Analysis: The discovery of a Roman gladiator skeleton with unusual bite marks led to the first direct physical evidence of human-animal combat
A couple of years ago a social media trend asked how often people (men, specifically) thought about the Roman Empire. The answer for many was a surprising number of times. But for some of us, thinking about the Roman Empire is not just about the grand architecture or military might, it's about more logistical considerations. Like, how do you get a lion from Africa to northern England?
One of the most important sources of evidence for life in the Roman Empire are the many thousands of skeletons that have been recovered by archaeologists. Contrary to what people often assume, the skeleton is a highly malleable and responsive living tissue which can be subtly altered by all sorts of factors during your life, including the food you eat and activities that you do. For example, chemical analysis of your teeth can even reveal whether you had been breastfed or not, and for how long. The skeleton also continues to be altered by the burial environment after death, through processes we call taphonomy and diagenesis.
By studying the skeleton, you can estimate a person’s sex, age-at-death, height, any diseases that they may have had or were suffering from, as well as revealing traumatic injuries. This information is recorded and compiled into what’s referred to as a biological or osteological profile. Combined with other archaeological and historical information it can allow for very powerful interpretations of the past.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's Drivetime, Trinity College Dublin's Dr. Martin Worthington on thinking about the Roman Empire
Back to thinking about the Romans, and specifically the provinces at the periphery of the Empire. Although the Romans never conquered Ireland, or Hibernia, there is strong evidence to suggest that trade was underway. England, on the other hand, was well under Roman occupancy. As such, the remains of Roman settlements are littered throughout the country. One such settlement is York. Founded as a legionary fortress by the 9th legion, Eboracum as it was known, was later occupied by the 6th legion sometime before the year 120 AD. There they remained until the early fifth century.
In 2004, a proposed development of the Driffield Terrace area of the city resulted in an archaeological excavation that revealed 59 inhumations and 13 cremation burials. These were subsequently followed by an additional 23 inhumations and one cremation burial. The burials range in date from the first or early second centuries AD to the late fourth century AD. Analysis showed that the vast majority were males aged between 18-45 years, providing a strongly skewed demographic profile that is unusual for Roman Britain.
An exceptional feature of the cemetery was the very high proportion of decapitated skeletons. Decapitation burials are a well-known phenomenon within Roman Britain and the removal of the head is mostly considered a post-mortem burial ritual. However, the frequency of such burials is usually around 5-6% of all burials, whereas at Driffield Terrace is an enormous c70%. Also unusual was that here, the head was not always completely removed, suggesting that the primary aim was to execute, rather than to conduct a funerary ritual.
Read more: Forget Indiana Jones, archaeologists don't 'stumble' upon finds
The frequency and patterns of traumatic injuries at the site was also exceptional and suggested repeated episodes of violence. This included a high number of healed skull fractures located on the left side of the head – associated with face-to-face interpersonal combat with a right-handed aggressor. Finally, isotopic and ancient DNA evidence of a sample of the individuals also show a much wider range of values, in terms of diet and likely geographical origins, including one with close genetic affinities with the Middle East, and another with Scandinavian Peninsula-related ancestry. All of this when combined with comparative evidence from elsewhere in the Empire, suggested that these were gladiators.
One of the most compelling features of this collection of remains, is the fact that one of them has a series of unusual puncture marks on his pelvis. Analytical methods from forensic anthropology suggested that these were bite-marks, but they were unlike anything usually seen when a body is scavenged after death: these were large, deep and curved. Could these be evidence of gladiatorial combat with large animals?
This raises its own question – how do you prove if someone has been bitten by a large animal? Our approach was to collaborate with zoos and to use the latest imaging methods to analyse the marks left by animal feeding on the underlying bones. These marks could then be compared to the remains from York.
We also have to think of other potential causes of the marks. By looking at the colour and the shape of the fracture lines it is possible to tell that they are peri-mortem (inflicted around the time of death). We can also compare the shape and position of the wounds with known weapons of the time, but none of them remotely matched.
Therefore, our conclusion was that this was a bite mark from a lion. The location of the bite mark on the hip was unusual, but we think that the victim had been incapacitated and then was being dragged or bitten by the lion. Helpfully there is a fragment of a marble relief held in the British Museum that shows a lion biting a man in almost exactly the manner which we are proposing.
The success of our work, which took several years, is down to the innovative multi-disciplinary and collaborative approach we have taken. As a result, Maynooth seems to be a centre of gladiator activity at the moment. In addition to our work, Paul Mescal, star of Gladiator 2 is also from the town. Although he is around the same age as our bitten victim, he’s a bit taller. At five foot eleven, Paul has a good few inches on our gladiator. His beast fights were also CGI.
Read more: Does Paul Mescal really speak like a Roman gladiator?
But now that we have confirmed the first direct physical evidence for gladiator-animal spectacle for the Roman Empire, other exciting questions can be posed. How were large exotic animals moved across continents? Who paid for the lion? Where in York was the arena, and where are the others across the provinces? Perhaps more of us should get back to thinking about the Roman Empire.
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The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
