Down the centre of the building, for the whole length, is a wide passage, which was called the gulf[10], and which was necessary for sending up the scenery, of which we read frequently, and which must have been put together below, and then sent up to the stage, as wanted, by means of this passage; there is no room for it anywhere else, and there was no place behind the scenes for the actors and workmen, as in a modern theatre. On each side of this great central passage are remains of two canals for water, each about ten feet square, and about the same height from the ground[11]; these were evidently filled with water supplied from the aqueducts, and unmistakable traces of three reservoirs for water from the aqueducts have been found in the first gallery. The four canals are not all quite of the same period, nor on the same plan; one on each side was supported on flat arches of brick of the third century, the other on large beams of wood; the places to receive the ends of the beams are left in the walls on each side of the passage for the workmen under it. These walls are of such a thickness in proportion to their height, that they were evidently made to support the great weight of water; these very thick walls served instead of the great projection of the buttresses of the usual reservoirs of the aqueducts.

There is no bond or junction of any kind between this brick theatre, or amphitheatre, and the magnificent stone corridors and grand front of the Flavian Emperors; these have evidently been added to a brick building previously existing in the centre[12]. It had long been a matter of wonder to all the great architects of Europe how it could be possible to collect such an enormous mass of material of all kinds, and put them together in ten years; to bring that quantity of travertine stone from the quarries at Tivoli, twenty miles off, cut it, and erect it, was in itself an enormous work. This gigantic building is in round numbers 500 ft. long, 300 ft. wide, and 120 ft. high above the foundations, and the grand corridors are double all round, with the vomitoria, or stairs from the seats at short intervals, and there are altogether six storeys, including the entresols.

The upper storey was originally of wood, and was destroyed by a great fire caused by lightning, in the time of the Emperor Macrinus; it was rebuilding of stone during the whole reign of Alexander Severus, and was completed by Gordianus III., who commemorated it by a medal, taking the credit of the rebuilding to himself. There was a row of columns in front of the upper gallery; two of the bases remain there, and a number of capitals that belonged to that colonnade[13] have fallen down in an earthquake, and are now lying about on the ground on the level of the arena, but were found in the substructures. These are very rude workmanship[14], perhaps only because they were to be seen from a great distance, but they may possibly have been preserved from the works of Scaurus; they are very different from the finished capitals used in the lower gallery. This rebuilding and addition of the upper storey alone took twenty years in a great building era. Great changes were made at that time to raise the upper storey securely, and this we have pointed out. It is seen that the builders had no faith in the soft tufa for carrying any considerable weight, and provided piers of the hard travertine at short intervals for that purpose[15]. There are altogether six storeys in the present building, but three of them may be considered as entresols for passages to and from the vomitoria[16]. Gordianus also rebuilt the front of one bay of the lower storey, which had probably been damaged by some of the burning timber falling in front of it. At the bottom of the great central passage was found a very remarkable wooden framework, resembling what is usually called a cradle in a dockyard, and used for a vessel to stand upon[17]. This cradle had the appearance of having been burnt, but it is known that long exposure to extreme moisture will give the same appearance to wood that burning it does. At the east end of the passage, at the lowest level, is the great drain, half above and half below the level of the old pavement[18]. At the entrance to this are the grooves of a sluice-gate in the walls on each side, and an original iron grating to prevent anything being carried through by the rush of water; by this it is evident the water was let off from the canals from time to time through this drain. Unfortunately the old drain, which was at a great depth, was so much damaged that it was found impracticable to repair it, though it was traced the whole length of the building, as far as the Arch of Constantine at the opposite end[19].

These interesting discoveries made me think it expedient to pay fresh visits to other amphitheatres, to examine them again more carefully for the purpose of comparison; accordingly, I have been to those of Capua[20], Pozzuoli, Pompeii, and Verona, and found, as I expected, many confirmations of what had been stated in Rome. I took with me Professor Cicconetti, one of the best architectural artists in Rome, to Capua and Pozzuoli[21], and have added some photo-engravings from his drawings. I have also been to Pompeii, and to Sicily, to see Syracuse and Taormina, but did not think it necessary to take him there, or add more plates from them. A great work on the Roman amphitheatres in general would be very interesting, but it would be adding too much to the bulk and to the cost of the present work. I believe that enough has been done to illustrate and explain the Colosseum. I should add, that the common idea that this colossal building is named from the Colossal Statue of Nero, is a mistake. That statue, of 120 ft. high, could not have stood on the basement or podium on which the Roman antiquaries would place it, and there is good evidence that a Colossal Statue of Gordianus, about half the size, stood there. The great Colossus was moved by Hadrian from the place on which the Temple of Rome was then built, on the east wall of which the Marble Plan of Rome was fixed (now the church of SS. Cosmas and Damian), to the Summa Sacra Via, where it was used as the statue of Apollo or the Sun, to which Hadrian added one of the Moon. Heliogabalus rebuilt this temple of Egyptian granite, of which the columns are still lying about[22] on the edges of the great platform, in the centre of which now stands the church and monastery of S. Francesca Romana, the campanile of which is of about the same height as the Colossus of Nero, and stands near the same place.

CONTENTS.—COLOSSEUM.

PAGEPLATE
Excavations in 1874 and 1875 shew the foundation to be earlier than the Flavian Emperors[1]
Suetonius mentions it among the works of the Flavian Emperors, and proposed by Augustus, but not the beginning of the work[ib.]
Part of the Substructures is of the time of Nero[ib.]
It contained the Stagna, or old Naumachia, under, and the Gymnasium, on the arena[ib.]
Nothing certain about the commencement[ib.]
Modern amphitheatre of Statilius Taurus[ib.]
—— Julius Cæsar[2]
The building of M. Scaurus the ædile, in part temporary, other parts calculated to be eternal, according to Pliny[ib.]
This was on the site of the present amphitheatre[3]
The Clivus Scauri leads to this site[ib.]
Cavea, a name for an amphitheatre, applied to the galleries and to the dens and passages under the arena[ib.]
Wild beasts brought into Rome by L. L. Metellus, B.C. 251[ib.]
Culprits executed by being thrown to wild beasts[ib.]
Amphitheatres a Roman invention (?)[4]
Martial’s first book, De Spectaculis, relates chiefly to this building[ib.]
Mountain of Rhodope represented as a scene[ib.]
Exhibitions in the Circus Maximus by Julius Cæsar[ib.]
A separate building required for these exhibitions[5]
Gymnasium and Naumachia of Nero on this site[ib.]
Remains of Aqueducts and Piscina of Nero[ib.]
—— Piscina of Alexander Severus[ib.]
The Gymnasium of Nero was on the arena of this building[6]
Brickwork of the time of Nero in several parts[ib.][IX.]
A straight vertical joint between the brick galleries and the stone corridors[ib.][II.]
The external wall of three periods,—Vespasian, Titus, and Alexander Severus[ib.][I.]
The upper storey an addition and an afterthought[ib.][II.]
The arena full of trap-doors, through which the wild animals were sent up in cages on lifts[7][XVI.]
Grooves in the walls for the lifts, and sockets in the pavement for the pivots of the capstans, to wind the cords upon, were visible below[ib.]
The original walls of tufa are interfered with by later walls of brick[ib.]
Inscriptions record the dates of these later walls[ib.]
Another inscription gives the word Theatrum for this amphitheatre[ib.]
Supper of Nero in this amphitheatre[ib.]
Exhibitions of Titus at the dedication[8]
Sea water (?) used in the canals[ib.]
The Naumachia were in this amphitheatre[ib.]
The stagna Neronis are the canals or reservoirs supplied by aqueducts[ib.]
They are called by Tacitus Stagnum Navale[9]
—— by Suetonius a “sea,” that is, when the surface was flooded[ib.]
The new Naumachia were those of Augustus in Trastevere[ib.]
Stagnum of Agrippa near the Pantheon, supplied by the Aqua Virgo[ib.]
Stagna of Nero supplied by three aqueducts[ib.]
The old Naumachia in this building[10]
No Naumachia in the amphitheatre of Statilius Taurus[ib.]
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.]
The lofty walls of tufa round the edge of the substructure were for the lifts, not for the canals[ib.][XV.]
Other lifts for men and dogs on each side of the central passage[ib.]
An arch of tufa shaken by an earthquake, supported by a brick wall of the time of Nero, and another half-arch of the same period abutting against it[ib.][IX.], [XV.]
Two small square chambers of Nero are enclosed in the travertine walls of the Flavian Emperors[15]
Augustus intended to build an amphitheatre here, but did not[ib.]
The tufa walls are probably the work of Scaurus, in the time of Sylla[ib.][V.]
In these walls are vertical grooves for the lifts and cages[ib.]
Animals were brought from the vivaria outside the walls in cages, called pegmata[ib.][VI.]
Podium protected by wire netting and bars[16]
Seneca describes the pegmata in this theatre[ib.][XVI.]
One vivarium was at the Prætorian Camp, the other at the Sessorium[ib.]
A small stream of water ran in front of the dens[17]
A pit 4 ft. square, for a man to descend to feed the animals, behind each door[ib.]
The tufa walls were in some parts supported by brick walls of the Flavian Emperors[ib.][IX.]
Curious wooden framework on the floor of the central passage, believed to have been a cradle, or dry-dock[18][VII.]
The general plan of the Colosseum is oval, with galleries, vomitoria, &c.[ib.][VIII.]
A large part destroyed by having been used as a stone quarry[ib.]
The north side the only part at all perfect[ib.][I.]
A great deal of tufa used to fill up between the piers of travertine[ib.][XXI.]
The tufa taken from the second wall of Rome close at hand[ib.]
Travertine piers cut through the older wall to carry the upper gallery[19][XX.]
The front is of three periods, the upper storey added a century after the rest[ib.]
A great mixture of stone and brick in the construction[ib.]
Name of the architect not known; Gaudentius only employed upon it[20]
Views on coins, and in sculpture on the tomb of the Aterii, of the first century[ib.]
Machine for raising stones for the walls[21]
No open space under the arena[ib.]
A large number of broken columns and capitals have fallen from the upper gallery on to the arena, and into the cavea[ib.][XI.]
Representation of the amphitheatre on coins[ib.][XXI.]
Acts of Commodus in this building described by Dion Cassius[22]
The awning of Nero mentioned by Pliny[23][XIII.]
Contrivances for supporting it. Masts and corbels[ib.]
Awning of the amphitheatre at Pompeii—shewn in a fresco[24]
Castra Misenatium, for the sailors employed here in furling and unfurling the awning, or vela, or velaria[ib.]
The wooden upper storey burnt, A.D. 217[25]
A.D. 217. Restored by Heliogabalus, Alexander Severus, and Gordianus[ib.]
The number of wild beasts kept for the shows, A.D. 244[ib.]
100 lions killed at once in the shows[26]
A.D. 320. The building damaged by lightning; restored by Constantine[ib.]
—— 357. Amphitheatre described as perfect by Ammianus Marcellinus[ib.]
—— 445. Restored by Lampadius, after being much damaged by an earthquake[27]
—— 508. Again restored by Venantius Basilius[ib.]
—— 519. Used for shows of wild beasts by Theodoric[ib.]
—— 523. Again used. This is the last occasion mentioned[ib.]
The building apparently perfect in the time of Bede[ib.]
A.D. 1130. The building made part of the fortress of the Frangipani[28]
—— 1227. Half of the fortress given to the Annibaldi by Frederic II., but the grant rescinded by Innocent IV., in 1244[ib.]
—— 1349. The building much damaged by an earthquake[ib.]
—— 1362. It is made common property as a stone-quarry for the great families[29]
—— Several palaces built of stone from this quarry[ib.]
—— 1540. Miracle plays performed there[ib.]
—— The view of Jerusalem belongs to this time[ib.]
—— 1575. Sixtus V. began to make it a cloth manufactory[ib.]
—— 1703. The building again damaged by an earthquake[30]
—— 1728. Benedict XIII. consecrated the whole area as a church[ib.]
—— 1749. The cross and the stations erected by Benedict XIV.[ib.]
—— 1756. A grand mass celebrated here by the Cardinal Vicar[ib.]
—— Palaces built out of the ruins[ib.]
The construction of the inner part is made visible by the demolition of the outer corridor[ib.]
The north-eastern side is nearly perfect[ib.]
One arch of the lower storey restored by Gordianus, A.D. 220-238[31]
A.D. 1810. Excavations begun by the French[ib.]
—— 1812. The walls weeded by them; this was repeated in 1870[ib.][III.]
The excavations of the French shew the channels for water[32]
Upper wall hastily built under Gordianus[33]
A.D. 1864-5. Excavations made in search of treasure[ib.]
Many remains of shallow open channels for water[ib.]
Also remains of three reservoirs in the principal gallery[ib.]
And of two piscinæ under the Cœlian, on the same level as this gallery[ib.]
The excavations of the French were not deep enough for historical purposes[34]
When the boards were removed from the arena they were placed on the corbels or brackets, or large consoles provided for them below[ib.][XVII.]
Apollodorus tells Hadrian that he ought to have provided space for all this machinery[ib.]
A long and large passage found at the south-east end[ib.][IV.]
The original pavement is 21 ft. below the level of the arena[35]
In the ancient tufa walls are vertical grooves for the lifts, on which the pegmata, or cages for wild beasts, were placed[ib.][VI.]
There are also sockets for the pivots of the capstans[ib.][XVII.]
Under the passage is a large drain[ib.]
An ancient iron grating at the mouth of the drain[36][XIX.]
The place for the flood-gates is plainly visible[ib.]
Large corbels and brackets for placing the boards of the arena upon, remain in many parts[ib.][XVIII.]
The martyrdom of the early Christians took place on the sand of the arena, not on the soil, 21 ft. below it[ib.]
The results of the excavations of 1874-75 were a great surprise[37]
Many of the lower walls belong to the repairs after earthquakes in A.D. 442 and 508[ib.]
A narrow and lofty vaulted chamber on each side of the central passage under the galleries, with six sockets in a line[38]
The wooden framework, cradle, or dry dock, fully described[ib.]
The old substructures were evidently retained and used when the upper part was built[39]
Piers of travertine run from top to bottom of the building to carry the upper gallery, and the old tufa walls were cut through[ib.]
The Evidence of the Construction, and Comparison[40-54]
Comparison one of the first principles of Archæology, especially useful for this enormous amphitheatre[40]
Amphitheatre at Capua is almost the same size as that of Rome[40], [41][XXVII.]
—— The substructures more perfect than in Rome[41]
—— Aqueduct and drain[ib.][XXVIII.]
—— Dens under the podium[ib.]
—— Sockets for the pivots for the cages[ib.][XXIX.]
—— Arena of brick, not wood, but had apertures for the trap-doors[ib.][XXX.]
—— Grooves for covers over them to make them water-tight[ib.]
—— The building is of the time of Hadrian[40]
—— Inscription[41], [42]
—— Puteoli, or Pozzuoli[42], [43][XXXII.]
—— Building much smaller than those of Rome or Capua[42]
—— Substructures more perfect and more highly finished[ib.]
—— Arena of brick, with apertures for trap-doors[ib.]
—— Arrangement for fixing the masts or poles for the awning, as in Rome[43][XXXIII.]
Amphitheatre at Puteoli, or Pozzuoli—The building also of the time of Hadrian[ib.][XXXIV.]
—— The vaults preserved and used[42]
—— Verona[43], [44][XXXI.], [XXXII.]
—— —— The outer wall almost destroyed[43]
—— —— Arcade of two lower storeys preserved[44]
—— —— Comparison of the number that each amphitheatre would contain[ib.]
—— —— The seats remarkably well preserved[ib.]
—— —— Dimensions of all the three principal amphitheatres at Rome, Verona, Capua[45]
—— Pola, in Istria[45], [46]
—— —— Built in white stone, like marble[ib.]
—— —— Two tiers of arches remain[ib.]
—— —— And a curious stone parapet, with indications of the awning[ib.]
—— —— Built against a rocky mountain on the slope[ib.]
—— —— Substructures in the lower part[ib.]
—— —— Canal for water visible[ib.]
—— —— Square towers (for the musicians?)[46]
—— At Nîmes there is still a wooden floor, with trap-doors in it[ib.]
—— —— But the arrangements below are quite different[ib.]
—— At Arles, no substructures visible[ib.]
—— At Bordeaux, the remains are called the Arènes, it had a boarded floor[ib.]
Substructures compared[47-52]
Space required for the actors is usually given behind the scenes in theatres, in an amphitheatre under the stage[47]
Vessels employed in the Naumachia were usually rates, or rowing-boats[ib.]
The battles were of the sailors with swords, not with the boats[ib.]
At Pozzuoli an intermediate passage for messengers[ib.]
In the Colosseum such a passage for the sailors to manage the awning; the corbels that support it are all that remain[ib.]
A great central passage or gulf in all the amphitheatres[ib.]
Traces of a great machine for lifting up vessels at Capua, as in the Colosseum[ib.]
Machines required were numerous and large[48]
Apollodorus told Hadrian that he ought to have provided a place for them, but he had not done so[ib.]
Cords for the awning, strong enough to carry an elephant, were called catadromus[ib.]
An actor playing the part of Icarus, leaping from the upper gallery, fell dead at the feet of Nero[ib.]
Pegmata were not only cages but wooden machines; these are mentioned by Josephus, Calpurnius, Apuleius, Claudian, Vopiscus, and Martial[49]
The Colossus (on the Summa Sacra Via) was visible from the gulf[ib.]
That a hundred lions leaped on to the stage or arena, at once, is mentioned not only by Herodian, but by Vopiscus, Julius Capitolinus, Lampridius, Ammianus Marcellinus, Statius[50]
The netting to protect the lower gallery was of gold (or gilt) wire, and was called retia, as mentioned by Calpurnius[ib.]
Naval fights sometimes held in the Circus Maximus[ib.]
—— but must have been in the canals of the Colosseum, because Heliogabalus filled them with wine[51]
They were called Circensian games, because sometimes held in the circus[ib.]
Martial clearly distinguishes them[ib.]
That the vaults under the arena were called caveæ[ib.]
The Arena[52]
Criminals torn to pieces by wild beasts upon it[ib.]
The gladiators and other actors often killed[ib.]
Celebrated gladiators were called for by the people[ib.]
Usually four gates to each amphitheatre[53]
The names of these not easily ascertained[ib.]
One was called sandapila, or sanavivaria, or libitinensis, from libitina, “death”[ib.]
Others—Porta Prætoria, Porta Sacra, Porta Cochlea[54]
The Games on the Arena[55][XXII.]
—— Great importance attached to them[ib.]
The Emperor went to see the wild beasts fed[ib.]
Tacitus gives an account of games performed under his own direction[ib.]
Appendix.
Scaurus[56]
—— The name means club-footed, from the first member of the family, but it was a great family, the Gens Æmilia[ib.]
One of the family built the Basilica Æmilia[ib.]
The insane works of Scaurus, their enormous cost[ib.]
His theatre, to hold 80,000 people, could only be on the site of the Colosseum[ib.]
No other theatre is three storeys high[ib.]
Extract from Pliny, relating to Scaurus and his works[ib.]
The amphitheatre of Nero not in the Campus Martius[58]
The great drain[59][XXXVI.]