Christopher Wood earned his B.A. in Classics from San Francisco State and his Masters in Anthropology with emphasis in Archaeology from U.C. Santa Barbara. He has worked as an archaeologist at Pompeii and participated in a number of underwater excavations in the Yucatan Basin.  His specializations include funerary archeology of Early Roman and Pre-Roman Italy, especially the use of material culture and epigraphy in constructing identity.  His past research has included landscape archaeology and the use of public space for spectacle, XRF technology, Etruscan archaeometallurgy, and the impact of Roman religion of the Provinces.

He has traveled widely, having attended the Université de Paris, and more recently the American Academy in Rome on a Bernard Goldman scholarship. Chris is currently a Gallery Teacher at the Getty Villa. He speaks five languages (English, French, Italian, and some Spanish and German), and writes in five ancient languages (Ancient Greek, Latin, Middle Egyptian, Luvian and Hittitie).

Behind the Spectacle

Evidence shows the gladiatorial games of ancient Rome were much more than entertainment.