Archaeologists In Bulgaria Discover 6,000-Year-Old Skeleton Of Man Who Survived Lion Attack

Archaeologists in Bulgaria have uncovered the remains of a young man who lived around 6,000 years ago and survived a dangerous encounter with a lion. The discovery sheds light on prehistoric human interactions with large predators. The study of this skeleton is part of research published in the February 2026 issue of the Journal of Archaeological Science, Reports, focusing on a Late Eneolithic necropolis located in the Thracian region of eastern Bulgaria, reported Fox News.

The individual, who was between 18 and 30 years old at the time of death, was over 5 feet 7 inches tall and lived during the Late Eneolithic period, between 4600 and 4200 BC. His burial site is near a site called Kozareva Mogila, or Goat Mound, near the Black Sea coast.

Researchers discovered severe injuries on his skull and limbs, including puncture wounds. These injuries suggest he was attacked by a large carnivore, possibly a lion, and the wounds had healed, indicating he survived the attack. The researchers said the injury likely occurred during his adolescence, between the ages of 10 and 18.

Nadezhda Karastoyanova, a paleontologist at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences in Sofia, said that lions were present in eastern Bulgaria during the Late Eneolithic period. She explained that she led the zooarchaeological analysis and credited her colleagues Veselin Danov, Petya Petrova, and Victoria Ruseva for the documentation and analysis of the skeleton.

Karastoyanova noted that direct archaeological evidence exists of interactions between humans and lions. She said that more than 15 lion remains have been found at prehistoric sites in Bulgaria, some bearing cut marks, indicating hunting and butchering. They also stated that the majority of lion remains have come from sites along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, such as the Durankulak and Sozopol regions, where this individual was buried, suggesting that encounters between humans and large predatory animals may have occurred.

They added that skeletal evidence of animal attacks from prehistoric times is extremely rare.