When we think of Ancient Rome, we invariably think of togas, names ending in -ius and Victor Mature in a jockstrap, battling lions in the Colosseum. We also tend to imagine Julius Caesar, Augustus and Nero chilling out at the Games in the Colosseum.
But the Colosseuem wasn’t actually built until after Julius, Claudius and Nero.
The site was originally a flat area on the valley floor between the Caelian, Esquiline and Palatine Hills. The area was devastated by the Great Fire of Rome, after which Nero seized it to build his grandiose Domus Aurea, complete with an artificial lake and extensive gardens.
In turn, the Domus was torn down and the lake filled in and the area was used as the site for the emperor Vespasian’s new amphitheatre.
The Colosseum was used for its original purpose for nearly another 500 years. Over the centuries, it was used as a cemetery and even a castle.
It was also significantly stripped down and hollowed out. The wooden upper levels were destroyed, the stonework was damaged by earthquakes and “stone robbers”, who nicked the stone for other projects, or burned the marble to make quicklime. The bronze clamps holding the stonework together were also hacked out and stolen.
Most notably, the floor of the original amphitheatre was destroyed, leaving open the network of “backstage” corridors, cages and cells.
While most of Rome’s great amphitheater has survived remarkably well for two millennia, its flooring has not been so lucky. The main floor of the massive over 50,000-seater arena has mostly disappeared, leaving the rooms and corridors below ground open to the elements – rooms where gladiators and wild animals were kept before their deadly fights, Reuters reports[…]
Recently, archaeologists removed the last crumbling parts of flooring.
Now, Italy’s government is trying to restore some measure of the Colosseum’s ancient glory.
In a bid to bring back the Colosseum’s former glory with a modern twist, Italy’s Culture Ministry announced on 2 May that it was commissioning an engineering firm to carry out the project and hopes to complete it by 2023.
The project involves adding a wooden platform that covers the entire arena’s main floor, which will enable visitors to walk across it and view the Colosseum as gladiators once did[…]
This wooden platform will come in the form of hundreds of movable slats that can rotate to allow ventilation and light to the underground rooms. Shown in mesmerizing detail in the engineering firm’s YouTube video, the wooden flooring platform looks to add value to the entire Colosseum’s new look. The video is in Italian but you will still glean a good understanding of what the undertaking involves.
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Ten bucks says the first in will shout, “Are You Not Entertained? Are You Not Entertained? Is This Not Why You Are Here?”
You know you want to.
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