Gladiators exhibition at the Royal Armouries

Staged in the newly completed temporary exhibition gallery designed by Group Ginger, the exhibition invited visitors to encounter rare Roman artefacts from Pompeii and the Colosseum. Exceptionally well-preserved 2,000-year-old helmets were displayed alongside immersive, hands-on replica objects, allowing audiences to engage directly with the material culture of the ancient arena.

The £1m gallery has been carved from previously underutilised space within the museum, transforming it into a flexible, museum-grade environment capable of hosting international loans. As the first completed project to emerge from the Royal Armouries’ wider masterplan, developed collaboratively by Group Ginger and Arup, the gallery demonstrates how strategic spatial reconfiguration can unlock new cultural and commercial potential within existing institutions.

Designed to balance environmental performance, security and adaptability, the new gallery establishes a blueprint for future phases of the masterplan, positioning the museum to attract world-class touring exhibitions while enhancing visitor experience through carefully calibrated architectural intervention. The new gallery marks a milestone not only for the museum’s public programme but also for its architectural evolution.

*Gladiators Heroes of the Colosseum - image credit Royal Armouries. Presented by the Royal Armouries in collaboration with the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, Expona and Contemporanea Progetti.