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Thompson, T. J. U., Errickson, D., McDonnell, Christine, Holst, Malin, Caffell, Anwen, Pearce, John and Gowland, Rebecca L. (2025) Unique osteological evidence for human-animal gladiatorial combat in Roman Britain. PLoS ONE, 20 (4). e0319847. ISSN 1932-6203
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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.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | Unique osteological evidence; human-animal gladiatorial combat; Roman Britain; |
| Academic Unit: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Anthropology |
| Item ID: | 21268 |
| Identification Number: | 10.1371/journal.pone.0319847 |
| Depositing User: | IR Editor |
| Date Deposited: | 03 Mar 2026 15:49 |
| Journal or Publication Title: | PLoS ONE |
| Publisher: | Public Library of Science |
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Related URLs: | |
| Use Licence: | This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here |
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