XXIV



Coliseum

The Coliseum The Coliseum was a gigantic pubic roman entertainment center. It could seat 45,000 pedestrians. Some people were not lucky enough to get a seat in the Coliseum so they had to stand. The Coliseum is were the Romans came to watch bloody fights between gladiators, and battles between animals and men. This is also were the Romans throw people to lions! Watching people be killed was very fascinating to the Romans. During battles in the Coliseum many people died.The ancient Romans were great builders. They built things to last. The Colosseum was built of concrete, faced with stone, as were most amphitheaters.Beneath the wooden floor of the arena, which was covered with sand (arena) and from which its name is taken, was an elaborate substructure of service corridors, cages for wild animals, ramps, and mechanical lifts added by Domitian. It was built in the early days of the Roman Empire, around 70 CE. It was designed to host huge spectacles. Anyone could attend the events in the Colosseum. Admission was free. The seating of fifty thousand spectators was handled by a series of ambulatory corridors. They provided orderly access to the seating, which was divided by aisles into four successive tiers, each reserved by social class. Stairs further separated these sections into wedges. Nearest the arena was the podium, which was reserved for senators and other magistrates, who were protected from wild animals by a gilded net.