Stunning Discovery Unveils Shocking Gladiator Battles Against Lions in Ancient Rome
The First-Ever Evidence Of A Roman Gladiator Battling A Lion
British MuseumA relief showing a gladiator being mauled by a lion. Circa 1st-2nd century C.E.
According to a new study published in the journal PLOS ONE, the mauled man was discovered during excavations at what appears to be a cemetery for gladiators outside of York, England, which was first discovered accidentally by a couple looking to renovate their yard in 2004. Centuries ago, York was as an important Roman military town known as Eboracum.
Between 26 and 35 years old when he died sometime in the third century C.E., roughly 200 years before the fall of Rome, this gladiator was decapitated and had bite marks on his pelvis. These marks were seemingly left by a lion, suggesting that the man died brutally during an animal battle, or venatio, before he was mercifully decapitated.
“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,” study co-author Malin Holst said in a statement.
Maynooth UniversityThe bite mark that the lion left on the gladiator during their fight in the third century C.E.
She continued: “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.”
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