In the Colosseum of Rome and other amphitheaters of cities dispersed by the extensive Roman Empire, gladiator shows were not just fighting between humans. Gladiators also faced animals.
While there are representations of these contests in ancient mosaics and texts, the real forensic evidence has been elusive, so far. Scientists have determined that bite marks in the pelvis of a man buried in what is believed to be a cemetery of gladiators near the English city of York, known at that time as Eboracum, were caused by a great feline, probably a lion.
The man, whose age is estimated between 26 and 35 years at the time of his death, seems to have lived during the third century AD. C., when Eboracum was an important city and military base in the north of the Roman province of Britania. Bite brands offer clues about their possible death in the sand.
“Here we can see perforations and feasts, indicative of a great dentition that crossed the soft tissues and reached the bone,” said forensic anthropologist Tim Thompson from the University of Maynooth in Ireland, main author of the study published Wednesday in Plos One magazine.
“We do not believe that this was the deadly wound, since it would be possible to survive this injury, and it is in an unusual location for such a big cat. We believe that an incapacitated individual’s drag indicates,” said Thompson.
The discovery illustrates how gladiator shows, often presented by emperors and other luminaires, which included wild animals, were not limited to the main cities of the empire but extended to their farthest provinces.
The skeleton of this man represents the first known physical evidence of combat between humans and animals at the time of ancient Rome, the researchers said.
Among the wild animals used in these shows were elephants, hippos, rhinoos, crocodiles, giraffes, ostriches, bulls, bears, lions, tigers and leopards, among others. For example, in 2022, archaeologists announced the discovery of bones of bears and great felines in the Colosseum.
“The predatory animals – especially the great felines, but sometimes also other animals, such as bears – were confronted as combatants against specialist gladiators, known as venators,” said the study co -author, John Pearce, Roman archaeologist at King’s College in London.
Large and aggressive animals also faced each other – a bull and a bear, for example – often chained, Pearce explained. Sands were also simulated in Arenas, with humans against animals and animals against other animals, Pearce added.
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Bitired brands reveal the fatal encounter of a gladiator with a lion in ancient Great Britain
Sometimes animals were used as captive and criminal execution agents (a process known in Latin as Damnatio Ad Bestias), in which the victim was tied or defenseless, Pearce said.
Pearce described what could have happened during the last moments of man in York. The gladiator could have taken a suit that combined protection and theatricality. The animal could have been deprived of food to foster its ferocity.
“In a very speculative way, from the perspective of the gladiator, perhaps an approach like that of the matador would have been applied: to dodge and hurt progressively, in order to extend the performance,” Pearce said.
In this case, it is evident that the attempt failed, since it is likely, given the position of the bite, that the lion was attacking or dragging this individual on the ground. In the end, when one or both died, the gladiator was buried and the body of the animal was used as meat for the spectators, Pearce said.
Gladiators were normally slaves, prisoners of war, criminals and volunteers.
“For successful gladiators, incentives and rewards were a popular reputation, as stated in the graffiti of fans in Pompeya, probably money and the possibility of being released if they were a successful star in the sand,” Pearce said.
The remains of the York gladiator show evidence of anomalies in the spine, possibly caused by overload in the back, as well as dental diseases. He was beheaded, probably as a coup of grace after an injury and a defeat in the sand. He was buried with two other men, whose bodies were covered with horse bones.
There are remains of some of the buildings and walls of the city of Eboracum, although no amphitheater has yet been identified.
They have been excavated in the cemetery eighty -two human skeletons, mostly young and corpulent men. Many had wounds, both cured and not cured, compatible with gladiator fighting, and had been beheaded, possibly as losers in the sand in the sand.
“This is a reminder of the central show culture in Roman public life,” Pearce said.
“This new analysis gives us very specific and specific evidence of a violent encounter between humans and animals, either as combat or punishment, showing that the great felines captured in North Africa were exhibited and fought not only in Rome or Italy, but also surprisingly broad, although we do not know how often,” Pearce said.
With Reuters information.
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