What many people know about Roman gladiator fights comes from Hollywood movie scenes. However, archaeologists and historians are slowly fleshing out the details of ancient gladiator fights.
Some gladiators were called venators because they battled wild beasts before cheering crowds. For years, though, the hypothesis that gladiators battled with brown bears was limited to the literary record. That’s changed, as a team of scientists has unearthed the first direct evidence that gladiators did actually fight bears, according to Archaeology.com.
Fragments of a Brown Bear Skull Bore the Markings of a Gladiator Weapon
La Brújula Verde reported that the literary history of brown bears is now backed up with a bone.
Specifically, the archaeologists discovered a “fragmented bear skull” in a Roman amphitheater in the city of Viminacium, which is in Serbia, according to La Brujula Verde.
According to the publication, the researchers determined that:
- The brown bear skull fragments belonged to a male animal that was 6 years old when it died.
- The bear likely came from the Balkans, meaning the gladiators did not need to transport it from long distances “to supply the games.”
- The bear skull bore “injuries and pathologies,” which revealed “a traumatic impact on the frontal bone,” the publication noted, pointing to “the blunt strike of a weapon, probably inflicted by a venator, the specialized type of gladiator who fought against wild beasts.”
The bones indicated the bear likely survived its encounter with the gladiator, however, and spent time caged, according to the site.
The bear died about 1,700 years ago, according to Archaeology.com. Because the bear’s teeth indicated it was confined for some time, researchers believe it was a star attraction of the amphitheater that probably engaged in multiple fights, according to that site.
The same city has produced other Roman treasures, including a flat-bottomed ship, reported Archaeology.com.
