The terracotta vase, known as the Colchester vase because it was discovered in 1848 in a tomb at West Lodge in Colchester, an English town, depicts scenes of gladiatorial combat and hunting. The artefact dates from between 160 and 200 AD and was used as a cinerary urn. We know it commemorated a specific event that took place in the town. The vase is now part of the collection at Colchester Castle Museum. Colchester, the Roman Camulodunum, was the first significant Roman settlement in Britain after its conquest by Emperor Claudius, who was welcomed triumphantly in Colchester in 43 AD and subsequently became the capital of the Roman province of Britain. The vase, definitely produced locally, depicts various classes of warriors. On one side of the vase, a secutor is shown with a gladius ready to strike his opponent.
He is equipped with a large shield (scutum), a smooth, ovoid helmet with two clearly visible holes, and a greave (ocrea). He faces a retiarius gladiator, with a prominent galerus on his left shoulder, demanding submission after losing his trident (fuscina).
The hand gesture is that of the Greek apagoreuein, the Roman ad digitum, borrowed, like many other notions, from Greek athletics: raising a finger to declare defeat and submission.
Another view of the vase shows two venatores in action. Venatores were animal hunters who performed in amphitheatres; in this case, both are depicted hunting a wild beast.
The venator on the right has a large protective sleeve and a whip, while the other holds a gladius. Further animals are fleeing from the hunt. The brief inscription on the vase, engraved slightly below the rim, consists of four captions divided into two pairs of names. One pair is SECVNDUS MARIO, placed above the figure holding the whip and associated with the hunters' fight with the animals; the other pair is MEMNON SAC VIIII and VALENTINV LEGIONIS XXX, referring to the gladiators, namely the secutor and the retiarius. The inscription reads: SECVNDUS MARIO // MEMNON SAC VIIII // VALENTINV LEGIONIS XXX, translated as "Secundus Marius // Memnon secutor, nine combats. Valentinu of the 30th legion."
These individual names in surname form raise questions about whether they accurately identify the combatants' status as slaves, pilgrims, or stage names. The placement of Secundus and Marius above the head of a single figure is best explained by the limited space on the vase, which lacks an upper frame line. Secundus is a common name, but Marius is much rarer; it is not a Celtic name, but is mainly attested in the southern Roman Empire. Secundus and Marius are mentioned only by name, without additional details, similar to the hunters, the venatores. Unlike the gladiators, whose combat history, family ties, or other biographical information were recorded: for Memnon, the name is found in Latin inscriptions across Italy, Greece, and the Danube; his gladiatorial type (SAC) and the number of his combats are documented; for Valentinus, a common name, his affiliation with Legio XXX Ulpia Victrix, stationed at Xanten, the ancient Colonia Ulpia Traiana, in Germany from 122 AD onwards, is recorded. It is unclear whether Valentinu was a former legionary who was somehow demoted to a slave or whether he was owned by a legion, as some legions occasionally owned gladiator slaves who were sold over time to supply the schools in the Roman provinces.
