24 September 2010
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Mosaic of a bestiarius, a gladiatorial beast-fighter
The remains of some 80 bodies dating from the 1st to the 4th century have been unearthed in the suburbs of York. The bodies have been loosely identified either as gladiators or bestiarii according to their wounds, some having been savaged by animals, one almost certainly by a lion, tiger or bear. ...
THE remains of some 80 bodies dating from the 1st to the 4th century have been unearthed in the suburbs of York.
The subject of a recent documentary, the dig has been going on for nearly ten years and has raised perplexing questions about the nature of gladiatorial combat in Britain.The bodies have been loosely identified either as gladiators or bestiarii according to their wounds, some having been savaged by animals, one almost certainly by a lion, tiger or bear.
What puzzles experts is that many of the bodies were decapitated. Previously the execution of a vanquished gladiator was thought to have been a quick downward thrust of the gladius to one side of the neck, traditionally the left side, behind the collar-bone, the blade passing straight through the lung and into the heart resulting in an instantaneous death, an honourable end for a warrior.
More than this, one was found with iron rings around his ankles, suggesting he might even have worn these for some years; another was laid out like a great hero, surrounded by offerings and animal remains for the afterlife. Of particular note were the overdeveloped right arms of many of these men, suggesting sword training from teenage years, resulting in skeletal adaptation. The investigation continues.
Find this news story and more in the October/November issue of Classic Arms & Militaria