Fig. 96.—The Amphitheatre, seen from the west side.
The exhibitions held here must also have been on a modest scale. There were no underground chambers, below the arena, with devices by means of which wild beasts could be lifted up into view and the sand suddenly covered with new combatants. The limited means of this small city were not adequate to make provision for the elaborate equipment and costly decoration found in the amphitheatres of larger towns.
The arena, a view of which is given in [Plate VI], is surrounded by a wall about 6½ feet high. This wall was covered with frescoes which, still fresh at the time of excavation, are now known to us only from copies in the Naples Museum. They consisted of alternate broad and narrow panels, the latter containing each a herm between two columns, while the larger spaces presented alternately a conventional pattern and a scene connected with the games. One of the scenes gives an interesting glimpse of the preparations for the combat ([Fig. 97]). In the middle we see the overseer marking out with a long staff the ring within which the combatants must fight. At the right a gladiator stands, partly armed; two attendants are bringing him a helmet and a sword. A hornblower, also partly armed, stands at the left; and behind him two companions, squatting on the ground, make ready his helmet and shield. At either end of the scene, in the background, is an image of a Winged Victory with a wreath and palm.
Fig. 97.—Preparations for the combat. Wall painting, from the Amphitheatre.
The limestone coping of the wall about the arena shows traces of iron in the joints between the blocks, apparently remains of a grating designed to protect the spectators from attacks by the infuriated wild beasts. The traces are not visible all the way around, but this may be accounted for on the supposition that repairs were in progress at the time of the eruption.
Two broad corridors (3, 3A) connect the ends of the arena with the outside of the building. The one at the north end, toward Vesuvius, follows a straight line; the other bends sharply to the right in order to avoid the city wall, which bounds the structure on the south and east sides. By these corridors the gladiators entered the arena, first in festal array, passing in stately procession across the sand from one entrance to the other, then coming forth in pairs as they were summoned to mortal combat.