Archaeologists recently discovered proof of a gladiatorial fight with a lion in an unexpected tourist destination.
York, a city in northern England known for its breathtaking medieval architecture, welcomes millions of visitors annually – but its history goes much further back than the Middle Ages.
The area was inhabited by the ancient Romans, who founded the city in 71 A.D. and named it Eboracum.
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Until now, archaeologists weren’t sure that gladiatorial fights with lions took place outside of Italy – and didn’t have much evidence of these battles, other than Roman art depicting the fights.
The recent findings, publicized in the journal PLOS One, analyze a puncture wound that was found on the pelvis of a gladiator buried in a York cemetery.
A city in England known for its medieval architecture hosted a battle between a gladiator and a lion in the 3rd century, archaeologists say. (iStock; Getty Images)
The gladiator lived during the 3rd century A.D. and was between 26 and 35 years old at the time of his death.
Analyzing the man’s wound, researchers found that the bite mark was made by a big cat, most likely a lion.
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“Skeletal evidence associated with gladiatorial combat is rare, with most evidence deriving from written or visual sources,” the article states.
The bite mark was made by a big cat, most likely a lion.
“A single skeleton from a Roman cemetery outside of York where gladiators arguably were buried presented with unusual lesions.”
The piece noted, “Investigation, including comparative work from modern zoological institutions, has demonstrated that these marks originate from large cat scavenging.”
The bite mark, found on the gladiator’s pelvis, likely came from a lion. (Thompson et al., 2025, PLOS One/Handout via Reuters)
The discovery is the “first physical evidence for human-animal gladiatorial combat from the Roman period seen anywhere in Europe,” according to the study’s authors.
Although researchers believe that the gladiator died in battle, they don’t believe the pelvic puncture was the fatal blow.
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“We don’t think that this was the killing wound, as it would be possible to survive this injury, and it is in an unusual location for such a large cat,” forensic anthropologist Tim Thompson of Maynooth University said in a statement to Reuters.
“We think it indicates the dragging of an incapacitated individual.”
The discovery marked the “first physical evidence for human-animal gladiatorial combat from the Roman period seen anywhere in Europe,” according to the study’s authors. (Reuters/Will Dunham)
John Pearce, a Roman archaeologist at King’s College London and a co-author of the study, told Reuters that the cat may have been starved before the fight in order to increase its aggression.
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“Very speculatively, from the gladiator’s perspective, perhaps an approach like a matador’s would have been applied – to dodge and progressively wound, so as to extend the performance,” Pearce said.
“In this case, clearly that ended unsuccessfully, with it being likely, given the position of the bite mark, that the lion is mauling or dragging this individual on the ground,” he continued.
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“At the end, when one or both were dead, there would be a burial for the gladiator and the use of the animal carcass for meat for the spectators.”
Though depictions of fights between lions and gladiators have been discovered, concrete proof of the battles has been scant. (Reuters/Will Dunham)
The expert added that the discovery reflects the “spectacle culture” central to Roman life.
“This new analysis gives us very concrete and specific evidence of a human-animal violent encounter, either as combat or punishment, showing that the big cats caught in North Africa were shown and fought not only in Rome or Italy but also surprisingly widely, even if we don’t know how frequently,” Pearce concluded.
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Reuters contributed reporting to this article.