The first physical evidence of human-animal gladiatorial combat in the Roman period has been uncovered by a team of scientists led by a researcher based in Maynooth University.
Published on Wednesday, the research provides compelling skeletal evidence of a human victim attacked by a large carnivorous animal, probably a lion, and “likely within the context of Roman-era spectacle combat”.
“It highlights the brutality of these spectacles and their reach beyond Rome’s core territories,” said anthropologist Prof Tim Thompson of Maynooth University, who conducted the investigation with an international team of archaeologists and osteologists.
While images of gladiators being bitten by lions have appeared in ancient mosaics and pottery, this is the only convincing skeletal evidence using forensic experiments anywhere in the world of bite marks produced by the teeth of a large cat, such as a lion.
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The findings centre on a single skeleton discovered in a Roman-period cemetery outside York in England, a site believed to contain the remains of gladiators. The individual’s bones exhibited distinct lesions that, upon close examination and comparison with modern zoological specimens, were identified as bite marks from a large feline species.
“The bite marks on the pelvis of the skeleton represent the first osteological confirmation of human interaction with large carnivores in a combat or entertainment setting in the Roman world,” Prof Thompson said.
“For years, our understanding of Roman gladiatorial combat and animal spectacles has relied heavily on historical texts and artistic depictions. This discovery provides the first direct, physical evidence that such events took place in this period, reshaping our perception of Roman entertainment culture in the region,” he added.
The collaborative investigation, whose findings are published in the Journal of Science and the medical publication PLOS One, also involved a number of universities in the UK and York Archaeological Trust.
“The study contributes a vital new dimension to our knowledge of Roman Britain, reinforcing the region’s deep connection to the empire’s entertainment traditions,” it says. “These findings offer new avenues for research into the presence of exotic animals in Roman-period Britain and the lives of those involved in gladiatorial combat.”
The skeleton was discovered at a site in York 20 years ago. It was excavated but its full significance was only realised after further work in 2017-2018 was made possible by new techniques in evaluating ancient bone and the involvement of a multidisciplinary team, Prof Thompson said. Their work counters the view gladiator spectacles did not extend to Roman provinces or frontiers, which were often regarded as the wilderness.
Prof Thompson hopes to look at other gladiator cemeteries in Europe in the context of these findings. “They’re aren’t that many of them”, he added.
On the possibility some other animal may have inflicted such brutal injuries, he said working with zoos in England helped with their conclusions. So much so, “we’re confident it was caused by a lion”.
