Dyson, who formerly served as the president of the Archaeological Institute of America, said many fights operated within circus-like groups that traveled from city to city.
"Since gladiators were fairly expensive to maintain and train, economically it doesn't make much sense for them to have been killed off intentionally on a regular basis," he added.
Out of 68 skeletons analyzed at the Turkish burial site, however, all men ranged in age from 20 to 30, except for one individual who died at 55.
Dyson thinks that although the fights were organized, wounds inflicted by weapons such as tridents, hammers and foot-long sharp swords could take their toll over time.
He explained, "Given the state of ancient medicine, and the fact that these men were wounded on a regular basis, I suspect tetanus and other injury-related problems killed many gladiators off."
The University of Muenster team from Germany plans to further excavate the Alexandria Troas site later this year in hopes of finding more gladiator artifacts.
