Archeology : 17th October

Found: Tomb of the general who inspired 'Gladiator'. Peter Popham, The Independent (en)

" ... The general in Gladiator, named Maximus Decimus Meridius by the film makers, was a favourite of the philosopher-emperor Marcus Aurelius in the late 2nd century AD and fought with him against the fearsome Germanic tribes who threatened to inundate Italy, beating them back and postponing the empire's decline and fall for another century or more ...

... Concerning the true Marcus Nonius Macrinus, we know plenty about his military career ... but tantalisingly little about what made him tick. He came from Brescia in northern Italy, where his was one of the most important families, he began his military career under Aurelius's predecessor Antoninus Pius, and fought valiantly and successfully against the Quadi and the Marcommani ...