Ancient man survived brutal lion attack, suffered lifelong damage: 'Extremely rare'

Archaeologists precocious uncovered the remains of a young antheral who lived 6,000 years agone — and survived a brutal brushwood with a lion.

A survey published successful the February 2026 variation of the peer-reviewed Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports focuses connected a Late Eneolithic necropolis successful the Thracian portion of eastbound Bulgaria.

The taxable of the survey is the skeleton of a antheral who died betwixt the ages of 18 and 30. He was much than 5 feet 7 inches gangly and lived betwixt 4600 and 4200 B.C., during the Late Eneolithic.

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The sedate is adjacent different archaeological tract called Kozareva Mogila, oregon the Goat Mound, adjacent the seashore of the Black Sea.

Upon analyzing the skeleton, researchers identified terrible cranial and limb injuries — including puncture wounds connected the man's skull.

Archaeologists studying a Late Eneolithic burial successful eastbound Bulgaria uncovered skeletal grounds of a prehistoric lion onslaught that a young antheral survived thousands of years ago. (iStock; Veselin Danov)

Those wounds suggest an onslaught by a ample carnivore — and interestingly, the wounds appeared to person healed, meaning helium survived the encounter.

The survey authors said the wounded occurred during adolescence, perchance betwixt the ages of 10 and 18.

Nadezhda Karastoyanova, a paleontologist astatine the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences successful Sofia, told Fox News Digital that lions were contiguous successful eastbound Bulgaria during the Late Eneolithic period.

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Karastoyanova headed the zooarchaeological investigation — and credited her colleagues Veselin Danov, Petya Petrova and Viktoria Ruseva with documenting, interpreting and analyzing the skeleton, respectively.

"There is nonstop archaeological grounds for interactions betwixt humans and lions," said Karastoyanova. "More than 15 lion remains person been identified astatine prehistoric sites crossed Bulgaria, immoderate bearing chopped marks that bespeak hunting and dismemberment."

"These injuries would person made autarkic endurance intolerable [and] powerfully suggest prolonged attraction and enactment from the surrounding community."

She added, "The highest attraction of lion remains comes from sites on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, specified arsenic Durankulak and the Sozopol area. Where this idiosyncratic was buried lies wrong the aforesaid broader region, making encounters betwixt humans and ample predators a realistic possibility."

She observed that specified skeletal grounds of prehistoric carnal attacks connected humans is "extremely rare."

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"In this case, the skeletal trauma not lone survived successful the archaeological grounds but besides shows wide signs of healing, indicating semipermanent survival," she said.

The cranial injuries "likely caused neurological consequences," she added, perchance including epileptic seizures.

Researchers accidental puncture wounds recovered connected a young man's skull bespeak an brushwood with a ample carnivore during Bulgaria's Late Eneolithic period. (Veselin Danov)

"Combined with different impairments, these injuries would person made autarkic endurance intolerable [and] powerfully suggest prolonged attraction and enactment from the surrounding community."

Karastoyanova was struck by the information that the antheral survived for months aft the onslaught — which she said "provides uncommon penetration into resilience and societal caregiving successful Eneolithic societies."

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Interestingly, Karastoyanova noted that the man's sedate is among the poorest successful the necropolis, with nary sedate goods.

"This contrasts sharply with the adjacent Varna Eneolithic Necropolis, dating to the aforesaid period, which contains immoderate of the world’s earliest and richest golden burials," she said.

The necropolis was discovered successful the Thracian portion of eastbound Bulgaria, which is seen here. (iStock)

"This juxtaposition highlights the beardown societal diverseness of Eneolithic societies, wherever wealthiness inequality coexisted with grounds for attraction and enactment of susceptible individuals."

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Archaeological grounds of lion-inflicted injuries is rare, but not without precedent.

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Last spring, excavators recovered that a skeleton from a Roman cemetery extracurricular of York, England, bore signs of a lion wound.