Ancient Rome comes to Leeds with a summer of activities, screenings, talks and a free Roman Festival at the Royal Armouries as the museum celebrates the original gladiators with a new internationally acclaimed exhibition, ‘Gladiators: Heroes of the Colosseum’, developed in collaboration with the Colosseum in Rome.
Nat Edwards, Director General and Master of the Armouries, said:
“Gladiators: Heroes of the Colosseum has already got off to a dazzling start, we even had our very own Yorkshire Gladiator, Jodie Ounsley (also known as Fury) on hand to open the exhibition and the accompanying summer programme of events takes the installation to a whole new level. From mini chariot racing to reenactments, in depth lectures to evening film screenings, we’re giving everyone a chance to experience the thrill of ancient Rome right here in Leeds.”
Over the August Bank Holiday weekend, the museum explodes into a celebration of ancient Rome, with daily puppet show Androcles and the Tiger, gladiator training schools, hobby-horse chariot races and even a dig pit for budding archaeologists. Designed to feel like the Roman Forum, the square outside the museum will be host to food and drink with a Roman twist, and mead tasting from Nidhoggr Mead Co. Set inside the museum and on its open-air amphitheatre, this free, family-friendly event immerses visitors in the drama, spectacle and tastes of the ancient world.
Delivered in person and online, a free lecture series hosted by the Royal Armouries gets under the armour of the gladiators and their world, with experts exploring subjects including:
- Author, archaeologist and Hon Research Fellow Dr Simon Elliott FSA on Roman special forces and operations (6 August).
- Dr Jaime Kaminski, Sussex Archaeological Society tells all about the Gladius – Ancient Rome’s most iconic weapon (3 September).
Film fans can strip back the celluloid to see how the real gladiators lived with exclusive access to the exhibition ahead of special screenings of the Oscar winning modern classic Gladiator (17 September) and epic sequel Gladiator II (8 October) in the on-site theatre. Tickets £12.
On 26–27 September, the museum hosts a two-day academic conference exploring the deep connections between combat, sport and power by bringing together international scholars and rare artefacts in the national museum of arms and armour, a setting made for serious study and spectacle alike. Tickets from £15
Using contemporary accounts, cutting-edge research, and discoveries from Pompeii’s gladiator barracks, the Gladiators: Heroes of the Colosseum exhibition explores combat skills, daily life, and the social status of these warriors through immersive installations, life-sized models, and interactive experiences. This landmark exhibition is in the UK for the first time and features original artefacts discovered in Pompeii including gladiatorial weaponry, armour and three of the few surviving intact gladiator helmets, on loan from the National Archaeological Museum of Naples.
Tickets are now on sale via the Royal Armouries Museum website. While museum entry remains free, the exhibition is ticketed.
- Adults: £6.50
- Concessions: £4
- Children 4-17: £4
- Children 3 and under: free
Gladiators: Heroes of the Colosseum is presented by the Royal Armouries in collaboration with the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, Expona and Contemporanea Progetti. The development of the Special Exhibitions Gallery has been supported by grants from The Wolfson Foundation and Garfield Weston Foundation.
This post is based on a press release issued on behalf of the Royal Armouries Museum
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