A discovery in an English garden led to the first direct evidence that man fought beast to entertain the subjects of the Roman Empire.

Images of gladiators being bitten by lions have appeared in ancient mosaics and pottery for hundreds of years. However, this is the first convincing skeletal evidence from the Roman Empire of bite marks produced by the teeth of a large cat, such as a lion.

Archaeologist Malin Holst has been helping us uncover the facts