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Maximus… of York: Unearthed, the skeletons of 80 gladiators slaughtered for the crowds
Slaughtered in the arena by tigers, or killed by a hammer blow from a fellow fighter, they died to entertain bloodthirsty crowds.
Such a savage spectacle is mostly associated with ancient Rome, but historians believe they have uncovered an entire cemetery of gladiators in the North of England.
The 2,000-year-old remains of almost 80 young men, mutilated by horrific injuries, were found by archaeologists as they excavated a residential area of York.
Excavation: Kurt Hunter-Mann, right, a field officer at York Archaeological Trust, examines a skeleton unearthed at a site in York
Read more www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1284496/Maximus–York-Unearthed-skeletons-80-gladiators-slaughtered-crowds-Roman-Britain.html
Buried: The site may be part of the world's only well-preserved Roman gladiator cemetery
Their discovery initially baffled experts, who believed the men could have been the victims of a mass execution.
But a team of archaeologists and Waking The Dead-style forensic scientists believe they have solved the mystery.
They claim the men's injuries - including many decapitations and an apparent tiger bite to one skeleton – suggest they were gladiators who met a bloody end.
