Archaeologists excavating the ruins of a Roman amphitheater at Viminacium in present-day Serbia have unearthed the battered skull of a brown bear once forced to fight in front of some 7,000 spectators.
Nemanja Marković et al; Antiquity Publications LtdThis brown bear suffered multiple injuries before dying from a combat wound at age six.
A fractured brown bear skull unearthed at the Roman amphitheater of Viminacium in modern-day Serbia offers the first-ever direct physical evidence of these animals’ involvement in ancient games, battles, and spectacles.
The skull, belonging to a six-year-old male brown bear (Ursus arctos), was discovered during 2016 excavations near the amphitheater and has since undergone extensive multidisciplinary analysis. The findings reveal the bear’s local origin, its injuries consistent with combat, its extended captivity and abuse, and the wound that eventually ended its life.
The First-Ever Physical Evidence Of A Brown Bear Being Used In Roman Gladiator Battles
Details of the discovery were shared in a new study published in the journal Antiquity.
Following DNA analysis, researchers determined that the bear was “captured in the local Balkan area,” which suggests that the animals used in Roman spectacles may have been sourced locally rather than imported from distant regions — likely a logistical and cost-saving measure for the games held in Viminacium, the provincial capital of Moesia Superior.
Detailed examination of the skull and teeth also uncovered clear signs of prolonged captivity and forced combat. The bear’s fangs showed extreme wear, consistent with repetitive gnawing on cage bars — a known stress behavior in captive animals. Additional dental issues such as periodontal disease point to poor living conditions and a limited diet for this animal.
Nemanja Marković et al; Antiquity Publications LtdDamage to the skull suggests this bear survived at least one gladiator battle, leading researchers to conclude it was used “repeatedly” in the Roman amphitheater at Viminacium.
“This bear was likely kept in captivity for years, not just weeks,” study author Nemanja Marković told Live Science.
The bear had likely been used in various spectacles, based on its physical condition. Bears and other captive animals were frequently pitted against humans in arena combat, in public displays known as venationes. Depictions of this bloodsport show animals fighting gladiators armed with long hunting spears or swords and shields.
It seems this brown bear suffered a deadly fate following combat with just such a gladiator.
The Death Of This Brown Bear Due To Arena Combat At The Viminacium Amphitheater
Radiological and microscopic analysis revealed that the bear had “suffered an impact fracture” to the frontal bone that showed partial healing — evidence that it had survived at least one arena battle. The location of the fracture suggests a blow from a venator, a gladiator trained to fight wild beasts. The injury, however, became infected before it fully healed and that is what likely caused the bear’s death.
“We cannot say with certainty whether the bear died directly in the arena, but the evidence suggests the trauma occurred during spectacles and the subsequent infection likely contributed significantly to its death,” Marković said.
The combination of healing and infection indicates that at least some time happened between the trauma and death — and that the injury remained untreated, a grim reminder of the brutality of such spectacles. Based on the discovery, the bear was far from the only animal to face this treatment.
Ivan Radic/Flickr Creative CommonsThe reconstructed Roman amphitheater in Viminacium.
Its skull was discovered alongside an array of other animal bones, including those belonging to a leopard — one of many types of animals that have been found at former Roman arena sites.
“Previous research suggests animals killed in the arena were butchered nearby, their meat distributed, and bones discarded close to the amphitheater — not buried in a formal animal graveyard,” Marković added.
This discovery also marks the first confirmed link between brown bears and ancient Roman spectacles. Various Roman accounts had mentioned brown bears, so the discovery was not shocking, but until now there had not been any physical remains to confirm their direct involvement in such events. This skull now fills that gap.
While the skull itself was not dated, another bone from the same archaeological context was, with researchers placing it somewhere between 1,675 and 1,785 years old.
At that time, Viminacium was a major Roman city and military camp on the lower Danube. Its amphitheater, built in the second century, would have held thousands of spectators, all gathered to watch brutal bloodsport where man and beast fought to the death for their entertainment.
After reading about the bear skull found at a Roman arena, read the stories of 11 of the most famous gladiators in ancient Rome. Then, read about the worst Roman emperors and how they changed history.
