A Roman gladiator was bitten and probably killed by a lion in York, experts believe after the discovery of bite marks on a skeleton.
And the human remains, found in a Roman cemetery in York, are the first direct physical evidence of gladiatorial combat between men and wild beasts anywhere in the Roman world.
The skeleton was excavated and examined from one of the best-preserved gladiator graveyards in the world - Driffield Terrace - where archaeologists discovered 82 young male skeletons in 2010.
Experts at the time noted that the individuals were strongly built as a result of training and had 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, 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."
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