A 6,000-year-old man survived a lion attack in Bulgaria, a skeleton has revealed

Archaeologists have recently found the remains of a young man who lived 6,000 years ago – and survived a brutal encounter with a lion.

The study published in the February 2026 edition of the peer-reviewed Journal of Archaeology: Reports focuses on a Late Eneolithic necropolis in the Thracian region of eastern Bulgaria.

The subject of the study is the skeleton of a man who died between the ages of 18 and 30. He was over 5 feet 7 inches tall and lived between 4600 and 4200 BC, during the Late Eneolithic.

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The tomb is located near another archaeological site called Kozareva Mogila, or Goat Mound, near the shores of the Black Sea.

After analyzing the skeleton, researchers identified severe spinal and limb injuries – including puncture wounds to the man’s skull.

Those wounds suggest an attack by a large carnivore – and interestingly, the wounds appear to have healed, meaning it survived the encounter.

The study authors said the injuries occurred during adolescence, perhaps between the ages of 10 and 18.

Nadezhda Karastoyanova, a paleontologist at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences in Sofia, told Fox News Digital that lions were present in eastern Bulgaria during the Late Eneolithic.

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Karastoyanova led the zooarchaeological analysis – and credited her colleagues Veselin Danov, Petya Petrova and Viktoria Ruseva for writing, interpreting and analyzing the skeleton respectively.

“There is direct archaeological evidence of human interaction with lions,” said Karastoyanova. “More than 15 lion remains have been identified in ancient sites across Bulgaria, some with cut marks indicating hunting and slaughter.”

“This injury would make a person unable to stand up for himself [and] we highly recommend long-term care and support from the surrounding community.”

He added, “A large number of lion fossils come from areas along the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria, such as Durankulak and the Sozopol area. The burials of this individual are in the same area, making encounters between humans and large predators possible.”

He noted that such fossil evidence of prehistoric animal attacks on humans is “very rare.”

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“In this case, bone trauma not only survives in the archaeological record but also shows clear signs of healing, indicating long-term survival,” he said.

Damage to the skin “may cause neurological effects,” he added, possibly including epilepsy.

The researchers say puncture wounds found on the young man’s skull indicate an encounter with a large carnivore during Bulgaria’s Late Eneolithic period. (Veselin Danov)

“If combined with other disabilities, this injury would enable a person to be independent [and] we highly recommend long-term care and support from the surrounding community.”

Karastoyanova was impressed that the man survived for months after the attack – which he said “gives a rare insight into the resilience and social care of Urefulithic societies.”

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Interestingly, Karastoyanova noted that this man’s grave is among the poorest in the necropolis, with no goods.

“This is very different from the nearby Varna Eneolithic Necropolis, of the same period, which contains some of the oldest and richest gold burials,” he said.

A necropolis was found in the Thracian area of ​​eastern Bulgaria, which can be seen here. (Stock)

“This combination highlights the strong social diversity of Eneolithic societies, where inequality of wealth was accompanied by evidence of care and support for the vulnerable.”

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Archaeological evidence of injuries caused by lions is rare, but not unprecedented.

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Last spring, diggers discovered that a skeleton in a Roman cemetery outside York, England, bore signs of a lion’s wound.