia Victrix
Legio XXX Ulpia Victrix ("Trajan's Victorious Thirtieth Legion") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. Their emblems were the gods Neptune and Jupiter and the Capricorn. '' Ulpia'' is Trajan's own ''gens'', while the cognomen "''Victrix''" means "victorious," and it was awarded after their valiant behaviour in the Dacian Wars. The legion was active until the disbandment of the Rhine frontier in the beginning of the 5th century. History It was founded in AD 100 by the emperor Trajan for service in the Dacian Wars. The legion's first base camp was in the province of Dacia in the Danube frontier. It is likely that at least some of its legionaries took part in the Parthian campaigns of Trajan. In 122 they were moved to ''Colonia Ulpia Traiana'' (modern Xanten) in Germania Inferior, where they remained for the following centuries. Their main tasks were public construction and police affairs. In the 2nd century and the beginning of the 3rd century, units of the XXX ''Ulpia Vi ...
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Retiarius
A ''retiarius'' (plural ''retiarii''; literally, "net-man" in Latin) was a Roman gladiator who fought with equipment styled on that of a fisherman: a net casting, weighted net (''rete'' (3rd decl.), hence the name), a three-pointed trident (''fuscina'' or ''tridens''), and a dagger (''pugio''). The ''retiarius'' was lightly armoured, wearing an arm guard (''lorica manica, manica'') and a shoulder guard (''galerus''). Typically, his clothing consisted only of a loincloth (''subligaculum'') held in place by a wide belt, or of a short tunic with light padding. He wore no head protection or footwear. The ''retiarius'' was routinely pitted against a heavily armed ''secutor''. The net-fighter made up for his lack of protective gear by using his speed and agility to avoid his opponent's attacks and waiting for the opportunity to strike. He first tried to throw his net over his rival. If this succeeded, he attacked with his trident while his adversary was entangled. Another tactic was t ...
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Dative Case
In grammar, the dative case ( abbreviated , or sometimes when it is a core argument) is a grammatical case used in some languages to indicate the recipient or beneficiary of an action, as in "", Latin for "Maria gave Jacob a drink". In this example, the dative marks what would be considered the indirect object of a verb in English. Sometimes the dative has functions unrelated to giving. In Scottish Gaelic and Irish, the term ''dative case'' is used in traditional grammars to refer to the prepositional case-marking of nouns following simple prepositions and the definite article. In Georgian and Hindustani (Hindi-Urdu), the dative case can also mark the subject of a sentence.Bhatt, Rajesh (2003). Experiencer subjects. Handout from MIT course “Structure of the Modern Indo-Aryan Languages”. This is called the dative construction. In Hindi, the dative construction is not limited to only certain verbs or tenses and it can be used with any verb in any tense or mood. The dative ...
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Colchester
Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first Colonia (Roman), major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colchester therefore claims to be Britain's first city. It has been an important military base since the Roman Empire, Roman era, with Colchester Garrison currently housing the 16th Air Assault Brigade (United Kingdom), 16th Air Assault Brigade. On the River Colne, Essex, River Colne, Colchester is northeast of London. It is connected to London by the A12 road (England), A12 road and the Great Eastern Main Line railway. Colchester is less than from London Stansted Airport and from the port of Harwich. Attractions in and around the city include St Botolph's Priory, Colchester Zoo, and several art galleries. Colchester Castle was constructe ...
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