'Secutor' Gladiator Helmet Among More Than 100 Artifacts On Display At Carnegie Science Center

By: KDKA-TV News Staff

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - A relic of the ancient past is on display at the Carnegie Science Center.

It's all thanks to a local conservator who restored it.

A "Secutor" gladiator helmet that comes from Pompeii is now part of more than 180 artifacts on display at the "Pompeii: The Exhibition."

The artifacts are from the ashes of the city was buried in volcanic ash in the year 79 and only rediscovered in 1748.

The gladiator helmet dates back to the first century and the man who restored it said he learned about the battles of the kind of gladiator who wore it, called a "Secutor."

"He was heavily armored, fought an opponent armed with a trident and a net, so he was an agile opponent versus and encumbered one, and I'm told the Secutor had to basically constantly jog," said Michael Belman, the Conservator at the Fine Art Conservation Services here in Pittsburgh.

The helmet is part of an exhibition that also features a 4-D theater showing of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius.