AIRC launches a petition to save the "Tomb of the Gladiator" in Rome

In 2008, on the Via Flaminia in the north­ern part of con­tem­po­rary Rome, archae­ol­o­gists uncovered a monumental mar­ble mau­soleum, among other note­wor­thy tombs, alongside a well-preserved sec­tion of the ancient Roman road. The press was quick to dub the mausoleum the “Tomb of the Glad­i­a­tor,” since the tomb itself was comis­sioned by and for Mar­cus Non­ius Macri­nus, a prominent gen­eral under Mar­cus Aure­lius. Macri­nus’ life was par­al­leled in the Oscar-winning film Glad­i­a­tor (2000, Rid­ley Scott), with the general-then-gladiator char­ac­ter Max­imus mag­nif­i­cently played by Rus­sell Crowe.

The enor­mous site - 13,000 square meters in area, almost three American football fields - lies 45 feet below the modern surface. The Archaeological Superintendency’s recent deci­sion to rebury the site to preser­ve it is laud­able, but its his­tor­i­cal impor­tance mer­its fur­ther atten­tion and exca­va­tion, as well as a concerted plan to make it accessible to the public. Please sign­ and shar­e AIRC's iPe­ti­tion now.