Archaeologists Opened the Tomb of a Roman Gladiator. They Didn’t Find a Gladiator Inside, but They Did Find 12 Other People

Tombs are among the most important treasures of our history. They serve as time capsules that reveal what life was like hundreds of years ago. Moreover, there’s always an intriguing aspect to them, given that researchers never know what they’ll uncover when they open one. Some tombs are said to guard the gates of hell, hold priceless treasures, and even contain artifacts that make people hesitant to explore further due to the potential consequences.

Interestingly, what archaeologists find inside may not always align with their expectations, as was the case with a recent discovery in Turkey.

The gladiator’s tomb. A team of archaeologists working on Ayasuluk Hill in Izmir, in Western Turkey, uncovered a 3rd-century A.D. tomb. The tomb bore inscriptions clearly indicating it belonged to a renowned Roman gladiator named Euphrates.

However, the real surprise came when they opened the ancient sarcophagus. Instead of finding Euphrates, the team discovered that the space was occupied by the bones of twelve men and women dating back to the 5th century A.D. What on Earth could have happened?

Many questions arise. The tomb was recently discovered during an excavation supported by Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The excavation team was working at the monument of St. John in the ruins of a basilica on Ayasuluk Hill, which was part of the ancient Greek city of Ephesus. During their work, they uncovered a sarcophagus inscribed with the name of its renowned “occupant.”

Experts later dated the original burial of the Roman gladiator to around 1,800 years ago. However, once they opened the tomb, they had new questions: What had happened to the gladiator? Why did his tomb contain the remains of 12 others?

A collective burial. Sinan Mimaroglu, an associate professor at Hatay Mustafa Kemal University’s Department of Art History and the lead researcher, told the local outlet Turkey Today, “We found one tomb and three tomb-like structures, with 12 individuals inside. This indicates a collective burial.” In other words, the tomb appears to have been reused.

Mimaroglu provided further insights into the discovery, noting that the research team initially found inscriptions indicating the tomb’s original purpose, stating, “It was built in the 3rd century A.D.” However, they later uncovered additional engravings dating back to the 5th century A.D. Mimaroglu said, “The burial inside the church likely belonged to the upper class or clergy, as it’s unlikely an ordinary person would be buried in such a meticulous manner within a church.”

As such, the 12 men and women buried in the 5th century likely held significant status in the society of that time.

Hints. In addition to the inscriptions, both the lid and interior of the stone coffin feature symbols of Christian crosses, similar to engravings previously found in imperial tombs in Turkey and Syria. Furthermore, archaeologists discovered three cross reliefs from the 5th century inside the sarcophagus, along with several crosses on the tomb’s lid that were likely added in the 8th century.

The research team is now comparing these crosses with others found in the region, hoping this will provide more insight into the beliefs of the people who carved them.

The enclave. The sarcophagus was buried just 8 inches beneath the basilica dedicated to St. John. The church served as an ancient burial site, which the Eastern Roman emperor Justinian I converted into a domed building during his reign between 527 and 565 A.D.

In the end, the tomb of the gladiator Euphrates will be remembered for revealing a surprising collective burial that occurred 200 years after his death. Unfortunately, very little is known about the warrior himself beyond his name.

Image | Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism

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