New Delhi, April 28 -- Researchers have found what they claim is the first physical evidence of combat between a gladiator and a large cat, probably a lion, in the Roman period.

The findings centre on a person's bones from a Roman-period cemetery outside York in England. The site is believed to contain the remains of gladiators.

The bones of the individual showed distinct lesions that, upon close examination and comparison with modern zoological specimens, were identified as bite marks from a large feline species, a statement by Maynooth University, Ireland, noted.

"It is proposed, based on the evidence from the archaeological, medical and forensic evidence that the bite marks on 6DT19 derive from a large felid, such as a lion...The lo...