Discovered: Europe's biggest amphitheatre after the Coliseum

The Independent (U.K.) ^ | 09/27/03 | Elizabeth Nash

[Pokey78]

Archaeologists in the Spanish city of Cordoba have uncovered beneath the university's old veterinary faculty Europe's biggest Roman amphitheatre after the Coliseum.

The find, considered to be "of transcendental importance", dates from the first century AD, when Corduba, as it was then known, was the provincial capital of Betica, today's Andalusia, in imperial Hispania. "We initially thought it was a circus, the circular arena the Romans used for horse races and chariot rides," says Desiderio Vaquerizo, professor of architecture at Cordoba University. "But we discovered it was an immense oval amphitheatre - 178m by 145m and up to 20m high - that would have been used for gladiatorial contests and other bloodthirsty spectacles." The find reveals Cordoba as an imperial city built in Rome's image.

"The amphitheatre shows that Cordoba symbolised Rome's authority in the west: it was the setting for imperial ceremonies, the place where the emperor showed himself to the plebs and displayed all his power and authority before up to 50,000 spectators," Mr Vaquerizo told The Independent yesterday.

Less than one tenth of the arena is visible, but archaeologists plan to uncover one sixth of it - 2,000 square metres - in coming years.

The rest of the vast stadium - bigger, more sophisticated and elegant, than even that at Italica outside Seville - is likely to remain buried under buildings piled on over the centuries.

In bloodsoaked contests popular between the first and fourth centuries, gladiators were set against each other, or against lions or other wild beasts, or - with the huge space flooded with water - engaged in gigantic naval battles.

Archaeologists have found a plaque marking the seats reserved for a prominent Cordoban family honoured by imperial Rome. They also found 20 carved gravestones of fallen gladiators, the biggest such collection outside Rome, prompting experts to conclude that Cordoba was an important training school for gladiators. "Combatants were between 20 and 25, and their comrades, their concubines or their families carved epigraphs on stone tablets laid on the graves where the fallen were buried inside the amphitheatre," Mr Vaquerizo explained.

The inscriptions record the category of the gladiator, his victories, the laurels and prizes awarded, and the age he died.

Cordoba's amphitheatre was abandoned in the 4th century, when Emperor Constantine, influenced by Christianity, banned the murderous sports as immoral.

Then in 711, Muslims originally from Damascus occupied Cordoba and for the next 200 years built an entire neighbourhood upon the handsome curved terraces, plundering the stonework for buildings of their own. "The discovery is of transcendental importance for the city. It recovers the importance of Roman games, a key aspect of popular daily life," Mr Vaquerizo said. It shows the continuity of mass spectator sports from the Roman empire to today's fiestas and bullfights.

"The bullring originated in an amphitheatre; it is the historical thread linking today's popular fiestas to ancient times."

The university and the city authorities plan to turn the site into an archaeological park.

[Mears]

Amazing! A beautiful city,but frightening for me the night I got lost in it's rabbit warren of streets and couldn't find my hotel.

[facedown]

You might be interested in this.

[RightWhale]

"of transcendental importance"

Does it go beyond or above something?

[Michael81Dus]

Especially hard for you when walking with several bottles of wine in your stomach, right? ;-)

[blam]

"You might be interested in this."

Thanks for the ping. Current events, huh? (lol)

[Mears]

LOL! And "no habla espanol" either!!! God,what a nightmare!

[facedown]

Current events, huh?

Well at least it wasn't posted to Breaking News! LOL...

[mewzilla]

Cool beans. Thanks for the post!

[Ditter]

Your story of getting lost in Cardoba reminds me of getting lost in Paris. It was my first afternoon & I went out shopping, I lost my direction, forgot the name of my hotel & was almost in tears by the time I got back. After that I always made sure I had something with the name of my hotel on it.

[Michael81Dus]

;-) You must have started drinking during the flight, haven´t you?

[RightWhale]

getting lost in Paris

Happens to many. They stumble into a Leftbank bistro, run into a small group of intense, coffee-drinking, chain-smoking bohemians and are never heard from again except for a few indescribable paintings and indecipherable essays found in an unheated attic years later.

[Ditter]

LOL No, I don't drink anything EVER! I'm directionaly challenged with jet lag. If you have ever been to Paris, they have these intersections where 3 streets cross. You can get lost really fast. I could have flagged a taxi but since I forgot the name of the hotel I didn't know where to tell him to take me. I was about ready to go to the American Embassy. LOL

[Ditter]

Now that sounds cool. You do know I am an artist, don't you?

[RightWhale]

Art has been dead or asleep. Seems like it ended with a multicolor dribble of gallons of paint a few years back. Technique has certainly made tremendous strides, but the art isn't happening. It's also time for politics to reawaken, maybe both are about ready to roll out of bed and do some new things. It's time to get up and greet the rosy dawn.

[ChipShot]

There can not really be two artists from Texas that are Freepers. Of course living here around Austin, most of other artists we know are to the left of Howard Dean. Glad to know we are not alone....

[Ditter]

Glad to meet you ChipShot. Austin is a beautiful town in a beautiful part of the state but I would be in a constant state of rage if I lived there. I don't know what the liberal-conservative balance is here in Houston. I only have a couple of liberal friends & they know better than to talk politics with me. One former liberal friend, during clintons impeachment said "4 years & $40 million dollars" to me one day & it was {{{pow}}} right in the kisser (hers). I haven't seen her since. I have a short fuse sometimes. LOL

[Mears]

Good advice! I'll always do that from now on.

[Publius6961]

the place where the emperor showed himself to the plebs and displayed all his power and authority before up to 50,000 spectators,"

I have trouble believing that a stadium measuring 178 by 145 meters held "only" 50000 spectators.