Bites on gladiator bones prove combat with lion

The gladiators fought against lions and other wild animals in the sands of the Roman Empire. But despite all the stories of glorious fighting represented in ancient texts, marble reliefs and mosaics, and then narrated in films and other modern means, archaeologists have never found direct physical evidence, such as skeletons of gladiators with wounds caused by animals. At last proof of the classic combat between humans and animals has been found…

Archaeologists found traces of animal bite on a skeleton near York. This could be the first material evidence of confrontations between Cirque fighters and carnivorous animals in ancient Rome.

Researchers found treacherous bite marks on a man's skeleton in England. They probably came from a big cat. For one of the two, the encounter ended fatally.

Irish researchers discover proof that Roman gladiators fought with large animals

The finding is the first skeletal evidence that Romans fought with large cats in arena-based combat.

Roman gladiator’s skeleton bears signs of big cat bites

Puncture injury from leopard feeding. Credit: Thompson et al., 2025, PLOS One, CC-BY 4.0 An 1800-year old human skeleton unearthed from a Roman cemetery has revealed bite marks consistent with a large cat, like a lion, and is being called the first hard evidence of human-animal combat in England during the Roman Empire. Archaeologists say the man may have died as part of a gladiator show or execution, and that the felid may have gnawed on his pe…

Lion bites on skeleton provide first evidence of gladiator’s combat with wild beasts

Skeleton of young gladiator dug out from York cemetery in 2004