Description
There are no documented examples of female gladiators prior to Nero’s rule, but they are hinted at; in AD19, Tiberius passed the Larinum Decree, specifically forbidding daughters of those in high office from becoming gladiators. From Nero’s until the rule of Septimus Severus, who banned the practice outright, female gladiatorial contests became a regular feature of the circuses. Their existence wasn’t restricted to the Italian peninsula either; the Credenhill dig at Herefordshire in the United Kingdom unearthed a female skeleton bearing bone formation consistent with gladiatorial training. Gladiatrices were armed and armoured as their male counterparts: with swords or spears, shields, and if they could afford them, galea helmets and manica arm-guards.
