THE COLOSSEUM

NAME REGISTRATION NUMBER SIGNATURE

ATURINDE NUWE 21/U/ARD/384/PD
BYAMUKAMA WAMANI CAROLUS 21/U/ARD/16138/GV
KABAKA VICTOR SEITH 22/U/ARD/2098/PD
KWAGALA ELIZABETH LYDIA 21/U/ARD/034/GV
 COLOSSEUM
INTRODUCTION
• The Colosseum is the biggest building and Amphitheatre ever constructed by the romans. Its
considered one of the seven wonders of the world. Its a spectacular feat of architecture and
engineering, so impressive that we almost forget that this arena was built for a gruesome
purpose.
• The Colosseum also named the Flavian Amphitheater is a large amphitheater in Rome. It was built
during the reign of the Flavian emperors. The colosseum construction was paid for by the ‘war
spoils’ from Judea which consisted of gold and slaves. Judea was conquered by Titus Flavian a son
to Emperor Vespasian. It was commissioned for construction around 70-72 AD by Emperor
Vespasian Flavius as a gift to the Roman people. It was finished 8 years later in 80 AD.
• Construction of the Colosseum began under the Roman emperor Vespasian between 70 and 72
AD. The completed structure was dedicated in 80 AD by Titus, Vespasian’s son and successor. The
Colosseum’s gallery and hypogeum were added by the emperor Domitian in 82 AD.
• The Colosseum represents the power, brilliance and brutality of the roman empire.
• The colosseum was built purposely for entertainment through games and events which comprised
of gladiator battles, contests between men and animals, enaction of famous roman battles, mock
naval battles and public executions.
EMPEROR VESPASIAN

EMPEROR TITUS

EMPEROR DOMITIAN
 LOCATION AND SITE SELECTION
The Colosseum is located in a flat area on the floor of a low valley between the Caelian ,esquiline
and Palatine Hills, through which a canalized stream ran as well as an artificial lake. These were the
grounds of what was Nero's Golden Palace.
Emperor Nero became emperor in 54 AD and in AD 64 a ferocious fire gutted the centre of Rome,
amid accusation and inquiries about the cause of the fire, Nero claimed the city centre as his own.
He commissioned a pleasure palace that covered over a square mile in the middle of Rome built
between 64-68AD called the Domus Aurea i.e Golden House. Nero was driven from the throne and
committed suicide in 68AD leading to rise of civil wars in Rome. Vespasian elevated himself to
power in 69 AD and cast himself as anti- Nero. He buried the pleasure palace and filled the lake.
The artificial lake that was the centerpiece of the that palace complex was drained, and the
colosseum was sited there, a decision that was much symbolic than practical. Vespasian chose to
replace the tyrannical and extravagant emperors private lake with a public building for popular
entertainment because he was anti nero and this represented giving power back to the people.
Colosseum was constructed in the city centre, in effect, placing it both symbolically and precisely at
the heart of Rome.
 GENERAL INFORMATION
The Colosseum was oval in shape, towered four stories high measuring 189m long, 156m wide and 50m high
(about a 12 storey building).
It had 80 entrances to the amphitheater i.e. 76 for the patrons,2 for the participants of events and two
exclusively for the emperor to use. The Colosseum could hold 50,000 spectators at its maximum capacity.
The seating arrangement was determined by Social status. The cavea was divided into four sections. The best
seats were reserved for the emperor and the senators, behind the senators were the equestrians(important
government officials), who were followed by ordinary roman citizens(men) and soldiers. The top tier seats were
for women and slaves. Certain classes of people were banned from attending the games i.e. former gladiators,
actors and grave diggers.
The senator had an Emperors box which had the best view of the action and most times he paid for the most of
the games to make people happy and keep liking him.
The colosseum was made of different parts i.e. The velarium which was a retractable awning supported by 240
wooden masts around the top of the structure. Roman navy Sailors were responsible for operating the rigging
to retract or extend the velarium.
The Arena is oval, it measures 83m long and 48m wide. It’s the floor where all the action took place and was 3m
lower than the first stands.
The Hypogeum is the term given to the underground passages and rooms below the colosseum floor. The floor
had 36 trap doors that allowed for animals ,actors, and gladiators to suddenly appear in the arena.
The Colosseum was connected to aqueducts that were used to fill the arena with water so as to have mock
battles and had underground trenches to drain the water.
 HUMAN TRAFFIC
• With construction of the colosseum, for the first time crowd floor became an
issue in public architecture.
• It had 80 entrances and exists to the amphitheater i.e 76 for the patrons,2 for the
participants of events and two exclusively for the emperor to use. The many
entrances were necessary to help thousands exit the amphitheater incase of an
emergency. Its is believed spectators would exit the amphitheater between 5-10
minutes.
• There were a series of corridors and staircases from the ground level up to the
seating areas. The passages to the seating areas were called Vomitoria.
• The public entrances were each numbered and spectators had tickets which had
a number matching their entry arch and the level where they would sit. The
tickets were carved in bone or clay.
• The games were free and sometimes free food was served. The games were
mostly organized and paid for by the reigning emperor as a way of gaining
popularity from the public.
Physical Description of the Colosseum
• The colosseum was a free standing structure with an elliptical plan and is
189m long and 156m wide with a base are of about 6 acres
• The elliptical plan facilitated visibility from every seat in the arena
• The height of the outer wall is 48m and the perimeter was originally 528m
• The colosseum has a central arena which is an oval of length 83m and
width 48m surrounded by a wall above which rose tiers of seating. The
arena was a wooden floor which was covered by sand below which was the
hypogeum
• The arcades of the colosseum are framed by round arches which support
the entrances
• The colosseum had 240 mast corbels which were positioned around
the top of the attic. Theses originally supported a retractable awning,
known as the Velarium. The valerium comprised of several tapered
pieces of fabric carried high above the Amphitheatre by a web of
ropes that stretched over the seating area and protected the
spectators from the sun and rain.
• The Colosseum’s huge crowd capacity made it essential for it to be
filled and evacuated quickly. The amphitheater had 80 entrances at
ground level, 76 for ordinary spectators, 2 for emperors and the other
2 for the performers and each was numbered. It had vomitoria
(passages) for accessing their seats.
• There were special boxes for the emperor with the best view and at
the same level was a platform for senatorial class citizens
• The colosseum had a tiered seating arrangement which reflected the
stratified/layered nature of Roman society
• The first tier was for the emperor and senators, above them sat the
noble class and the knights (cavalry and horsemen) . The next level
was reserved for the ordinary citizens and it was further divided into
the section for the wealthy and the poor. The very last level
comprised of a gallery for the common poor, slavess and women
• Each tier was divided into sections by curved passages and low walls
and was subdivided into wedges by steps and aisles from the
vomitoria
• All parts of the colosseum had numbered inscriptions for easy
identification
• When the Colosseum was remodeled, the hypogeum was added
along with a gallery to increase the seating capacity and a series of
tunnels used to house animals and slaves
• The gallery was used by the common poor, slaves and women. It
comprised mostly of standing room
• The hypogeum had a two level network of tunnels and cages which
were used to hold gladiators and animals. It had eighty vertical shafts
for access to the arena. It also held machinery and props.
CONSTRUCTION OF THE COLOSSEUM
▪ Way of construction(methods)
▪ Materials used during the construction and why?

The Colosseum stands as an architectural achievement of the Flavian dynasty (69- 96 C.E.). It was the first freestanding
amphitheater in Roman history.
The first Flavian emperor, Emperor Vespasian, commissioned the Colosseum in 70 C.E.
He incorporated previous architectural elements from the Augustan period to legitimize his rule as emperor( Theater of
Marcellus) .
This was achieved through the use of construction techniques, which dictated the social hierarchy and performance of this
amphitheater. In turn, this had a social/political impact on the Flavian dynasty.
The construction methods/techniques included;
➢ The drainage systems
➢ The construction materials
➢ The seating system
(A). The Drainage Systems
During the construction , the major problem its Roman engineers
faced was to revert Nero’s lake into more suitable ground for
building the Colosseum.
in order to solve this problem, the engineers developed a drainage
system, which directed water along the south of the site. This
joined with the main drainage system that carried Rome’s effluent
under the streets into the River Tiber.
The drainage system developed helped in the following ways;
-it made the site more suitable for construction
-it made the amphitheatre to be able to host naval
battles(naumachiae)
This made it possible to flood it and allow the Flavians to stage
naval battles. Large basins of water were dug in the arena to
accommodate this. These basins were covered for normal
performances, but could be made available when required for
special events in the Colosseum. For instance, the hunting of
aquatic creatures such as crocodiles and hippopotamuses was
made possible through this system.
(B).The Construction materials.
This was the second construction technique used in the construction of the Colosseum. Some of them came from Tibur(Town
of Bagnidi Tivoli)
The materials used consisted of;
• travertine, (used on load bearing pillars), lasts for a long period of time, it is resistant to high temperatures, it is resistant
to ultra-violet radiations;because of its colour.
• Tufa (this is a highly porous sedimentary rock)
• bricks and
• concrete,
• Stone
• Blocks;In the entire monument, the Colosseum consisted of 100,000 cubic meters of hard travertine limestone, 300 tones
of iron clamps, 250,000 cubic meters of mortar and over a million bricks.
(a) tufa (b) travertine
 Elements of construction of the Colosseum
1. Wooden platform in which the gladiators would fight against each other.
➢ First, the wooden construction of the arena was lain directly on the walls of tufa blocks.
➢ The wooden structure was then connected between purlin and tuff wall by means of the dovetailed woods.(This type of
construction provided stability and strength for the rigorous events being performed on the wooden platform of the
Colosseum).
2. Brick arches were positioned directly under the wooden platform to provide more support. This system of brick arches also
created a network of tunnels (hypogea) underneath the seating area (cavea), which was used for access to the stadium and
for storage.
➢ Besides this, the brick arches were framed with engaged columns, half columns carved into the travertine blocks
surmounted with an architrave and cornice. This created the effect of a combined colonnade and arcade. The result was a
network of rib vaults. The use of the arches and vaults provided for structural stability and made possible the immense size
of the Colosseum. It was also wider at the bottom than at the top.
➢ The façade with numerous arches also lightens the visual aspect of the bulk of the massive structure
3.Concrete;This material was laid systematically in layers that correspond to the floor levels of the galleries and drains.
It even was laid on top of tufa and travertine blocks in both the vertical and horizontal joints .(this was done to provide
more support for the entire foundation)
. The use of concrete in these structures makes it not only stronger, but more durable and secure when Roman builders
continued building on top of it.
It created an underground passage that linked directly to the arena in the amphitheater, so that the gladiators could reach
the scene of their combat without being seen by the public. The foundations of the cavea(sitting area). It took the form of an
oval ring consisting of two parts: lower construction is constructed of the heaviest of the local volcanic stones; was built in a
trench dug into the underlying alluvium and bedrock. The upper foundation contains drainage channels as well as galleries
(c).The Seating System.
The seating system was primarily arranged according to a Roman’s social status.
- The first section( ima cavea);
➢ It was meant strictly for roman senetors and the members of the old roman aristocracy.
➢ It provided an excellent view of the spectacles that occurred in the Colosseum and was in close proximity to the podium.
This is where the emperor and the royal family would sit and ‘conduct’ the games for the entertainment of the Roman
people.
- The second section( maenianum primum);
➢ It consisted of members from the equestrian class.
➢ It had a much bigger capacity than the first and this mainly consisted of members from the Roman military. This is
because Vespasian himself was a general in the Roman army and it was his soldiers who elected him to power.
-The third level (maenianum secundum imum);
➢ This is where the ordinary male citizens sat .
-The fourth level (maenianum secundum summum).;
➢ This is where the poor, women and slaves would sit when attending the Colosseum.
This type of social hierarchy in the Colosseum can be also seen in relation to the three different types of columns on each
level. The bottom storey had columns of the Doric order, the second of the Ionic order and the third of the Corinthian order.
The Doric order is reminiscent of Classical Greece, in which the aristocracy was trying to emulate in terms of culture and
language. In other words, the Roman aristocracy were “Phil-Hellenes”. The Ionic order is associated with the East and the
Corinthian order is strongly associated with Rome. The Colosseum was the first amphitheater that we know to have used
Greek architectural orders for its façade.
Some decorations were made in marble as well.
USES OF THE COLOSSEUM
• This was a prime, much like a stadium, used as a gathering place for
audiences from all ends of the empire
• It consisted of a large sand arena at the bottom that was surrounded
by the main oval structure which holds enough seating room for over
50,000 people
• The colosseum most popularly staged public spectacles such as fights
to the death between gladiators, historical enactments and other
theatrical performances
• It is also a site of many executions including those of saints from early
Christian church
• It was an arena that held much violence at times but was also a place
of fun and entertainment
• the vaulting within the arena was not only crucial for structural
integrity but also to provide easy access and free circulation for the
spectators
• Basing on social status, spectators were filtered to seat from the
arena to the corridors. They were not free to move wherever they
wished and this segregation made the corridor system impossible for
senators and equestrians to run into each other. It was only for plebs
to meet their fellow plebs
• The arena was covered in sand which soaked up the blood spilled
during fights
• The hypogeum served various purposes like storage of scenery and
props. It also provided dramatic and unexpected entrances for
gladiators and animals into the arena
DESTRUCTION OF THE COLOSSEUM
• After the fall of the Western Roman empire, the colosseum begun to
detoriate. A series of earthquakes during the fifth CE damaged the
structure and it also suffered from neglect
• By the 20th century nearly two thirds of the original building had been
destroyed