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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.
Extras
Barbara Jordan’s voice shook the nation. Discover her story in The Inquisitor.
Librarians across the U.S. examine how the review of library materials is impacting communities.
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.
Learn about Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize-winning author of Night.
In "Night," Elie Wiesel recounts a memory of witnessing three victims being hung.
Before meeting his wife Marion, Elie Wiesel "shunned love" and didn't see himself having children.
Elie Wiesel vowed to always speak up whenever people were enduring suffering and humiliation.
Elie Wiesel reunited with his sister in France.
An editor’s journey through vision loss and the power of reinvention.
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