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The archæology of Rome, Part 7 : $b The Flavian amphitheatre, commonly called the ColosseumParker, John Henry

History

The archæology of Rome, Part 7 : $b The Flavian amphitheatre, commonly called the Colosseum

Name: The archæology of Rome, Part 7 : $b The Flavian amphitheatre, commonly called the Colosseum
Author: Parker, John Henry

Parker, John Henry

Rome -- Antiquities

The _stagna_ were boarded over for the gladiators and
    the wild beasts, but the boards could be removed
    easily                                                  _ib._

  The canals brought to light in 1812, and more clearly
    in 1875, with the substructures                         _ib._   III.

  Open channels for running water in many parts of the
    corridors                                                11

  Water supplied by aqueducts.—Remains of two _piscinæ_     _ib._

  The arena was of wood covered with sand, and full of
    trap-doors                                              _ib._

  Corbels, or brackets, provided for placing the boards
    upon when removed                                       _ib._   XVII.

  Gymnasium and _Naumachia_ of Nero in this building        _ib._

  Exterior of the brick theatre left unfinished by Nero,
    finished by the Flavian Emperors in stone               _ib._   I.

  Upper gallery of wood destroyed by fire, A.D. 217          12

  The original restoration in stone completed, A.D. 240,
    under Gordianus                                         _ib._   II.

  Vertical piers of travertine introduced to support
    this upper floor                                        _ib._

  Names of _Stagna_ and _Naumachia_ used indifferently      _ib._

  The _Stagnum_ of Nero, “like a sea,” was in the
    Colosseum, when the surface was flooded                 _ib._

  Some of the walls of the substructures are of brick,
    of the time of Nero                                     _ib._

  The arches of the dens under the _podium_ are of
    Neronian brickwork                                      _ib._

  The walls of tufa in the substructure are older than
    the time of Nero                                         13

  In the superstructure the walls of the front and of
    the corridors are of travertine                         _ib._

  At Verona and at Capua are similar remains of aqueducts   _ib._

  At Pozzuoli (Puteoli) the arena is of brick, and full
    of holes for trap-doors                                 _ib._

  —— The surface there seems to have been flooded for
    the _Naumachia_                                         _ib._

  At Tusculum are canals, as in Rome                         14

  In the Colosseum the two sides appear to have been
    flooded, but not the central passage                    _ib._

  The two _stagna_ would be each 300 ft. long, and about
    50 ft. wide                                             _ib._

  The canals were great cisterns or reservoirs under the
    boarding                                                _ib._

  These are 10 ft. deep, but not always the same width      _ib._

  The walls to support the canals are unusually thick       _ib._

  Canals were lined with lead, one supported on arches,
    the other on great beams of wood, 8 ft. above the
    pavement                                                _ib._   X.

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The archæology of Rome, Part 7 : $b The Flavian amphitheatre, commonly called the Colosseum

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