Sausage dogs may have been made to fight bears in ancient Rome’s Colosseum, archaeologists say

Packs of sausage dogs might have been made to fight larger animals such as bears or perform acrobatics in the Colosseum in ancient Rome, archaeologists have said.

Archaeologists said they found the remains of small dogs similar to dachshunds for the first time while excavating the drains of the iconic 2,000-year-old amphitheatre, The Telegraph newspaper reported.

“We found many bones from dogs which were similar to the modern sausage dog,” Alfonsina Russo, director of the Colosseum, told The Telegraph.

“They were less than 30cm [11.8 inches] in height. We think they may have been used to perform acrobatic tricks, just as you would see in a circus today. Or it may be that they were used as part of staged hunts or even pitched against bears and animals like that. We don’t know for sure.”