This week, a string of archaeological studies lend insight into Roman gladiators, an ancient crocodile-like beast, and a prehistoric bird nearly lost to time.

Researchers compared puncture marks on an 1,800-year-old skeleton in the UK to various animal bites, and concluded that the individual was likely bitten by a lion.

In Rome's Colosseum and other amphitheaters in cities scattered across the sprawling ancient Roman Empire, gladiatorial spectacles were not merely human-versus-human affairs. Gladiators also were pitted against animals.