Tales of gladiators going head-to-head with ferocious lions in ancient Rome’s coliseum are legendary. Scenes of such deadly combat have been portrayed in stories, paintings, and mosaics (a Man versus Big Cat conflict was even suggested in the movie “Gladiator,” but never actually depicted). But until now, there has never been any direct physical evidence that such contests took place.

A discovery showing tooth marks on a human bone suggests that these artistic accounts are more journalistic than fictional. It represents the first piece of archeological forensic evidence that man versus lion matches did, indeed happen during the Roman Empire, according to an article in PLOS One.

“For years, our understanding of Roman gladiatorial combat and animal spectacles has relied heavily on historical texts and artistic depictions,” Tim Thompson, an archeologist from Maynooth University, Ireland and lead author of the study, said in a press release. “This discovery provides the first direct, physical evidence that such events took place in this period, reshaping our perception of Roman entertainment culture.”

Roman Gladiator Evidence in England

The evidence comes not from Italy, but, rather a Roman cemetery in York, England. It turns out that the city, famous for its massive gothic Minster cathedral, is also home to a gladiator graveyard.

An 1800-year-old cemetery lies on the Roman road leading out of York. Excavation began there in 2004. Archaeologists since then have examined 82 male skeletons. But there was no conclusive evidence that the remains of what appeared to be robust young men were anyone other than soldiers or slaves — until now.

“The bite marks were likely made by a lion, which confirms that the skeletons buried at the cemetery were gladiators, rather than soldiers or slaves, as initially thought and represent the first osteological confirmation of human interaction with large carnivores in a combat or entertainment setting in the Roman world,” Malin Holst, a lecturer at University of York’s Department of Archaeology and an author of the paper, said in the press release.

Read More: Archaeological Treasures Hidden Beneath the Colosseum

Lion Attack Wounds Discovered on the Skeleton

Researchers compared bite marks on the skeleton to sample bites from a lion at a zoo and determined they matched. The wound did not appear to have healed and was likely the man’s cause of death. The man, who archaeologists estimated was between 26 years and 35 years old, also appears to have been decapitated following his demise, which may have been part of a Roman burial ritual then.

The burial location also indicates that gladiator competitions during the Roman Empire weren’t just limited to Rome.

“We often have a mental image of these combats occurring at the grand surroundings of the Colosseum in Rome, but these latest findings show that these sporting events had a far reach, well beyond the center of core Roman territories,” Holst said. “An amphitheater probably existed in Roman York, but this has not yet been discovered.”

Read More: The Hierarchy of the 1,200-Year-Long Roman Empire

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Before joining Discover Magazine, Paul Smaglik spent over 20 years as a science journalist, specializing in U.S. life science policy and global scientific career issues. He began his career in newspapers, but switched to scientific magazines. His work has appeared in publications including Science News, Science, Nature, and Scientific American.