In 2003, an ancient Roman cemetery was discovered by a team of archaeologists, lead by Kurt Hunter-Mann, under the northern England city of York, but the purpose of the random burial ground was not easily determined. Some 80 men were buried there; who were they, and what did they die from? There were signs of big funerals and violent deaths, but it wasn’t until carnivore bite marks were discovered that researchers felt confident in saying they had stumbled across the final resting place of Roman gladiators.
“Nothing like them has ever been identified before on a Roman skeleton,” said Michael Wysocki, a forensic anthropologist at the University of Central Lancashire, who suggested the bite marks were due to gladiatorial combat. “It would seem highly unlikely that this individual was attacked by a tiger as he was walking home from the pub in York 2,000 years ago.”
The ancient skeletons help reveal more about the lives of gladiators, their relative size and strength, and just what the Romans thought was fun, in addition to valuable information about Roman funeral rites and various religious cults of the time. The finding is incredibly well preserved, according to scientists, who plan on studying the remains and discoveries found in York for years to come.
Tags: York, England, Ancient Roman ruins, Roman ruins, gladiator burial ground, gladiator cemetery, Michael Wysocki, Kurt Hunter-Mann, Roman cemetery discovered under York, gladiator remains, University of Central Lancashire
