Down through the centuries, people filled the hypogeum with dirt and rubble, planted vegetable gardens, stored hay and dumped animal dung. In the amphitheater above, the enormous vaulted passages sheltered cobblers, blacksmiths, priests, glue-makers and money-changers, not to mention a fortress of the Frangipane, 12th-century warlords. Necromancers went there at night to summon demons. In the late 16th century, Pope Sixtus V, the builder of Renaissance Rome, tried to transform the Colosseum into a wool factory, with workshops on the arena floor and living quarters in the upper stories.
But owing to the tremendous cost, the project was abandoned after he died in In the years that followed, the Colosseum became a popular destination for botanists due to the variety of plant life that had taken root among the ruins.
As early as , naturalists began compiling detailed catalogs of the flora, listing different species. In and , archaeological excavations attempting to reach it were stymied by flooding groundwater. Beste and his colleagues spent four years using measuring tapes, plumb lines, spirit levels and generous quantities of paper and pencils to produce technical drawings of the entire hypogeum.
Gradually, as you work, the image of how things were takes shape in your subconscious. Colosseum architects made some changes to allow new methods of stagecraft. Other changes were accidental; a fire sparked by lightning in A. Beste also began to decipher the odd marks and incisions in the masonry, having had a solid grounding in Roman mechanical engineering from excavations in southern Italy, where he learned about catapults and other Roman war machines. He also studied the cranes that the Romans used to move large objects, such as foot-tall marble blocks.
Paired vertical channels that he found in certain walls, for example, seemed likely to be tracks for guiding cages or other compartments between the hypogeum and the arena. Then other archaeological elements fell into place, such as the holes in the floor, some with smooth bronze collars, for the capstan shafts, and the diagonal indentations for ramps.
There were also square mortises that had held horizontal beams, which supported both the capstans and the flooring between the upper and lower stories of the hypogeum. To test his ideas, Beste built three scale models. At the peak of its operation, he concluded, the hypogeum contained 60 capstans, each two stories tall and turned by four men per level. Forty of these capstans lifted animal cages throughout the arena, while the remaining 20 were used to raise scenery sitting on hinged platforms measuring 12 by 15 feet.
Beste also identified 28 smaller platforms roughly 3 by 3 feet around the outer rim of the arena—also used for scenery—that were operated through a system of cables, ramps, hoists and counterweights. He even discovered traces of runoff canals that he believes were used to drain the Colosseum after it was flooded from a nearby aqueduct, in order to stage naumachiae, or mock sea battles. The Romans re-enacted these naval engagements with scaled-down warships maneuvering in water three to five feet deep.
To create this artificial lake, Colosseum stagehands first removed the arena floor and its underlying wood supports—vertical posts and horizontal beams that left imprints still visible in the retaining wall around the arena floor. The soggy spectacles ended in the late first century A.
Beste says the hypogeum itself had a lot in common with a huge sailing ship. Peter and St. Beginning in the 18th century, however, various popes sought to conserve the arena as a sacred Christian site, though it is in fact uncertain whether early Christian martyrs met their fate in the Colosseum, as has been speculated. Restoration efforts began in the s, and have proceeded over the years, as the Colosseum continues to be a leading attraction for tourists from all over the world.
Start your free trial today. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. Mount Vesuvius, a volcano near the Bay of Naples in Italy, has erupted more than 50 times. Its most famous eruption took place in the year 79 A. He is best known for his debaucheries, political murders, persecution of Christians and a passion for music that led to the probably The son of a great military leader, he escaped family intrigues to take the throne, but his He shrewdly combined military The Roman politician and general Mark Antony 83—30 B.
His romantic and political By the time the First Punic War broke out, Rome had become the dominant power throughout the Italian Julius Caesar was a renowned general, politician and scholar in ancient Rome who conquered the vast region of Gaul and helped initiate the end of the Roman Republic when he became dictator of the Roman Empire. Despite his brilliant military prowess, his political skills and his Greek philosophy and rhetoric moved fully into Latin for the first time in the speeches, letters and dialogues of Cicero B.
This procession would excite the crowd, building apprehension for the coming events and preparing them for a good show. Animal Hunts Exotic, wild animals were taken to the Colosseum for hunting and fighting. A display of the animals was also the first event, describing these unusually beats to the crowd, to create excitement.
Hunting would follow, with animal hunters venatores using swords and arrows to kill the creatures, with even Emperors joining in. Animal fights are done after, involving gladiators fighting these animals one on one, usually involving tigers and leopards, with successful fighters or hunters gaining fame in their own right.
Chariot racing A popular sport that involved multiple horses drawing a carriage fit for one standing driver. A fierce race ensured around the grounds, with different coloured chariots displaying team colours. The race was notoriously fierce, and dangerous for both the drivers and horses, with a drivers receiving a large number of injuries and sometimes even death. Some races required more technical skills from the charioteers, such as one with teams of six or seven horses.
Emperor Nero even rode with ten horses once! But this soon came to an end when he was thrown from his chariot. Executions and Tortures An execution was a common event at the Colosseum, with a variety of different types. Roman criminals were beheaded for their crimes, as it was the only allowed way to kill a Roman citizen. Salves usually were crucified, sometimes even burnt alive once nailed up.
Another entertaining kill, was making those condemned fight against well-trained gladiators, giving the audience a good show before being killed. This was a way of involving the general public with the justice system, and therefore giving the impression of political involvement.
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