A spectacle of the Roman amphitheatre at Viminacium

Multiproxy Analysis of a Brown Bear Skull

Datos Bibliográficos

ID3782004
AutoresNemanja Marković (0000-0002-5260-4362, Institute of Archaeology, autor de correspondencia), Bruce Rothschild (0000-0003-1327-6615, Indiana University Health), Danijela Popović (0000-0003-1025-3776, University of Warsaw), Ivan Bogdanović (0000-0003-4560-7861, Institute of Archaeology), Vuković (0000-0003-2731-2146, University of Belgrade)
Año2025
Volumen99
Número407
Páginas1-17
Fecha de publicación2025-09-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaAntiquity (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0003-598X • E-ISSN: 1745-1744
EditorialAntiquity Publications (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.15184/aqy.2025.10173
OpenAlexW4413876140
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas2
Referencias citadas25

Roman amphitheatres were centres of public entertainment, hosting various spectacles that often included wild animals. Excavation of a building near the Viminacium amphitheatre in Serbia in 2016 uncovered the fragmentary cranium of a bear. Multistranded analysis, presented here, reveals that the six-year-old male brown bear (Ursus arctos) suffered an impact fracture to the frontal bone, the healing of which was impaired by a secondary infection. Excessive wear to the canine teeth further indicates cage chewing and thus a prolonged period of captivity that makes it likely this bear participated in more than one spectacle at the Viminacium amphitheatre

Archaeology · Art · Political science · Skull · Spectacle · Archaeological Research and Protection · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Geology · History · Paleontology · Paleopathology and ancient diseases