Fighting in the Arena - Analyzing Skeletons of Roman gladiators P1 – With Dr Fabian Kanz (S01E05)

07/28/21 • 25 min

Maybe you know the movie “The Game changers” by UFC-fighter James Wilks. The premise of this documentary was him finding out, that roman gladiators ate very little to no meat. Before this, James Wilks was sure that animal protein was essential for the upkeep of energy levels, the growth of muscles and the healing from injuries. But after reading recent research papers on the subject, he was convinced that the gladiators had a predominantly plant-based diet during training and fights in the arena. Which in term led him to promote a vegan diet for modern day top athletes in his movie.

But is this actually true, were the gladiator’s “vegan”? In this episode we will lock at primary sources, results from analyzed bone samples and talk with Dr. Fabian Kanz, the researcher, who wrote the article James Wilks based “The Game changers” on and who is actually featured in the movie alongside people like Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Reverences:

Lösch et al. (2014), Stable Isotope and Trace Element Studies on Gladiators and Contemporary Romans from Ephesus (Turkey, 2nd and 3rd Ct. AD) – Implications for Differences in Diet
Meller, Sampaolo (2013), Gladiator. Looking on death every day
Kanz, Grossschmidt (2009), Dying in the Arena: The Osseous Evidence from Ephesian Gladiators
Nossov (2009), Gladiator. Rome’s bloody spectacle
Ville (1981), La gladiature en Occident des origines à la mort de Domitien

Website: https://23minarch.com

Support: patreon.com/23minarch

Reverences:

Lösch et al. (2014), Stable Isotope and Trace Element Studies on Gladiators and Contemporary Romans from Ephesus (Turkey, 2nd and 3rd Ct. AD) – Implications for Differences in Diet
Meller, Sampaolo (2013), Gladiator. Looking on death every day
Kanz, Grossschmidt (2009), Dying in the Arena: The Osseous Evidence from Ephesian Gladiators
Nossov (2009), Gladiator. Rome’s bloody spectacle
Ville (1981), La gladiature en Occident des origines à la mort de Domitien

Website: https://23minarch.com

Support: patreon.com/23minarch

Previous Episode

Meat for Warriors - The diet of Celtic individuals from the Iron Age – With Dr Sandra Lösch (S01E04)

As the title already indicates, in this episode we examine the diet of “Celtic warriors”. First, I present the late Iron Age cemetery of Münsingen and highlight why this site from Switzerland became such an important reverence point for Celtic archaeology: because based on the evolution of the characteristics of the fibulae grave goods a so-called typo-chronology could be established. Then we talk with Dr. Sandra Lösch, who was the supervisor of a recent research project on the diet of these late Iron Age individuals.

Reverences:

· Moghaddam et al. (2016), A bioarchaeological approach to the Iron Age in Switzerland: stable isotope analyses (δ13C, δ15N, δ34S) of human remains

· Moghaddam et al. (2016), Zur Ernährung und Sozialstratigraphie der Kelten aus Münsingen-Rain

· Moghaddam et al. (2014), Social stratigraphy in Late Iron Age Switzerland: stable carbon, nitrogen and sulphur isotope analysis of human remains from Münsingen

· Martin-Kilchner (1973), Zur Tracht- und Beigabensitte im keltischen Gräberfeld von Münsingen-Rain

· Hodson (1968), The La Tène Cemetery at Münsingen-Rain
Links: https://23minarch.com
Support: https://www.patreon.com/23minarch

Next Episode

Dying in the Arena - Analyzing Skeletons of Roman gladiators P2 – With Dr Fabian Kanz (S01E06)

I grew up loving the film “gladiator” with Russel Crow and Joaquin Phoenix. And probably since the beginning of film, gladiators were an integral part of the display of ancient Rome. Take the figure of Spartacus for example; probably his first appearance on the screens was in an Italian silent movie from 1913, then came the masterpiece from Stanley Kubrick in 1960 or the more recent, the tv-series “Spartacus, Blood and Sand”.

One mutual element these films have, are brutal displays of duels and dramatic deaths of gladiators in the arena. In the last episode we focused on how one became a gladiator and what their diet actually was. Now, let’s focus on the gritty stuff, the chances of surviving an encounter in the arena, injuries and finally, actual causes of death! Additionally, I tried to find out if there is also evidence for female gladiators. In order to investigate these questions, we turn to the gladiator graveyard in ancient Ephesus and continue our conversation with the researcher, who analyzed these excavated skeletons Dr. Fabian Kanz.

Reverences:

Lösch et al. (2014), Stable Isotope and Trace Element Studies on Gladiators and Contemporary Romans from Ephesus (Turkey, 2nd and 3rd Ct. AD) – Implications for Differences in Diet
Meller, Sampaolo (2013), Gladiator. Looking on death every day
Kanz, Grossschmidt (2009), Dying in the Arena: The Osseous Evidence from Ephesian Gladiators
Nossov (2009), Gladiator. Rome’s bloody spectacle
Ville (1981), La gladiature en Occident des origines à la mort de Domitien

website: https://23minarch.com

Support: patreon.com/23minarch