Unknown gladiatorial weapon

[Martin Moser]

Hi Uwe,

yes I think it is a dog down there (the picture is rather small and w/o proper description). It is not an uncommon attribute on gladiatorial depictions, though I can't recall reading anything about its meaning. Does anybody know?

I was thinking along the same line as you about the loop at the sword pommel. The curious thing is that the way it is depicted it does not serve that purpose ...

cheers,

Martin