A team of archaeologists from Carlyle Court University working in Rome this week uncovered come potentially very important finds in the layers of earth beneath the famous Roman Coliseum. One researcher described the findings over the previous few days as “absolutely the most exciting find” he had encountered in his over 20 years of archaeological field research. The researchers discovered a wide array of mosaics, painted ceramic pottery, marble busts, silver and copper coins, and a completely intact official records log etched in clay tablets, all relating to a previously unknown athletic contest apparently known as ferrum lundi to the Romans; the Latin translates roughly to “iron game.”
The game seems to have originated during the reign of the Emperor Nerva (96-98 AD) and remained popular through the reign of Trajan (98-117 AD) as both are mentioned as frequent guests of honor at the ferrum lundi matches. It is unclear to researches at this point when the matches waned in popularity and eventually ceased altogether. That is one question researchers hope to ascertain as more information is gathered.
While the research is still in its preliminary stages, ferrum lundi seems to have been a very popular event in the Coliseum. The games began on the nones of Augustus (5th or 7th of August for our calendar), and appears to have been in tournament form with eight teams competing. Drawing on pictorial evidence from mosaics and ceramics along with some written descriptions, ferrum lundi pitted two teams on the floor of the Coliseum attempting to cross a line drawn in the dirt at opposite sides of the Coliseum floor while in possession of an apparently leather bundle of unknown composition. Ceramic vases lead the researches to believe it was a brutal game where few rules limited how teams might stop opponents from crossing the goal line in the dirt. As with many gladiatorial contests, the losing teams many times were put to death. However, unlike gladiatorial matches where the crowd or emperor determined the fate of the defeated; it seems that in ferrum lundi the victorious coach determined the fate of the losing group.
Teams were known by the colors of their tunics, and preliminary evidence shows that two teams—the Blues and the Reds—represented the two most popular teams in ferrum lundi. The Blues seems to have been the favorite team of the higher classes of Roman society—especially the educated and civilly responsible citizens. The Blues had a great run of success during the early years of Trajan’s reign. The trainer of the Blues was a man named Antonius Dungae and seems to have been a highly respected man in Rome. He was known to frequently visit city orphanages donating bread and spending time with the children. Dungae frequently gave speeches in the Senate urging reform in many areas of public policy relating to the welfare of the citizens of Rome. Dungae also made it a common practice to sell off match-worn armor from the Blues to benefit local educational groups. Dungae also gained great appreciation in how he always treated defeated foes with respect and according to contemporary ceramic findings; it appears Dungae would greet the defeated trainer at the center of the Coliseum and grab his arm in the Roman method as a sign of respect.
The Blues were led by a tough leader from Cumae named Peytusgus Manniscus. Manniscus was a former legionary from the 14th legion who gained fame by being able to throw a pilum (the roman spear) 85 yards accurately enough to hit a melon every time. Manniscus led the Blues to an undefeated record over a 7 year span and won the Laurel leaf crown 5 times as the ferrum lundi star. It is unknown how exactly Manniscus and the other players actually performed in the game, but it is not unreasonable to believe that somehow Manniscus’s strong arm had some benefit.
The Reds were the other especially popular group. Unlike the Blues, the Reds seem to have been popular with the rabble or mob or Rome—typically the uneducated, unruly, and criminal type of people. The Reds were highly successful in against most teams but had trouble against the Blues during the tenure of Dungae and Manniscus. The Reds were trained by Billae Bellicotus of Tarentum. Bellicotus was a despised scoundrel. He was known to paint rocks to look like bread and pass them out to single mothers with young children. He was vilified in 103 AD in a match against the Greens for having his players use knives and swords to defend their goal line despite the fact that this was clearly forbidden as one of the few rules of ferrum lundi. The Greens were mercilessly slaughtered. Bellicotus gave a speech in the Forum saying he did not understand the rule. While the Emperor Trajan clearly knew the rule said no knives were allowed under any circumstances, the fear of the mob left him with no option but to limit the Reds by one new trainee in the following year. Bellicotus was also well known for always ordering the deaths of opponents he defeated—unlike Dungae’s mercy. In fact, Bellicotus often took pleasure in finishing off the defeated opponents himself.
The Reds were led by a thug from Sicily named Tomae Brutae. Little is known about Tomae other than he had reputation for being a womanizer and very arrogant and did not have brains to match his physical attributes. Apparently the Romans felt there was little to say about Tomae beyond his propensity to go after the leading women of Rome one after another.
Researchers are still trying to understand more about this game and the leading individuals involved. One thing they have concluded—when the Blues played the Reds, the 70,000 seats of the Coliseum were full and the city of Rome came out to be near the arena.
One young scholar noted that the similarities between this ancient Roman event and modern day American Football are strikingly similar. It can also be noted that as the story unfolds to the researchers in Rome that parallels between the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots are surprisingly clear. While Indianapolis and New England don’t share a common city as the Blues and Reds did in Imperial Rome, their rivalry runs deep as it did in Rome, and many similarities with the fans and key individuals are surprisingly accurate 2,000 years later. Football tickets for a Colts vs. New England game today are just as tough to acquire as a seat was for a Blues vs. Reds game in Rome.
If history is any indication, being a fan of the Indianapolis Colts is historically intelligent choice. If in 2,000 years history looks back at the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots rivalry as we look back on the rivalry of the Blues and Reds; are you part of the civilized educated class or the unruly rabble?
