From The CBS:
Archaeologists Uncover Mausoleum Belonging To Roman General Who Inspired Oscar-Winning Epic
(CBS/AP) The tomb of a rich Roman general, believed to be the inspiration for the main character of the Oscar-winning movie "Gladiator," has been found on the outskirts of Rome.
Ongoing construction work along the northbound Via Flaminia uncovered the remains of a mausoleum that archaeologists believe to be at least fifteen yards long.
An inscription among the remains gives reason to believe that the tomb belongs to a patrician known as Marcus Nonius Macrinus, a proconsul who achieved major victories for Marcus Aurelius, emperor from 161 AD until his death in 180 AD.
Macrinus, a favorite of the emperor, is thought to have been the inspiration for the writers of the 2000 Ridley Scott film when imagining the character played by Russell Crowe in the award-winning epic.
Senior archaeologist Daniela Rossi of Rome's Superintendency for Archaeology said inscriptions indicate the tomb belonged to Macrinus, a well-known figure from a family from Brescia in northern Italy. Rossi said Macrinus had a unique resume: "Police commissioner, magistrate, proconsul of Asia, and committees of the Emperor. He was very close to Marcus Aurelius who wanted him in the war against the Marcomanni," a Germanic tribe.
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