Dig discovery suggests city people were once thrown to the lions
BRONZE KEY HANDLE FOUND AT ROMAN TOWNHOUSE SHOWS MAN BEING BITTEN BY LION
AN archaeological dig in Leicester may have found evidence people were once thrown to the lions by their Roman overlords.
It is well known that the Roman Empire considered those opposed to them as barbarians who deserved to die horribly, and that the gladiator shows of 2,000 years ago were a lot more grisly than the ITV version.
But until now, a badly-bitten pelvis found in York had been the only evidence of execution by animal - damnatio ad bestias - happening here in England.
Now, a newly published paper by archaeologists concludes that a bronze key handle showing a man and a group of naked youths being savaged may suggest it actually happened here in Leicester - or Ratae Corieltauvorum, as it was known - during the city’s time as a prominent Roman town.
The discovery - at the site of a former Roman townhouse - was made by University of Leicester Archaeological Service in 2017 ahead of the building of the new Novotel on the inner ring road.
Dr Gavin Speed, who led the excavations at a site off Great Central Street, described the moment the find was made.
He said: “When first found, it appeared as an indistinguishable bronze object, but after we carefully cleaned off the soil, remarkably, we revealed several small faces looking back at us. It was absolutely astounding.
“Nothing quite like this has been discovered anywhere in the Roman Empire before.”
The item which will eventually be put on show at Leicester’s Jewry Wall Museum when it reopens in 2023 was sent to King’s College London for analysis.
Dr John Pearce, senior lecturer in archaeology at King’s College, said it was further evidence that wild animals were used as “agents of execution” in Roman Britain during public arena spectacles.
He said the engraving on the piece of bronze showed a lion biting the head of a “barbarian”, while four naked youths cower nearby in terror. Archaeologists believe the key handle was probably made a century or more after Britain was conquered by the Romans, which began in about 43AD. Roman law allowed the execution of criminals and prisoners of war in the arena - combining justice with entertainment. Many Roman towns in Britain possessed either an amphitheatre or a theatre, where such spectacles could have been witnessed by large crowds. The townhouse where the key handle was found stands next door to the newly-discovered Roman theatre in Leicester.
The King’s College researchers said it was “tempting to think that life did indeed imitate art and that the holders of the key had witnessed such scenes at close quarters”.
The findings have now been published in the journal Britannia.
Nothing quite like this has been discovered anywhere in the Roman Empire before
Dr Gavin Speed