05-01-2009, 05:35 PM
I have a remark to the article "From Herculaneum's ashes" by Dr. Raffaele D'Amato. I posted this also at the AW forum but without picture:
On page 44, third column he describes the dagger of the soldier and compares it to gladiatorial daggers found at Pompeii. I guess he refers to the ones shown on the attached photo. These types of daggers were used as a secondary weapon by gladiators having a long weapon as their main weapon such as the retiarius (which he mentioned in his article) and the hoplomachus (fighter with a hasta). Here he wrote murmillo instead but this one did not use a dagger but a gladius because that was his main weapon. In many old books the authors were not too sure about the names of the various gladiator types but since Junkelmann everybody agrees that the murmillo is the one with the scutum and gladius and with an angular crest on his helmet while the hoplomachus wear a helmet similar to the thraex helmet only without the griffin head and fought with a hasta and a parmula (small round shield).
BTW, I enjoyed the article nonetheless.
On page 44, third column he describes the dagger of the soldier and compares it to gladiatorial daggers found at Pompeii. I guess he refers to the ones shown on the attached photo. These types of daggers were used as a secondary weapon by gladiators having a long weapon as their main weapon such as the retiarius (which he mentioned in his article) and the hoplomachus (fighter with a hasta). Here he wrote murmillo instead but this one did not use a dagger but a gladius because that was his main weapon. In many old books the authors were not too sure about the names of the various gladiator types but since Junkelmann everybody agrees that the murmillo is the one with the scutum and gladius and with an angular crest on his helmet while the hoplomachus wear a helmet similar to the thraex helmet only without the griffin head and fought with a hasta and a parmula (small round shield).
BTW, I enjoyed the article nonetheless.
