The archæology of Rome, Part 7

by John Henry Parker

Amphitheatre of Nero.

Some persons interpret a passage in the Annals of Tacitus[242] to mean, that the amphitheatre of Nero was in the Campus Martius, but this is only a wrong interpretation of the passage; he is speaking of the great wooden amphitheatre which Julius Cæsar built there, and which was repaired and restored to use in the second consulate of Nero (A.D. 56). He mentions foundations and beams only, and especially says it was of little importance. The time of Nero was a great building era in Rome, and he no doubt repaired all the public buildings that required it.