The Pompeii Amphitheatre
The amphitheatre in Pompeii is the oldest surviving Roman amphitheatre. It is thought that the amphitheatre was built around 80 BC and is also thought to be the first Roman amphitheatre to have been built out of stone as opposed to wood as had been done previously. It was built with money from Quinctius Valgus and Marcius Porcius. This particular amphitheatre gives great insight into the Gladiatorial contests of Pompeii. In approximately 59AD, there was a deadly brawl between Pompeians and the residents of Nuceria during an event at the amphitheatre and as such there was a 10 year ban on these types of events. Nowadays the amphitheatre is a historical landmark and has played host to a few concerts in modern times, including Pink Floyd who filmed the event for a concert movie in October 1971.
As the first stone Roman amphitheatre, this once again highlights the Pompeians engineering ability. The second such amphitheatre was the Roman Coliseum which wasn't built for over a century afterwards, showing how advanced the Pompeians were in terms of their ideas. The amphitheatre itself is 135m long and 104m wide. The arena pit was dug 6m down into the ground with the excavated dirt used for the embankments surrounding on which the built seating. The amphitheatre was somewhat damaged in the 62AD earthquake and as a result they were repairs and improvements. The 2m balustrade protecting the crowd from anything within the arena was brightly painted with scenes depicting events that had taken place in previous years.
The arena was all-inclusive and accommodated all social classes, which shows us how the games were popular with all. Their are 35 rows of seat and the total capacity would allow for 20,000, divided into 3 distinct area for the different social classes in Pompeii as well as spectators from elsewhere. The sections were: the ima, media and summa cavae. Media was for the general population, and ima was for the wealthier citizens. Slaves and woman and other lower class members of society watched from the summa cavae which was some distrance away. A velaria also shelted the audience from the sun.
The exterior walls surrounding the Pompeii amphitheatre were covered with posters praising gladiators and detailed the results of contests. There was an area of taverns and eateries to provide food and beverages before and after the games as well as souvenir shops. Some small temporary shops were also available for rent.
As the first stone Roman amphitheatre, this once again highlights the Pompeians engineering ability. The second such amphitheatre was the Roman Coliseum which wasn't built for over a century afterwards, showing how advanced the Pompeians were in terms of their ideas. The amphitheatre itself is 135m long and 104m wide. The arena pit was dug 6m down into the ground with the excavated dirt used for the embankments surrounding on which the built seating. The amphitheatre was somewhat damaged in the 62AD earthquake and as a result they were repairs and improvements. The 2m balustrade protecting the crowd from anything within the arena was brightly painted with scenes depicting events that had taken place in previous years.
The arena was all-inclusive and accommodated all social classes, which shows us how the games were popular with all. Their are 35 rows of seat and the total capacity would allow for 20,000, divided into 3 distinct area for the different social classes in Pompeii as well as spectators from elsewhere. The sections were: the ima, media and summa cavae. Media was for the general population, and ima was for the wealthier citizens. Slaves and woman and other lower class members of society watched from the summa cavae which was some distrance away. A velaria also shelted the audience from the sun.
The exterior walls surrounding the Pompeii amphitheatre were covered with posters praising gladiators and detailed the results of contests. There was an area of taverns and eateries to provide food and beverages before and after the games as well as souvenir shops. Some small temporary shops were also available for rent.