Roman Colosseum's New Floor Will Give Visitors A Gladiator's Point Of View

NPR ^ | May 3, 2021 | RACHEL TREISMAN

[SJackson]

The Roman Colosseum is one step closer to having a floor, which will let visitors see the ancient amphitheater from a gladiator's vantage point for the first time in two centuries.

Colosseum Gets A Good 2,000-Year Scouring The famed Italian landmark dates back to the Flavian dynasty of the first century, and was originally used to host spectacles like animal hunts and gladiatorial games. It's been without a complete floor since the nineteenth century, when archaeologists removed it to reveal the network of structures and tunnels underneath.

[SJackson]

I doubt any current stadium will have such an existence.

Can't find my picture which shows both, but below the modern bridge over the Guadalquivir in Cordoba Spain (apologies if I googled the wrong one but then there's a similar one there) and the Roman bridge. Makes you point.

[SunkenCiv]

There's also a Roman lighthouse on Spain's west coast, and a bridge that originally was set without mortar (which means, nothing to crumble away from the joints); AFAIK, all of these have had restoration work done in the past century or so, but the fact that they were still around to be restored (and still in use) tells us a lot. :^)

[Richard Axtell]

I would think that they will only cover maybe half of the floor, to allow visitors to see the gladiator cells below.

Too bad all most all of the marble facades and half the structure were taken to build Medieval and Renaissance structures. The original building must have been spectacular, though its purpose was so dark. Not sure how many people died in the Flavian Amphitheater, but it was a very large number.

[SunkenCiv]

Imperial Rome had about a million inhabitants. The Colosseum had only 50,000 or so seats. During the games, your chances of getting a good seat depended on who you were, who you knew, and how creatively you exploited both.

Getting good seats at the Colosseum | July 16, 2021 | toldinstone

• toldinstone's colosseum videos

[SunkenCiv]

The most impressive part of the Colosseum lay beneath the sandy arena, where a labyrinth of passages, cages, and lifts waited to release gladiators and exotic beasts into the sun. These subterranean levels, known as the Hypogeum, were recently opened to the public for the first time.

Under the Colosseum | August 6, 2021 | toldinstone

[SunkenCiv]

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