An ancient stone wall hidden in a forest in Italy was once used by Roman forces to corral slave-revolt leader and gladiator Spartacus and his men.
They found that at one time, a deep ditch ran parallel to the wall — a construction known as a Roman fossa and agger defense system. This type of fortification was often employed by the Romans, including Julius Caesar at the siege of Avaricum in what is now France, according to The University of Chicago.
Archaeologists think the wall was built for security measures, specifically to contain Spartacus, a Thracian gladiator who started the Third Servile War , when he and about 70 other enslaved gladiators escaped from a school in Capua. During the rebellion , Spartacus and his men defeated Roman forces time and again until the gladiator's demise at the Battle of Cantenna.