SECRETS OF THE DEAD: Queens of Combat

By Jennifer Robinson / Web Producer

Published January 26, 2026 at 4:42 PM PST

Ruins of the Pompeii gladiator barracks.

Premieres Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026 at 10 p.m. on KPBS TV / Stream with KPBS+

What if women were hidden among the ranks of Ancient Rome’s fearsome gladiators?

What if women were hidden among the ranks of Ancient Rome’s fearsome gladiators? A group of experts searches for evidence to prove women once fought in the arena just like men. Combining history, archaeology, and forensic investigation, journey across Europe in a quest for answers. If a female gladiator's existence can be proven definitively, what can we learn about their lives?

A group of experts searches for evidence to prove women once fought in the arena just like men. Combining history, archaeology, and forensic investigation, journey across Europe in a quest for answers.

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Roman lawmakers took the unusual step of forbidding women from fighting as gladiators. The ban suggests a moment of moral panic, and possibly the clearest proof yet that female gladiators were a real and troubling presence in Roman society.

If a female gladiator's existence can be proven definitively, what can we learn about their lives?

In the British Museum, a marble relief from ancient Rome captures two named female gladiators in full combat. This rare depiction may be the greatest surviving monument to women in the Roman arena.

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Curators long believed this Roman statuette showed a female athlete. But high-resolution imaging reveals gladiatorial attire and a combat pose, suggesting it's a statue of a female gladiator from ancient Rome.

Credits: Tomos TV (part of Zinc Media Group), in association with the WNET Group and Raw Cut Distribution. Narrated by Jay O. Sanders. Directed and produced by Susannah Ward. Executive producer for Raw Cut Distribution is Steve Warr. For SECRETS OF THE DEAD: Julian Lim is producer; Benjamin Phelps is senior supervising producer; Stephanie Carter is executive producer; Stephen Segaller is executive in charge.

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The Roman poet Martial recorded vivid descriptions of gladiatorial combat, including a rare reference that suggests women fought in the arena. But because his manuscripts were copied by hand over centuries, can these accounts be trusted?

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SECRETS OF THE DEAD: Queens of Combat

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