Archaeologists have uncovered the first physical evidence of Roman gladiators fighting lions, after bite marks on a skeleton excavated in York, England, were identified as those of a large cat.
The remains, found at Driffield Terrace – one of the best-preserved gladiator cemeteries in the Roman world – belong to a man who died some 1,800 years ago.
New analysis of the skeleton, which was first discovered more than 20 years ago, has confirmed that he likely met a grisly end in the jaws of a lion.
The team compared three-dimensional scans of the tooth marks in the unlucky warrior’s hip bone and compared them to sample bites from a lion at a zoo. It was a match.
“This is a hugely exciting find,” said Malin Holst, a lecturer in osteoarchaeology at the University of York and managing director of York Osteoarchaeology.
“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 they too had to defend themselves from the threat of death.”
The skeleton belonged to a man aged between 26 and 35. It was buried alongside two others and overlaid with horse bones – a burial practice noted at the site.
In life, he had likely suffered from malnutrition as a child and showed signs of spinal damage, inflammation and physical strain, possibly from intense training.
The lion bite, which was not healed, is believed to have been the cause of death. Afterwards, the man appears to have been decapitated – a practice observed in Roman burials, though its significance remains unclear.
Driffield Terrace has long intrigued archaeologists. Excavations that began in 2004 unearthed more than 80 young, strongly built male skeletons, many showing signs of violent injury and healed trauma.
Tooth enamel analysis revealed that these individuals came from across the Roman Empire, and many received unusual funerary treatment.
The latest discovery supports the idea that these men were gladiators – and in this case, specifically a Bestiarius: a type of fighter who faced wild animals, often hailing from a slave background.
“For years, our understanding of Roman gladiatorial combat and animal spectacles has relied heavily on historical texts and artistic depictions,” said Prof Tim Thompson of Maynooth University, Ireland.
“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.”
Although no amphitheatre has yet been found in York, historical evidence suggests the city hosted arena events into the fourth century AD.
At the time, York was an important imperial centre, home to senior Roman generals and even Constantine the Great, who declared himself emperor there in 306 AD.
David Jennings, CEO of York Archaeology, said, about the gladiator: “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.”
The study unveiling the findings was published in the journal PLOS One.
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