Unique osteological evidence for human-animal gladiatorial combat in Roman Britain

Date published

2025-04-23

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2025-04-29

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Public Library of Science (PLoS)

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Article

ISSN

1932-6203

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Citation

Thompson TJU, Errickson D, McDonnell C, et al., (2025) Unique osteological evidence for human-animal gladiatorial combat in Roman Britain. PLOS ONE, Volume 20, Issue 4, Article number e0319847

Abstract

The spectacle of Roman gladiatorial combat captures the public imagination and elicits significant scholarly interest. Skeletal evidence associated with gladiatorial combat is rare, with most evidence deriving from written or visual sources. A single skeleton from a Roman cemetery outside of York where gladiators arguably were buried presented with unusual lesions. Investigation, including comparative work from modern zoological institutions, has demonstrated that these marks originate from large cat scavenging. Thus, we present the first physical evidence for human-animal gladiatorial combat from the Roman period seen anywhere in Europe.

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Github

Keywords

43 History, Heritage and Archaeology, 44 Human Society, 4301 Archaeology, 4303 Historical Studies, 4401 Anthropology, General Science & Technology

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