A rare knife handle in the shape of a gladiator has been discovered at Hadrian’s Wall in the north of England, shining a new light on the celebrity status of the ancient Roman combatants.

A Roman knife handle carved into the shape of a gladiator has been discovered in a river. The 2,000-year-old item was found in the River Tyne at Corbridge on Hadrian's Wall. Dr Frances McIntosh from English Heritage said it is rare to find gladiator memorabilia in Britain and "to find such a well preserved and interesting piece is particularly remarkable".

A 2,000-year-old Roman knife handle shaped like a gladiator that was discovered in northern England will go on public display for the first time, the charity English Heritage said on Friday. Two divers found the well-preserved object in 1997 in the River Tyne at Corbridge near Hadrian's Wall,

The knife handle figure, discovered in the River Tyne near Corbridge in Northumberland, is thought to have been bought as a souvenir.

A rare Roman knife handle cast in the shape of a gladiator discovered at a Northumberland Hadrian's Wall site could be evidence that gladiators were huge celebrities on the northern edge of the ancient empire.