In Pompeii, Children Drew Scenes Of Gladiators Fighting To The Death
On a courtyard wall in the ancient city of Pompeii, local children drew scenes of gladiators fighting to the death.
The graffiti reveals just how much violence kids saw on a regular basis before the infamous eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 C.E.
Archaeologists found the drawings at a cluster of homes and a bakery called Insula dei Casti Amanti, which recently opened to visitors at the Pompeii Archaeological Park. The simplicity of the charcoal sketches, along with other features, suggests that they were made by children.
One drawing was located on the wall of a house, approximately five feet off the floor. It depicted four gladiators—two of which were battling against each other, while the other two were pointing long spears at a couple of wild boars.
The latter pair of gladiators were what is known as bestiarii, or beast fighters. To the right, there was a rough illustration of what appeared to be the head of an eagle.
Experts at the University of Naples Federico II analyzed the sketch and concluded that the graffiti artist made the illustrations not from imagination but after directly witnessing similar events.
The young children who lived in Pompeii over 2,000 years ago were most likely present at events that took place in the city’s amphitheater, where brutal fights and bloody spectacles were held.
It was then that they encountered extreme forms of violence that may have included beheadings of criminals and enslaved people.
The stick figures in the sketch bear a resemblance to a class of animal called cephalopods, which includes squids and octopuses.
Fxquadro – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only
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The limbs of the stick figures seem to grow from their heads, a characteristic that has been consistent in children’s drawings over time. Even kids today take a similar approach.
In a storage room, several other illustrations were located one and a half feet up the wall. They depicted three small hands, two people playing with a ball, a wild boar, and two gladiators lying on the ground.
Before its destruction, Pompeii served as a prosperous center of trade for more than 600 years, making it rife with archaeological discoveries. In recent years, archaeologists have also excavated decorative frescoes and erotic art.
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