Bite marks found on a skeleton discovered in a Roman cemetery in York have revealed the first archaeological evidence of gladiatorial combat between a human and a lion.
The skeleton was excavated and examined from one of the best-preserved gladiator graveyards in the world, Driffield Terrace, where researchers announced the archaeological examination of 82 well-built young male skeletons in 2010.
Experts at the time noted from tooth enamel the wide variety of Roman provinces from around the world that the skeletons hailed from, as well as evidence of unusual funeral rites at the burial site, and deaths consistent with gladiatorial combat, such as individuals being particularly strongly built as a result of training and a high frequency of healed injuries associated with violence.
Malin Holst, lecturer in Osteoarchaeology at the University of York’s Department of Archaeology, and managing director of York Osteoarchaeology, which specialises in the excavation, analysis and reporting of human remains, said: “The bite marks were likely made by a lion, which confirms that the skeletons buried at the cemetery were gladiators, rather than soldiers or slaves, as initially thought and represent the first osteological confirmation of human interaction with large carnivores in a combat or entertainment setting in the Roman world.”
This is the final piece of evidence from work that began in 2004, when the first skeletons were excavated at the 1800-year-old Roman cemetery, along the Roman road leading out of York to Tadcaster.
Professor Tim Thompson, from Maynooth University, Ireland, 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.”
The skeleton, a male aged between 26 and 35, was buried in a grave with two others, and overlaid with horse bones. In life, he appears to have had some issues with his spine that may have been caused by overloading to his back, inflammation of his lung and thigh, as well as malnutrition as a child, which he recovered from.
The lion bite wound — confirmed by comparing it to sample bites from a lion at a zoo — was not healed and is therefore likely to have been his cause of death. It is believed that the individual was decapitated after death, which appears to have been a ritual for some individuals in the Roman period, although the reasons for this remain unclear.
Analysis of the skeleton points towards this being a Bestarius, a gladiator role undertaken by volunteers or slaves.
Malin said: “This is a hugely exciting find because we can now start to build a better image of what these gladiators were like in life, and it also confirms the presence of large cats, and potentially other exotic animals, in arenas in cities such as York, and how how they too had to defend themselves from the threat of death.
“We often have a mental image of these combats occurring at the grand surroundings of the Colosseum in Rome, but these latest findings show that these sporting events had a far reach, well beyond the centre of core Roman territories. An amphitheatre probably existed in Roman York, but this has not yet been discovered.”
York appears to have held gladiator arena events until as late as the fourth century AD, perhaps due to the fact that there were many senior generals and politicians that held posts in the city, which included Constantine, who appointed himself emperor there in 306 AD.
The presence of distinguished Roman leaders in York would have meant they required a lavish social life, so it is not a surprise to see evidence of gladiator events, as well as such an extensive burial site for them, but it is interesting to confirm the presence of animals as large as a lion at these sites, and not just wild boar and deer, for example.
Owners of gladiators would not have wanted them to die, they were expensive ‘sports people’, not too dissimilar to footballers today, and as such they wanted them to win, to be able to fight again, and if they didn’t survive they were often provided with gifts in death to serve in the afterlife, which is evident at some of the graves at Driffield Terrace.
David Jennings, CEO of York Archaeology, said: “This latest research gives us a remarkable insight into the life — and death — of this particular individual, and adds to both previous and ongoing genome research into the origins of some of the men buried in this particular Roman cemetery.
“We may never know what brought this man to the arena where we believe he may have been fighting for the entertainment of others, but it is remarkable that the first osteo-archaeological evidence for this kind of gladiatorial combat has been found so far from the Colosseum of Rome, which would have been the classical world’s Wembley Stadium of combat.”
DIG: An Archaeological Adventure in St Saviourgate will host the skeleton as part of its Roman exhibition, which includes a reconstruction of the gladiator’s face.
The research, published in the Journal of Science and Medical Research PLoS One, is a collaboration between the University of York, Maynooth University, Cranfield University, Durham University, King’s College London, York Archaeology, and York Osteoarchaeology Ltd.
