Brown Bear Skull Found At Site Of Ancient Roman Amphitheater

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.

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.

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