Aspendos dig reveals wrestler coins and skeletal remains

[guy]

 

As archaeological research continues in Aspendos, Turkey, recent findings are making the news. (See previous posts below.)

A recent excavation in a newly-found ancient cemetery yielded both an individual’s skeletal remains and coins depicting wrestlers. The tomb dates from 475-300 BCE. 

The grave appears to belong to a Classical‑period athlete — possibly a wrestler — based on the objects buried with him. Archaeologists found the skeleton inside a box‑style stone sarcophagus along with silver staters minted in Aspendos that depict two nude wrestlers, a motif strongly associated with the city’s athletic identity. 
 

Several Aspendian wrestler coins were placed with the deceased. These coins circulated widely, so they suggest (but do not prove) that the person was a wrestler. Scholars note that skeletal analysis — e.g., healed nasal fractures or musculoskeletal markers — will be needed to confirm athletic activity. The coins presence in the grave would still be meaningful: they could merely reflect Aspendos’ civic identity, where wrestling was not just a sport but a marker of local prestige.

Aspendos was a Greco‑Roman city in Pamphylia, about 16 km inland from the Mediterranean. It was founded by Greek colonists in the 5th century B.C. and became a prosperous hub for salt, olive oil, timber, and horse trading.

 

 

 

https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/2-400-year-old-grave-of-possible-ancient-pro-wrestler-discovered-in-turkey

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 40 minutes ago by guy