Ancient wall — built to hold out Spartacus — discovered in Italy forest. Take a look
.JPG "An ancient stone wall used by hikers on the Italian peninsula was built to trap a famed gladiator, officials said.")
When imagining the epic era of Roman gladiators, one name is synonymous with armored bodies and bloodied swords — Spartacus.
Beginning with the 1960 film starring Kirk Douglas, Spartacus has become a household name and symbol of rebellion, strength and perseverance against oppression.
The Roman soldier who left the service and then was later enslaved led armies of gladiators and former enslaved people during the Gladiatorial War, more than 2,000 years ago, according to Britannica.
A major hand in Spartacus’ defeat, and later death in battle in 71 B.C., was a wall built by Roman commander Marcus Licinius Crassus.
That wall has just been identified, hidden in the undergrowth and moss of an Italian forest.
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In Dossone della Melia, a forest in Italy’s Calabria region, archaeologists have “rediscovered” an ancient Roman wall that stretches for nearly two miles through the trees, according to a July 23 news release from the Ministry of Culture.
Officials said the stacked stones have been used by hikers for years as guidance through the mountains of southern Italy, but it wasn’t until Roman weapons were found along the wall that it could be identified.
Archaeologists have found curved iron blades, a spearhead, two pilums (a type of javelin used by Romans in combat at close range), a pommel of a sword and the handle for a cutting weapon, according to the release.
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The weapons were dated to the first and second centuries B.C., officials said, or the late Republican era.
Greek historian Plutarch wrote that the Roman forces, led by Crassus, built the wall in a relatively short period of time in 72 B.C., digging a fortification from “sea to sea” on the Italian isthmus, according to the release.
The fortification at one point was 330 “stadia” or stadiums long, 15 feet wide and 15 feet deep, and neighbored by the stone wall, Plutarch wrote.
The wall was built to trap Spartacus, and his armies, on one side and prevent them from being able to access supplies to help them survive the harsh winter, officials said.
Spartacus unsuccessfully tried to cross the Strait of Messina to the south to Sicily, according to the release, but was forced to stay with his troops in the Calabrian mountains instead.
A year after the wall was built, the gladiatorial army again faced the Roman forces and were defeated, officials said, and the famed rebellion leader was killed.
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Archaeologists will continue to excavate around the wall and preserve what remains, officials said, learning more about its construction and its role in the end of the gladiators.
Calabria is a region in southern Italy occupying the “toe” of the country’s boot-shaped peninsula.
Google Translate was used to translate the news release from the Italy Ministry of Culture.
This story was originally published July 23, 2024 at 1:09 PM with the headline "Ancient wall — built to hold out Spartacus — discovered in Italy forest. Take a look."
