Lions used to punish captives in Roman Leicester

THE Romans used lions to punish captives in Britain, historians have said after finding an artefact in Leicester.

The discovery of an ancient, carved, bronze key handle showing an unarmed barbarian fighting a lion has provided insight into how Roman Britain may have used the wild animals for public entertainment.

The artefact was found while excavations were carried out ahead of the construction of a Novotel.

The finding suggested lions may have been used as public punishment by being unleashed on captives in front of crowds in Leicester around 200AD.

The bronze handle was called a “really quite surprising” discovery by Dr John Pearce, senior lecturer in archaeology at King’s College London.

He added it was “the first evidence that Roman Britain imported lions for the execution of captives in public spectacles in Leicester”. Dr Pearce told The

Sunday Times: “The animal might come from one of those imperial parks around Rome, used for the Colosseum.”