This is the scene of the last fresco found in the Regio V section of Pompeii not far from the barracks of the gladiators.

Regio V is a 54-acre area not currently open to the 4 million members of the public that visit Pompeii each year. The fresco depicts the end of a fight between two gladiators a Murmillo and a Thraex. The gladiator on the right of the scene bears a number of wounds inflicted by his opponent.

gladiator detail

The beautifully detailed fresco (an image rapidly painted onto wet plaster using watercolours) is located in what is believed to have been a tavern “It is very probable that this place was frequented by gladiators”  declares the General Director Massimo Osanna “In this fresco it is interesting to see the extremely realistic representation of the wounds. We do not know what the final outcome of this fight was. You could die or have grace. In this case there is a gesture that the wounded trace makes with his hand, perhaps, to implore salvation; it is the gesture of ad locutia, usually done by the emperor or the general to grant grace.”

 

 

Source: Two gladiators at the end of the fight. This is the scene of the last fresco found in the Regio V.