L'analyse d'un squelette à York

Tall, powerfully-built and with a killer instinct he would have been a
fearsome sight - especially if you were a gladiator facing him in the
ring.


Archaeologists do not know his name but are convinced the remarkable
discovery of the Roman gladiator's bones in York provide a clear clue of
where the amphitheatre was in the city. Back when he was
fighting for his survival in the ring 1,600 years ago, York was the
Roman capital of the north and the ground underneath the Yorkshire
Museum has long been thought of as the prime location for the site. The
amphitheatre would have been similar to the one seen in the 2000 film
Gladiator which featured Russell Crowe as a bloodthirsty warrior. The
remains of the British gladiator were found just 30cm below the
foundations of the museum by builders carrying out refurbishment works.



He
was very tall for a Roman, standing at 5ft 10in, and of muscular build.
The average height for people living at that time was 5ft 3in. Analysis
of the bones, shows that the skeleton was once a powerful, athletic man
who was stabbed at least six times in a fatal attack - including a
powerful sword blow to the back of the head. Because of the way
his body was found without hint of burial ceremony experts believe he
could have been a disgraced or defeated gladiator who was then literally
thrown out with the rubbish after his savage death. Experts at York Osteoarchaeology have now concluded the man was aged between 36 and 45.

Andrew Morrison, head curator of the Yorkshire Museum, said: 'This was a
huge man for the Roman period who died a violent and bloody death. 'The
physical evidence reveals he was a swordsman and that his body was
literally dumped with the rubbish - there was no hint that he had been
buried in a ceremonial way. 'But what is really interesting to us
is that he was found in this area, which is not associated with Roman
burials and that many believe could be where York's amphitheatre was
located. 'It is far from certain but it could well be the case
that this man was a disgraced gladiator who was brutally killed and then
left to rot.' The skeleton was found in January by builders
carrying out work on the museum a foot below the foundations, during a
£2million refit.

Because it is also a key medieval site, the precinct of St Mary's
Abbey, excavation at the location has been limited and meant that the
Museum Gardens remains one of the few untouched areas in the city large
enough to house the amphitheatre. The scientists discovered that
he would have been a very muscular man, with lesions in his vertebrae
suggesting spinal stress, possibly through lifting heavy loads. They
also found the man met a most barbaric end. There are six blade
injuries on the skeleton which, because there are no signs of healing,
must have been delivered at death. Malin Holst, director of York
Osteoarchaeology, said: 'A wound is recognisable as one side is sharp
and smooth and the other edge is rough.' She added: 'To work out his age we looked at the degeneration of his joints and wear to his teeth. 'You can tell height by measuring a long bone like a thigh or shin bone. We knew he was muscular as the bones were shapely. Experts
have eliminated other sites in the city that may have housed the
amphitheatre and think this could be a highly significant discovery, as
the area is large enough to have accommodated a massive arena. The remains are now on public display at the museum.

---

Source: Mail Online [December 11, 2010]

Source : http://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2010/12/more-on-york-gladiator-skeleton-find.html

Agé de 36 à 45 ans !
Mince moi qui me trouvais trop vieux pour ce genre de bêtises...

Plus sérieusement, je ne peux m’empêcher de trouver le rapprochement avec la gladiature suspect.
Il devait y avoir de multiples occasions de trouver une mort violente dans l’antiquité…

J'avoue que je l'ai lu en diagonale, fatiguée hier soir d'avoir encore à traduire

Mais de toute façon, pour les archéologues, dès que c'est un squelette et que c'est tout pété, c'est un gladiateur. Il manque la tête ? encore mieux, un gladiateur décapité parce qu'il combattait mal, bouuuuh, vilains romains.

Et bien d’après ce que j’ai compris, il s’agit du squelette d’un personnage athlétique, mesurant 1m76, ayant fait des travaux de force au cours de sa vie, âgé de 36 à 45 ans, qui est mort violemment de 6 coups de couteaux dont un violent derrière la nuque et qui n’a pas reçu de sépulture.

Comme il a été retrouvé non loin du lieu supposé d’un amphithéâtre, ce ne peut être qu’un gladiateur, exécuté comme dit Achillia parce qu’il combattait mal, puis jeté dans une fosse. (Et en plus, il n’aura même pas un pot de fleurs…)

Pourquoi pas. Mais j’ai du mal à imaginer un personnage de 40 ans, ayant rudement travaillé pendant toute sa vie, finir jeté dans une fosse (même pas commune). D’autan plus que s’il y a bien des traces des coups mortels, il n’est pas fait mention de cicatrices anciennes qui pourrait valider une activité martiale au cours de sa « longue » carrière.

Ca pourrait aussi bien être le vestige d’un sordide assassinat antique…

Je crois qu'on cherche trop vite en ce moment à identifier des corps comme étant ceux de gladiateurs.
Il y a une espèce de frénésie autour de ce phénomène, je pense que pour un archéologue c'est un coup d'éclat que de découvrir un authentique squelette de combattant.
Mais pour autant, faudrait pas identifier comme tel le moindre mec qui s'est tordu la cheville...

Dans le même genre, je discutais dernièrement avec Dario BATTAGLIA, des 70 squelettes trouvés à Ephése en Turquie et qui sont présentés comme étant ceux de gladiateurs.
Pour lui la conclusion est hâtive et il s’agirait plutôt des dépouilles de condamnés à mort…

Connaissant pas le sujet, je ne peux pas me prononcer...

ou le fameux squelette retrouvé en autriche ou l'archéologue a rien trouvé de mieux de dire que les gladiateur étaient obèses car la graisse amortit les coup. Il s'est basé sur le fait que les jointures des os sont abimés, ce qui se retrouve chez les obèses d'une part, mais aussi chez les sportifs donc parfois il est vrai qu'il font des conclusion hative.

je pense que tu veux parler des squelettes d'Ephèse (Turquie) analysés par une équipe de chercheurs autrichiens

oui voila exactement, j'avais cela le soir très tard je me rapeller plus ou cela étais merci pour la correction