Archeologists have found a Roman gladiator cemetery in England, with 80 distinctive skeletons:
“One of the most significant items of evidence is a large carnivore bite mark — probably inflicted by a lion, tiger or bear — an injury which must have been sustained in an arena context, ” said Kurt Hunter-Mann, the lead archeologist on the dig.
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One arm was bigger than the other in many remains, the scientists found — a suggestion that the men were gladiators who trained from a young age with a weapon in one hand.Other clues include healed and unhealed weapon injuries, possible hammer blows to the head, and burial with “grave goods” such joints of meat or pottery — a sign of respect.
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But “almost all the individuals are male, very robust and mostly above average height — features which would also be consistent with a gladiator interpretation. Many also have muscle attachment marks on their arm bones suggesting severe muscle stress,” he said.They also appear to come from all over the Roman empire, which straddled the Mediterranean for hundreds of years, starting more than 2,000 years ago.
The skeletons are between 1,600 and 1,900 years old.
The most impressive grave was that of a tall man aged between 18 and 23, buried, probably in a coffin, in a large oval grave about 1,700 years ago. He had been decapitated by several sword blows to the neck, the scientists said.
Buried with him were what appear to have been the remains of substantial joints of meat from at least four horses — that left behind 424 horse bones — possibly consumed at the funeral, plus some cow and pig remains.
Other graves also had joints of horse, sheep or chicken, possibly remains of funeral feasts, the archeologists speculated.
The site was first discovered when archeologists probed an area scheduled for a housing development in 2003.