Dying in the Arena: the Osseous Evidence from Ephesian Gladiators

Abstract

The remains of at least 68 human individuals from a mass grave found in ancient Ephesus (Turkey) linked to gladiator tombstones, were investigated in this study to validate common theories on Roman gladiators through osteological and forensic analysis. Anthropological investigation revealed, that 66 individuals found in the mass grave were males with an average body height of 168 cm (SD = 5 cm) – normal for the Roman population at that time-and aged between 20 and 30 years. Well-healed ante mortal cranial traumas were found on eleven individuals along with a total of 16 healed postrcranial trauma. Ten individuals with perimortal acute cranial traumata and twenty nine acute perimortal postcranial traumata were revealed. The types and location of the traumata found confirm ancient reports on weaponry, protective gear and the existence of highly ordered rules for gladiator combats, since no evidence for multiple perimortal traumata was found. A reduced and (most likely) physiotherapeutic treated fracture of a radius as well as a professional amputation of a tibia gives insight into a well developed medical care system for the valuable gladiator team. An extensive and continuous training programme seems likely since enlarged muscle markers on arm and leg bones were found. Remarkably, double the normal strontium content was found in the gladiator bones compared to the average Roman population of that time. According to reports on gladiator nutrition, these findings are consistent with a diet made up of barley and beans as well as a drink made with plant and bone ash, which served as a dietary supplement. An increased ratio of acute dental caries may also be due to this bland, pulpy nutrition as well as reduced saliva levels associated with frequent physical stress.

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19. Dying in the arena: the osseous evidence from Ephesian gladiators
Fabian Kanz
Österreichisches Archäologisches Institut und Medizinische Universität, Wien, Austria
Karl Grossschmidt
Centre of Anatomy and Cell-Biology, Medizinische Universität, Wien
Abstract
The remains of at least 68 human individuals from a mass
grave found in ancient Ephesus (Turkey) linked to gladiator
tombstones, were investigated in this study to validate
common theories on Roman gladiators through osteological
and forensic analysis. Anthropological investigation revealed,
that 66 individuals found in the mass grave were males with
an average body height of 168 cm (SD = 5 cm) – normal for
the Roman population at that time - and aged between 20
and 30 years. Well-healed ante mortal cranial traumas were
found on eleven individuals along with a total of 16 healed
postrcranial trauma. Ten individuals with perimortal acute
cranial traumata and twenty nine acute perimortal
postcranial traumata were revealed. The types and location of
the traumata found confirm ancient reports on weaponry,
protective gear and the existence of highly ordered rules for
gladiator combats, since no evidence for multiple perimortal
traumata was found. A reduced and (most likely)
physiotherapeutic treated fracture of a radius as well as a
professional amputation of a tibia gives insight into a well
developed medical care system for the valuable gladiator
team. An extensive and continuous training programme
seems likely since enlarged muscle markers on arm and leg
bones were found. Remarkably, double the normal strontium
content was found in the gladiator bones compared to the
average Roman population of that time. According to reports
on gladiator nutrition, these findings are consistent with a
diet made up of barley and beans as well as a drink made with
plant and bone ash, which served as a dietary supplement. An
increased ratio of acute dental caries may also be due to this
bland, pulpy nutrition as well as reduced saliva levels
associated with frequent physical stress.
Introduction
Socially institutionalized gladiator fights represent a unique
phenomenon in human history. This has to be seen in the
context of the remarkable accumulation of legislative,
executive and political power of the Roman Empire focused
on the events of the munera. Ceramic artefacts, iconography
and ancient texts in abundance have been subjected to
scientific, archaeological and historical investigation for a
deeper understanding of gladiator fights and their cultural
and social context in ancient Roman society (Coleman, 2006,
Friedländer, 1995, Meijer, 2005, Wiedemann, 1992). In the
last two decades valuable additional data referring to the use
of weaponry and protective gear has been gained from
experimental archaeological studies and systematic research
(Junkelmann, 2000).
By contrast, the recovery of human remains from gladiators is
extremely rare, with only a few known skeletons that may be
those of arena fighters, from excavations in London, Rome,
Trier and Patras – however the verification of these findings
remains doubtful (Alberge, 2000, Henneberg and
Henneberg, 2006, Kuhnen, 2000, Papapostolou, 1989).
Considering that tens to hundreds of thousands of gladiators
lost their lives in Roman arenas, it may be just possible that
some genuine gladiator bones remain to be found. Such a
gladiator-graveyard was discovered in Ephesus in 1993 by
Wolfgang Pietsch under the supervision of Dieter Knibbe
(Pietsch and Trinkl, 1995). The cemetery itself was
unearthed during a survey to find the course of the Holy
Processional Path, the so-called Damianosstoa, between the
Artemesian Temple and the City of Ephesus, about 300m
east of the stadium at the northern foot of the Panayirda hill
located between the Damianosstoa and an ancient road. The
archaeological findings mainly consisted of ‘simple grave
walls’ (Pietsch) with few fixed tombstones. It can be
speculated that the location of the graveyard between a major
traffic road and a processional path offered fans and
supporters the opportunity to visit and pay homage to their
idols (Pietsch, 1999a, Pietsch, 1999b).
The first gladiator fights in Ephesus date from the year 69 BC
and were held under the auspices of the Roman governor
Lucullus (Plutarch, Lucullus 23.1). Numerous artefacts found
in the city suggest that gladiator fights gained a high degree of
popularity from that time onwards, especially in the 2nd and
3rd century AD when gladiatorial competitions reached their
zenith and Ephesus was the capital of the province of Asia.
It seems that as well as the Great Theatre in the centre of
Ephesus the eastern part of the stadium (converted into an
elliptical amphitheatre, see Dodge, this volume) also hosted
gladiator competitions. Recently S. Groh suggested dating the
conversion of the stadium to Late Antiquity, based on similar
modifications found in the stadium of Aphrodisias (Groh et
al., 2006). He further suggests that there might have been a

ROMAN AMPHITHEATRES AND SPECTACULA
212
separate amphitheatre north of the Ephesean stadium and the
Vediusgym as can be seen on the very first topographical maps
of Wheeler (Wheeler, 1862). However referring to current
records gladiator fights can only be confirmed in the Great
Ephesian Theatre, with its capacity of some 25,000
spectators.
The archaeological situation in the excavation area of 1993
immediately suggested that this find was a gladiator cemetery:
four tombstones (three of them in situ) are dated to the turn
of the 2nd to the 3rd century AD (Pietsch and Trinkl, 1995).
Three of them illustrate the image of a gladiator, the forth a
female slave. Fig 19.1a shows a tombstone with the image of a
murmillo in the glow of glory with a palm leaf (a trophy, sign
of victory). A preserved three line inscription on the base of
the tombstone allowed us to name this person: Palumbus.
Only the lower part of the second relief (Fig 19.1b), a three
line inscription and the frontal view of a female person
survive, dedicating the tombstone to the slave Serapias. Fig
19.1c gives the third relief (the only one not found in situ)
which shows the frontal view of a bearded murmillo with
insignia of glory and two lines of inscription naming him
Valerius. The fourth tombstone (Fig 19.1d) shows a half
frontal view of a retarius. Six lines of inscription indicate that
the stone was dedicated from Margarites and Peritina to their
colleague Euxenius.
The human remains from the cemetery investigated for this
study (several thousands of bones and bone fragments) were
found in an approximately 20m area of a test pit (Fig 19.1,
centre). Also two large pithoi with cremated human remains
were recovered. The pattern of distribution of the bones
indicates that the cemetery was in use over a long period of
time – therefore osteological analysis was carried out
following the guidelines for mass grave excavations. Human
skeletal remains were investigated macroscopically,
microscopically and by chemical analysis of trace elements,
providing a unique insight into living conditions and manner
of death of ancient Roman gladiators for the first time (Kanz
and Großschmidt, 2005, Kanz and Grossschmidt, 2006).
Material
Anthropological investigation was carried out on the remains
found in the gladiator graveyard (DAM93G) and on remains
representing the average, contemporary Ephesian population
(five subsamples: DAM91, DAM92, DAM93NG, DAM93P,
DAM94) unearthed during the investigation of the
Damianosstoa from 1991 to 1994. All of them have been
dated from 1st to 3 rd AD, except DAM91, which was dated
from 3rd to 5th century AD (Pietsch, 1999a). The groups for
comparison represent a total of 71 adults, 31 of them females
and 40 males.
DAM91: 10 females and 8 male individuals found within
the so called ‘east and west chamber’
DAM92: 3 females and 3 male individuals from the so
called ‘fig garden’
DAM93NG: 8 female and 8 male skeletons from various
grave houses beside the gladiator graveyard
DAM93P: 3 female and 13 male cremated remains found
in two pithoi within the gladiator graveyard
DAM 94: 7 female and 8 male individuals from various
sarcophagi along the Damianosstoa
Methods
As mentioned above the dislocated pattern of distribution of
the remains required the guidelines for a mass grave
investigation to be followed. A Minimum Number of
Individuals (MNI) analysis was carried out employing best
preserved body parts, such as long-bones or teeth, with the
findings from DAM93G and DAM93P according to the
recommendations of T. White (White, 1992, White, 2000).
Identification of biological sex and age of death was
performed as recommended by Sarospáták (Ferembach et al.,
1979) and amended by Tooth Cementum Annulation
Technique (TCA). TCA refers to the fact, that a yearly
deposition of cementum layers takes place around the root of
a tooth starting it’s eruption. Microscopic sections of the root
reveal light and dark bands representing one year of life,
comparable to tree rings. The age of death can be estimated to
a very high accuracy by adding the average time of eruption to
the number of rings counted in the sections. TCA can also be
employed to calibrate macromorphological techniques based
on tooth-abrasion of permanent dentition (Kvaal et al., 1996,
Wittwer-Bachofen et al., 2004). For the estimation of the
mean body height (BH) the length of the humeri, femura and
tibiae were taken and the algorithm for both sexes of Trotter
and Gleser were applied (Trotter and Gleser, 1952). The
cremated remains found in the two pithoi recovered from
DAM93P were investigated as laid out by Rösing and Wahl
(Rösing, 1977, Wahl, 1982) with special focus to the context
of the rest of the gladiators graveyard. Osteopathological
alterations were documented following standard
palaeopathological guidelines (Brothwell and Sandison, 1967,
Eder and Gedigk, 1985, Holzner, 1985, Janssens, 1970,
Ortner, 2003, Steinbock, 1976, Zivanovic, 1982) and
underwent differential diagnostic investigation.
One main focus of this study was the individual’s diet and
dental health referring to traits of caries found. Therefore a
‘caries index’ IC = %C + %E (IC = Intensity of caries, %C =
percentage of teeth with acute caries compared to the total
number of teeth, %E = percentage of intravital tooth loss
compared to preserved alveolar tooth positions) was
estimated as a measure for dental health referring to tooth
extractions and caries defects (Stloukal, 1963). To assess
trauma modern anthropological and forensic techniques were
applied (refitting, illustration, macrosopic description,
interpretation and sequencing) as used in contemporary
homicide cases (Aufderheide and Rodriguez-Martin, 1998,
Maples, 1986, Ortner, 2003, Reichs, 1998, Spitz, 1992). First

FABIAN KANZ AND KARL GROSSSCHMIDT: DYING IN THE ARENA: THE OSSEOUS EVIDENCE FROM EPHESIAN GLADIATORS
213
Fig 19.1 Tombstones and their inscriptions found in the gladiator graveyard (centre): Palumbus (a), Serapias (b), Valerius (c)
and Euxenius (d); (from Pietsch and Trinkl 1995).

ROMAN AMPHITHEATRES AND SPECTACULA
214
of all trauma analysis was done with focussing on the time of
the incident to discriminate between antemortem,
perimortem and postmortem lesions by the colour, shape and
pattern of cranial defects and fractures (Kanz and
Grossschmidt, 2006). After establishing a relative chronology
and discarding post-mortem pseudopathologies or defects
due to diagenetic or taphonomic processes the traumas were
assigned with reference to reports on the offensive and
defensive weaponry of Roman gladiators (Junkelmann,
2000). Antemortem injuries were subjected to microscopical
analysis and computer tomography (Siemens Somatom Plus)
to find hidden modifications of the crania. Additionally,
healed injuries (macroscopically identified) were subjected to
histological and micro-radiographic analysis (Plenk, 1986):
Bone samples were defatted by incubation in increasing
concentrations of ethanol and embedded without
decalcification in methylmetacrylate. A water cooled circular
diamond saw was employed to produce approx. 300 µm
sections that were ground to 150 µm for microradiographic
examination (Hewlett Packard Faxitron Cabinet X-ray
System, McMinville, OR; Kodak Professional High
resolution Film SO-393, Rochester, NY). Serial sections
corresponding to the microdadiographs were analyzed in a
light microscope to asses bone formation and tissue
differentiation. Finally, the inorganic composition of the
bones with a special focus on strontium intake was performed
using samples from the femoral midshaft dissected with a
diamond blades hollow trepanation drill. After total acid
digestion strontium and calcium content was measured by
ICP-OES and mean strontium/calcium ratios of the different
sub groups investigated for this study were compared (Kanz
and Grossschmidt, 1999, Kanz and Steffan, 2001).
Results and Discussion
MNI (Minimal Number of Individuals) Analysis:
For MNI analysis we focussed on the best preserved bones
such as os petrosum, os occipitale, the glabella region, os
zygomaticum, humeri, femoral bones and whole dentition.
We could ascertain that the bones of at least 68 individuals
were recovered from the gladiator graveyard. This remarkably
high number of individuals found in an area of only 20m2,
and the high degree of dislocation, supports the
archaeological findings which point to a long and repeated
use of this location as a burial site.
Estimated Sex and age
66 of the 68 individuals were found to be males aged between
20 and 30 years; consistent with the expected sex and age of
gladiator remains. One male individual most likely died
between 45 to 55 years and one appeared to be a young
female most likely the slave Serapias mentioned above. The
extremely uneven distribution of age and sex in this part of
the graveyard clearly shows that it was no normal burial place.
Such burial places would show a more or less equal
distribution of both sexes, as could be found for the other five
subpopulations investigated in this study, illustrated in Fig
19.2a.
Estimated body height
Male Female
n Mean
[cm] n
Mean
[cm]
Austria
Petronell-Carnuntum 10 170,1 17 159,9
Steinpaß 19 170,4 7 160,4
Linz 15 166,6 10 159,9
Germany
Augsburg 51 167,7 33 158,6
Neuburg a. D. 65 169,6 2 159,6
Groß-Gerau 15 170,6 -
Denmark
early Roman 174,1 -
late Roman 177,3 -
Former Yugoslavia
Viminacium-Pečine 3 167,2 -
Viminacium-Više Grobalja 6 166,7 3 162,6
Deboj-Ohrid 4 170,1 1 157,8
Italy
Potenzia 36 164,2 -
Spain
Tarragona/San Fructosa 199 162,9 -
Tarragona/Parc 28 166,8 -
Table 19.1 Mean body heights for male and female Romans from
different regions of the Empire; (from Schweder and Winkler 2004
(Schweder and Winkler, 2004).
Trotter & Gleisers’ algorithm was employed to calculate the
estimated body height from the length of humeri, femura and
tibiae. The mean body height for the male individuals turned
out to be 168 cm (SD=5cm), the single female revealed 159
cm. Compared to the other subsamples these findings
suggest, that the body height of a gladiator was the same as
those seen in the average Ephesian Roman population as well
as in other regions of the Roman Empire at that time (Fig
19.2b and Table 1). Therefore it can be concluded that
specific body height, neither tall nor small, was not a
systematic criterion for the selection of the Roman fighters.
Health and living conditions
Ante- and perimortal traumas
Ten individuals revealed a total of ten perimortal traumas, no
multiple traumas were found. Another 29 traits of perimortal
postcranial traumas were identified.
Three individuals suffered massive blunt force leading to
characteristic traces on their crania. As these individuals were
injured in a gladiator fight these traumas are likely to have
resulted from impact from the shield of an opponent backed
by his full body weight. In one case (Fig 19.3a) the impact

FABIAN KANZ AND KARL GROSSSCHMIDT: DYING IN THE ARENA: THE OSSEOUS EVIDENCE FROM EPHESIAN GLADIATORS
215
Fig. 19.2 Means of the gladiators (DAM93G) and contemporary Ephesian subgroups (DAM91, DAM92, DAM93NG, DAM93P,
DAM94): Distribution of sex (a), body height (BH) (b), dental health (c) and Sr/Ca ratio (d).

ROMAN AMPHITHEATRES AND SPECTACULA
216
must have come from the upper left, thus the aggressor is
likely to have been right handed. Another four singular
cranial traumata were found, shaped square to circular, all of
them approximately 15 cm in diameter. Examples of this kind
of injury are given in Figure 19.3b and c, whereas for one case
(Fig 19.3b) the imprint of the infraction could be recovered
and its shape can still be seen.
Remarkably, only one skull showed a double perimortal
trauma (Fig 19.3d): One lesion perforating the endocranium
is located at the os parietale with a roughly round shape
(15mm in diameter). The slightly impressed and pungent
margin seen at the ectocranium as well as the spalling of the
lamina interna is typical for stab wounds with a sharp,
tapered weapon (comparable lesions result from bullet
wounds). The second ragged shaped defect in located at the
right side of the os fronale beneath the sutura coronalis. The
lateral inferior margin reveals the same diameter as seen with
the first defect as well as the same findings on the lamina
interna and externa. The distance between the two lesions is
about 50mm, corresponding to the distance found between
the prongs of a trident unearthed from the ancient harbour of
Ephesus dating to the 2nd and 3rd century AD. Taken
together, these findings suggest, that these traumas result
from a single trident attack. The ragged appearance of the
second defect indicates that the middle prong of the trident
was barbed. Additionally, the approx. 45° contorted spalling
to the centre line of the injury suggests that the barbed hook
was skewed to make it more effective for pulling back the
shields of the opponent.
Besides the perimortal traumas described above 16 well-
healed cranial injuries were found in 11 individuals (6
individuals with single traumas) apparently resulting from
fighting or training action. The skull shown in Plate 54b
reveals two puncture lesions, which do not affect the lamina
interna (Plate 53b). The distance of approximately 55 mm
also suggests a trident as the cause of the injury as described
above. Plate 54a illustrates another example of a healed ante-
mortem trauma: a large angular blade injury on the frontal
bone. The blow did not perforate the lamina interna and no
evidence for cerebral traumatisation was found. The medial
margin of the wound was eburnated, but the healing process,
which smoothed the margins, obscures the original
appearance of the wound. In the histological sections (Plate
53a), the compressed bony structure is marked on its base by
red arrows. On the right picture in Plate 53a, with polarised
light a regular pattern, as produced by normal living bone, can
be seen. Nevertheless this injury was most likely produced by
a gladius cut from an anterior position from a superior right
to an inferior left angle.
Healed postcranial traumas were found in 15 individuals.
Plate 54d illustrates some forearm injuries, three fractures of
the radius and of the distal ulna. Plate 54d left (a reduced,
perfectly healed radius fracture, only visible in computer
tomography by a tiny intramedular callus) documents a
sophisticated medical care system provided for the costly
fighters, comparable to modern top athletes. In comparison
Plate 54d right shows a non-treated bone fracture found in
the contemporaneous sub sample DAM 91 leading to a so-
called pseudo arthrosis. Excellent medical care is also
documented in Plate 54c: the rare finding, at least for Roman
times, of an amputated right leg. The riffle caused from the
saw blade can still be seen and of course no signs of healing
are evident in the histological cross section.
Distribution of trauma
Plate 53d&e illustrate the pattern of healed and non-healed
traumas in different body regions including a detailed
distribution of ante- and perimortal head injuries. These
findings are consistent with the most common gladiator types
and combat pairings in the 2nd and 3rd century according to
Junkelmann (Junkelmann, 2000). Summarising the
protective gear of these common gladiator types we can now
equally assess the effectiveness of body protection available at
the time. Plate 53 illustrates this summarisation; dark blue
indicates good protection and light blue suboptimal
protection of the specific body part. Referring to the
concordant distribution of healed (Plate 53 green) and non-
healed (Plate 53 red) injuries, the following conclusions can
be drawn:
The overall distribution of the injuries found is in good
compliance with the gladiator’s protective gear except for the
high rate of cranial injuries. However, due to the use of
helmets there is a low expectation of fatal cranial injuries.
Nevertheless 10 individuals revealed fatal traumas on the
skull. Even if taking into account that a deadly attack on the
head is highly likely to leave traits on the skeleton compared
to other body regions (due to the different thickness of
surrounding soft tissue) this number appears too high. These
inconsistent findings may be explained by contemporary
accounts of the use of a death-blow to finish off mortally
wounded gladiators, carried out with something similar to a
hammer by an arena servant dressed as the death god Dis
Pater.
In comparing antemortal and perimortal trauma locations it
can be seen that antemortal injuries are prevalent at the
frontal region of the skull, whereas perimortal injuries can be
found predominantly on the lateral regions. These distinctive
distributions might be explained for the antemortem
traumata by the difference in protective gear used during the
training sessions as opposed to real fights in the arena. The
perimortem trauma pattern seems to be consistent with the
death-blow outlined above, particularly as it is likely the
executioner would have wished to avoid eye-to-eye contact
with the victim.
No trauma was found in the occipital region and no multiple
traumatisations (i.e. as seen with the remains recovered from
medieval battlefields, showing signs of excessive violence or

FABIAN KANZ AND KARL GROSSSCHMIDT: DYING IN THE ARENA: THE OSSEOUS EVIDENCE FROM EPHESIAN GLADIATORS
217
Fig. 19.3 Unhealed (perimortem) injuries: Typical blunt force trauma (a), singular cranial sharp force trauma and recovered imprint plus
details of ecto- and endocranium (b), another singular cranial sharp force trauma again with details of the ecto- and endocranium (c) and a
double cranial sharp force trauma (d) most probably caused by a trident similar to that one shown, from the ancient harbour dated to the 2nd
and 3rd century AD; (white scale bar = 10 mm).

ROMAN AMPHITHEATRES AND SPECTACULA
218
mutilation) were observed. These findings confirm the very
strict combat rules reported for Roman gladiator fights and
their stringent supervision by referees.
Dental health
Dental health investigation revealed an increased frequency
of acute caries (%C) within the remains found in the
gladiator graveyard in comparison to the Ephesian reference
subpopulations (Fig 19.2c). Two main factors are known to
be crucial for the growth of caries bacteria: the composition
of nutrition and production of sufficient amounts of saliva
with a suitable pH value. The grade of grain milling also
appears to be a crucial factor for the ability of plaque to serve
as a host for caries bacteria development. Thus, some authors
suggest that the intensity of caries is correlated with the
degree of development of a society. A disturbed or
diminished production of saliva is also reported to be
beneficial for the formation of caries: contemporary studies
have shown that patients receiving saliva production
inhibiting medication need to have saliva production
stimulating drugs. A reduced saliva production (Hyposialie)
can also be caused by physical and psychical stress. Possibly,
some of the readers may have experienced the phenomenon
of a ‘dry mouth’ when they have found themselves in stressful
situations (i.e. exams, delivering lectures about gladiator
osteology etc.). Chewing is known to be a main stimulant of
saliva production; hence the increased frequency of caries
found within the remains from the gladiator graveyard may
be related to the rudimentary, pulpy and carbohydrate rich
diet of the gladiators, and to reduced saliva production (due
to physical and psychical stress).
Workload and muscle markers
Arm and leg bones recovered from DAM93G gave revealed
significantly enlarged muscle markers most likely pointing to
an intense training and physical exercise program; similar
findings were made at the muscle markers surrounding the
elbow. Additionally, faint traits for subperosteal hemorrhage
on several tibiae were found consistent with the assumed
harsh training conditions. However, detailed investigations of
these findings are still the object of research.
Nutrition and mineral content of bones:
Employing ICP-OES twice the normal strontium level was
found in the gladiator bones (DAM93G) compared to the
reference sub samples from contemporaneous Ephesus (Fig.
2d). Most likely, this is due to the gladiators’ diet (known
from various reports) to consist of barley and beans
supplemented by drinks containing bone ash which served as
a mineral substitute. The strontium content of bone tissue is
due to accidental input of strontium instead of calcium,
which appears to have similar chemical characteristics. As
seen in the food chain calcium undergoes a so-called bio-
purification resulting in a diminished strontium proportion
in individuals with a meat-rich diet. The fact, that gladiators
have been named as hordearii is consistent with our findings
indicating a vegetarian diet. In comparison, the remains
recovered from the two pithoi and the female skeleton
mentioned above did not show elevated strontium content.
Generally all individuals investigated for this study appeared
to be in a good nutritional state since no signs of pathologies
or deficiencies like cribra orbitalia or cribra cranii were found.
Content of the pithoi
Sorting and reassembling of the content (a total of 18 kg) of
the two pithoi suggest that this results from a mass cremation.
Apparently the first pithos was used until it was full, the
second contains remaining cremated matter. Curved cracks
found on the remains indicate, that the cremation was
performed when soft tissue was present and the body was still
in articulation. MNI analysis showed that at least 18
individuals have been interred in these vessels. Three of them
have been identified as females and one subadult. This fact,
the lack of traumatic lesions and the strontium content in
these bones lead use to the assumption that these cremations
are more probably victims of a natural disaster or epidemic,
rather than contextually associated with the gladiators.
Additional findings
A single finding on the distal part of a left femur showed four
equal imprints, 6 mm in diameter and with a distance of 13
mm. These lesions correspond to the legendary ‘cubic
fourdent’, a special gladiatorial weapon reported in the
Eastern Roman empire (Pfuhl and Möbius, 1977). However
since only one lesion of this kind was found it cannot be
taken as evidence for the existence and use of this kind of
weapon but nevertheless contributes to the discussion on
ancient gladiator armament in the Roman east.
Conclusion
The osseous evidence reported in this study proves and
amends historical reports on Roman gladiators and extends
current knowledge about living conditions as well as the
manner and cause of death. Additionally it has to be pointed
out, that no female or sub-adult remains with characteristic
‘gladiatorial’ features could be found. Ongoing and planned
extensive and more detailed investigations of the remains
from DAM93G are promising to provide deeper insight in
the ancient Roman gladiator community, i.e. ancient DNA
analysis, stable isotopes or histomorphometric investigations
on the muscle markers. Also the finding of additional
gladiatorial graveyards seems to be quiet likely and will be
broaden the base of knowledge in this field.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the Directorate-General for
Antiquities and Museums of Ankara, Turkey for permitting
our investigations. The archaeologists of the Austrian
Archaeological Institute: Wolfgang Pietsch, who carried out
the excavation of DAM93G during the quest for the Holy

FABIAN KANZ AND KARL GROSSSCHMIDT: DYING IN THE ARENA: THE OSSEOUS EVIDENCE FROM EPHESIAN GLADIATORS
219
Procession Path under supervision of Dieter Knibbe in 1993;
Fritz Krinzinger, who provided the excavated remains to the
authors and Sabine Ladstätter for helping with the inventory
of metal objects used in Ephesian Roman society. Further to
Gabriele Schlotter and Beate Wallner for preparing the
ground sections for the histological examinations; Michael
Urban from the Danube hospital for performing CT scans on
the bones and finally to Jan Kiesslich and Paul Elston for
idiomatic support.
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