when mentioned “Gladiator” (gladiator) or gladiator who entertained the audience in the Roman period. Many people think of the image of a big, athletic, muscular man like the hero in the Gladiator movie that was released more than ten years ago.
And would continue to think that these fighters need to be nourished with abundant food suitable for the intense physical exertion. Just like today’s athletes who have to build muscle by consuming protein along with various nourishing substances.
But from studying the gladiator skeleton at Ancient City of Ephesus point out that Most of these gladiators’ daily diets are vegetarian.
Ephesus (Ephesus, Ephesos) or Efes (Efes) was an ancient Roman city with a population of more than 200,000 in the past. It was the second largest city in the Roman Empire (after Rome) and its capital. of the Roman Empire in Asia Currently located in Turkey
Archaeologists excavating Ephesus in 1993 found Roman tombs and skeletons dating from the 2nd and 3rd century AD, both male and female. both being and not a gladiator (Known from the nature of the cemetery)
Prof. Fabian Kanz, Head of Research along with researchers from the Department of Forensic Medicine, Medical University of Vienna and the Department of Anthropology. Institute of Forensic Medicine The University of Bern analyzed 53 excavated skeletons (22 of them gladiators) using quantitative and chemistry instruments. or spectroscopy Spectroscopy measures the stable isotope ratio (especially the levels of carbon, nitrogen and sulfur) in bone collagen. and to determine the ratio of strontium to calcium (calcium) in bone mineralization.
The results of stable isotopes analysis yielded information that…..
Romans in Ephesus (Both that are and are not gladiators) eat vegetable food. In particular, barley and wheat grains are staple foods. Including some beans (legumes), few eat millet. Unlike other Roman gladiators who favored meat dishes.
(There is a specific term for a person who eats this type of food as hordearii or barley eater or barley men.)
Results from strontium and calcium analysis. Makes it more information that…..
The Gladiators would drink a special drink than the rest of the townspeople, a drink that was a mixture of vinegar and plant ash. which is an energy drink Help strengthen the body. It also helps heal bones as well.
Prof. Kanz says the drink appears in many historical writings and documents. The properties are comparable to those of today’s tonic pills. Rich in minerals and vitamins
However, the researchers also found that There were two skeletal owners who ate different foods than most of the townspeople. is to eat protein or meat as a staple food One frame is a gladiator. The other is a woman buried in a cemetery with a gladiator.
Evidence of this may show the immigration of the Romans. Especially gladiators, that is, they may have migrated from other parts of the Roman territories. (who eat meat as a staple food) came to settle at Ephesus (where the population eats whole grains as a staple food)
The researchers paid great attention to the issue of migration. In the future, further comparative studies of the bones of the Romans in different areas will be carried out, and will be analyzed in conjunction with other studies such as animal bone analysis, etc.
including interpreting the connection of food issues with other areas of information, such as when the gladiators ate different foods than the average townspeople It may have happened during the Gladiator’s life at the Martial School, for example.
