Gladiator II Links to Scotland

Official site and nearest tickets https://www.gladiatormovie.co.uk/

Caracalla and Geta, portrayed in the film Gladiator II came to Scotland to fight the Caledonians in 209 and stayed for two years. It is likely they visited Edinburgh, Perth, Stirling, sailed past Dundee and maybe even visited Glasgow. In the last year, many items have been found in Carlisle thought to be from that period. After two years of fighting, the Caledonians remained undefeated and were paid off after Caracalla and Geta’s father died in York. The brothers hurried back to Rome to stake their claims as emperor. The film is based on events after their return from Scotland. It is known that Caledonian bears were taken back to Rome to be used in the amphitheatres of Rome and they may well have taken some.

In 209, Caracalla and Geta’s father, Septimius Severus, the Libyan emperor and their mother, Julia Domna, a Syrian, also came with them to Britain, making their base in York.

The invasion was to get his Caracalla and Geta out of Rome, and its distractions, including the gladiators in the amphitheatres. Forts were repaired and strengthened, roads fixed, and huge granaries were built in South Shields Arbeia Fort to feed the army in Scotland.

There were over 50,000 soldiers that invaded – estimates vary – but many would have come by boat as well as up Dere Street, now the A68. When reaching the fort at Carpow near Perth, smaller boats would have been used to transport troops and supplies up the River Tay to Bertha Roman fort in Perth and then onto the fort at Ardoch north of Stirling.

The evidence of this invasion appears limited to the east coast, but it was only a 2-year campaign.

Cramond Roman Fort was repaired and extended during this period to accommodate the troops. A carved lioness was found in 1997 as shown below, although it has not been dated to any particular period.

The Roman base was at York, where the headquarters of the Sixth Legion were. The 6th Legion was involved in the invasion of Scotland, building the fort at Carpow near Abernethy. Other troops would have been auxiliaries from many countries that the Romans conquered.

Caracalla is said to have led the military campaign with his father Septimius Severus in attendance, but being carried in a covered litter due to his age and poor health.

Cassius Dio, the Roman Historian who lived at the time of Caracalla and Geta, describes the Caledonians in his book ( Roman History, Epitome of Book LXXVII, 12)

“Their form of rule is democratic for the most part, and they are very fond of plundering; consequently, they choose their boldest men as rulers. They go into battle in chariots, and have small, swift horses; there are also foot soldiers, very swift in running and very firm in standing their ground. For arms, they have a shield and a short spear, with a bronze apple attached to the end of the spear-shaft, so that when it is shaken it may clash and terrify the enemy, and they also have daggers. They can endure hunger and cold and any kind of hardship; for they plunge into the swamps and exist there for many days with only their heads above water, and in the forests they support themselves upon bark and roots, and for all emergencies, they prepare a certain kind of food, the eating of a small portion of which, the size of a bean, prevents them from feeling either hunger or thirst.”

The Romans defeated the Caledonians who sued for peace. However, after a few months they revolted, and it seems Caracalla and his father lost patience. Cassius Dio the historian reports

“he summoned the soldiers and ordered them to invade the rebels’ country, killing everybody they met; and he quoted these words:

“Let no one escape sheer destruction,
No one our hands, not even the babe in the womb of the mother,
If it be male; let it nevertheless not escape sheer destruction.””

The Romans never managed to subdue the Caledonians, and in February 2011 Septimius Severus, the emperor, died in York. Caracalla bought off the tribes in Scotland with bribes and hurried back to Rome, as did his brother Geta, where they continued their feuding. They never visited Scotland again.