There was almost certainly a large quadrangular artificial pool or lake (known as the stagnus) in the low-lying area where the Colosseum would be built. to 9th June 68 C.E.) had his sumptuous residence or palace, the Golden House, or Domus Aurea, built in this area which lies in the valley between the Palatine, Esquiline, Oppian and Caelian hills. which raged for six days and nights and destroyed a large part of the centre of Rome, the emperor Nero ( Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, who reigned from 13th October 54 C.E. What was on the site before the Colosseum was built?įollowing the great fire of 18th July 64 C.E. The entire complex of structures covered an area of at least seven hectares, and it took about twenty years to complete them, until the end of the reign of Emperor Domitian (Titus’s brother). Some of the tunnels that ran between these buildings still survive. Vespasian’s radical building intervention affected the entire area that was still occupied by Nero’s Golden House, including several other buildings around the amphitheatre, which was originally called the Flavian Amphitheatre (or Amphitheatrum Flavianum), after the name of the new imperial Flavian dynasty founded by Vespasian. (Now only the Western Wall, or so-called Wailing Wall, of the temple still remains). The Colosseum was probably funded by the spoils taken from the Second Temple of Jerusalem, as well as from the conquest and sacking of the Jewish city by the legions commanded by Titus in August and September of 70 C.E. (but planning possibly began as early as 70 C.E.) It took only about eight years to erect this massive building and the Colosseum was inaugurated in 80 C.E., under the reign of Vespasian’s son Emperor Titus. The Colosseum: the Flavian Amphitheatreįollowing the death of Nero (68 C.E.) and the “year of the three emperors” (68-69 C.E.), construction of the Colosseum began under Emperor Vespasian ( Titus Flavius Vespasian, who reigned from 1st July 69 C.E. Also nearby was the Ludus Magnus a training school for gladiators, as well as the Ludus Matutinus, where fighters of animals were trained. These were converted from the gardens and the vestibule (monumental entrance) of the emperor Nero’s former palace. Moreover, the Summum Choragium was used as a deposit for theatrical scenery and machinery the Sanitarium, where wounded gladiators were treated: and the Spoliarium, where the bodies of those who died in the arena were taken to be stripped of their armour and prepared for burial. It was used for gladiatorial contests and various other public events and performances, and it was connected to several other buildings and structures (also by underground tunnels), including the Armamentarium, where weapons were stored. The Colosseum (or Coliseum) was originally the central building within an extensive complex of structures with various functions that were closely connected to it.

Coliseum arcanist