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Queens of Combat

Season 23 Episode 3

What if women were hidden among the ranks of Ancient Rome’s fearsome gladiators? A group of experts searches for evidence to prove women once fought in the arena just like men. Combining history, archaeology, and forensic investigation, journey across Europe in a quest for answers. If a female gladiator's existence can be proven definitively, what can we learn about their lives?

Aired: 01/27/26
SECRETS OF THE DEAD is made possible, in part, by public television viewers.
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Extras
A professor seeks to prove Arthurian legends have roots in actual British history.
Experts search for evidence that female gladiators once existed in Ancient Rome.
Could the discovery of a third portrait of William Shakespeare be a genuine article?
The portrait hung above the family TV for 50 years before they realized it might be Shakespeare.
Facial recognition software suggests the portrait may depict William Shakespeare.
Dendrochronology reveals surprising results about Steven’s portrait of Shakespeare.
X-ray scans of the Wadlow Shakespeare portrait reveal details beneath several areas of overpaint.
The chance discovery of a jade artifact unearths an ancient Chinese city.
The Black Death may have killed nearly 50 percent of the Europe's population.
In 1347, ships reached Sicily with the Black Death. In a year, it spread across Europe to England.
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