Amid the windswept plains and hills of Izmir, near Ephesus in Turkey, lies the sleepy ruins of St. John's Basilica. Situated on a hill called Ayasuluk, this site was home to an amazing discovery led by a team of archeologists under Dr. Sinan Mimaroğlu, as reported by Live Science.
While digging through centuries' worth of dirt, they unearthed an ancient 1,800-year-old sarcophagus. A discovery like this would have been an immense find on any day, but this sarcophagus was even better, for it had an inscription. For archeologists, finding written inscriptions is like discovering a gold mine.
The inscription stated that this was the sarcophagus of a man named Euphrates, who would have lived in the 3rd century CE (the tomb is similar to imperial tombs discovered in Istanbul, Marmara Island, and Syria, per Turkiye Today). Euphrates had a career that's immediately recognizable to modern audiences as a symbol of Roman culture; he was a gladiator.
However, when Dr. Sinan Mimaroğlu and his team opened the sarcophagus, instead of finding Euphrates' remains, they found something else.
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Who Was In The Gladiator Tomb Found In Turkey?
Scientists expected to find the gladiator Euphrates within the sarcophagus, but that was not the case
The inscription found on the sarcophagus indicated to Dr. Sinan Mimaroğlu that a man named Euphrates was supposed to be buried there. He would have lived in the 3rd century CE and had a profession that stands out amid those of Ancient Rome.
He was a gladiator. Based on the fact that he had a massive stone sarcophagus, it's likely that he was at the very least somewhat successful in this profession.
Naturally, one would assume that his body would be within the sarcophagus where it was initially placed 1,800 years ago. But archeologists found something completely different instead.
What did archeologists find instead?
Instead of the gladiator named Euphrates, archeologists found the remains of a dozen other people! These people were both male and female and would have been laid to rest in the 5th century CE.
By the 5th century, much had changed for the Roman Empire. The world that Euphrates was so familiar with would have been significantly different.
Saint John's Basilica, Turkey, Izmir, Turkey
Roman paganism was being supplanted by Christianity as the dominant religion of the Mediterranean, and the Roman Empire would have been split in half by the reforms of Diocletian.
The original site where Euphrates had been buried now had a church built over it. It was in this era that these 12 other women and men were buried.
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Why Was Euphrates Not In The Recently Discovered Tomb In Turkey?
Was Euphrates' removal a sign of disrespect or a symptom of a common practice in the Ancient World?
Basilica of Saint John, Ephesus, Turkey
While one's initial reaction might be that the removal of Euphrates was done out of disrespect, it's important to stress that in antiquity, large and heavy stone objects such as building blocks or sarcophagi were indeed regularly reused throughout history.
Visitors who have been to the wondrous sites of Egypt may already be familiar with this practice; it's not uncommon there to see an ancient wall whose stones bear the mismatched carvings of an even older structure.
Masonry was a long and arduous task, so works of stone were often reused to save time and money. They did take the time to carve out three crosses on the sides of the sarcophagus to make it fit the Christian iconography of the time.
When it comes to the discovery in Turkey, the fact that so many people were buried in one place may even indicate a time of financial hardship, a strong desire to be buried in/near St. John's Basilica, a desire to be buried with friends or family, or even a combination of all these possibilities.
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Who Was Euphrates?
What would his life as a gladiator have been like?
Close
While archeologists will likely never know much about this gladiator on a personal level, we can understand Euphrates' life based on what we know about others like him. Daily life in Ancient Rome could be very harsh, especially for gladiators.
As a gladiator, his life would have been marked by both success and struggle. Much of his day would have been spent training in his ludus, or Roman gladiator school (like the one in Rome today that you can visit), while his meals would have contained high-fat carbs like barley.
He may have become acquainted with others in his familia gladiatoria (literally translated as "gladiatoral family") who would have fought against or alongside him as they trained for the epic performances that would shape their lives.
Each night, he would have slept in a sparse cell, perhaps dreaming of the day that he would put on a show of high-class strength and skill for the citizens of Roman Asia, commonly known today as Anatolia or Turkey. In comparison to the rest of the population, Euphrates would have had access to top-notch medical care and often massages intended to make him battle-ready.
Gladiator Fight During Meal At Pompeii by Francesco Netti 1880
On the fateful days when he would enter the arena for combat, he may have felt anxious, excited, or both. Contrary to popular belief, professional Roman gladiators did not fight to the death. Fights to the death were often reserved for criminals who had been sentenced to death in the arena. For trained gladiators, this was not the case. Rather, they fought against other professional gladiators in battles meant to draw blood, but not to actually kill or maim.
A man like Euphrates would only have fought a few times a year. In the arena, his showmanship and mastery of his weapons kit would have been on full display before the roaring crowds. Gladiators in ancient times were akin to modern celebrities, so Euphrates likely would have had fans ready to see him emerge victorious.
While his life would have been a stable one, the harsh training may have made it uncomfortable. At the end of the day, only Euphrates can tell us about how he felt about his life. All we can do now is understand him as best we can through his historical context. Later, Ayasuluk Hill would become the resting place of Euphrates.
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What To Know About Ayasuluk Hill
The land Euphrates' tomb was built on was even older than he was
Tomb of St. John the Apostle, Turkey
Ayasuluk Hill, the mound that would become the resting place of the gladiator Euphrates, along with twelve other people in the 5th century, is actually even older than all these individuals combined.
The hill's history of human habitation actually began in the late Chalcolithic period and the Early Bronze Age, around 3,300 BCE. By Euphrates' time, this hill would already have been ancient.
Turkey is home to some of the world's most ancient civilizations, and Ayasuluk has been there for it all.
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You Can Visit The Historic Site Where Euphrates' Sarcophagus Was Found
Tourists can visit the Basilica of St. John in Izmir
Atrium of St. John Basilica, Turkey
Thankfully, for those who love Early Christian History, the Basilica of St. John in Izmir, Turkey, is available to visit. Although today it's only a shadow of what it was in antiquity, seeing the ancient pillars and arches of this historic site is truly an amazing experience!
This historic site is considered by Christian religious tradition to be the burial location of St. John the Evangelist. A small chapel was built here in the 4th century, but in the 6th century, the basilica was greatly expanded by the Roman Emperor Justinian.
This ancient basilica remains one of the most interesting historical sites to see in Turkey today.
Can you visit?
Yes
Entry fee:
30 Turkish lira, or approximately $1.00