The Coliseum

I going to present The Coliseum to you

In summary

Originally, it's a huge Flavian Amphitheater. It is ovoid and is located in the city of Rome. It is the largest amphitheater ever built in the Roman Empire. His name derives from the family name of his builder, Vespasian and his sons. It could accommodate about 50,000 (fifty thousand) spectators. It has been used for "venationes" (wild animal fights), "munerae" (gladiator fights) and other shows. It stays in service for 500 (five hundred) years. This building has finally ceased to be used during the Middle Ages. It is currently in ruins because of earthquakes and the recovery of stones. It is one of the symbols of Rome.

Development of Rome and location of the Colosseum field:

In prehistory, the place where the Coliseum is located is a collection area for runoff water. Over the years, a small lake has formed between the hills. This made the area swampy. In the 7th century BC, the Romans settled on the banks of the Tiber on these hills. To dry the lake, they built drains and replaced the swamps with a city : Rome.

Reasons for construction:

In July 64, a huge fire devastated Rome. This is the starting point for the construction of the Colosseum.

Neron, who was a cruel and megalomaniac emperor, took advantage of the fire to declare a vast area as his property. He had the buildings razed and built a large house, the Domus Area. Neron had also set up a prohibited area: between 20 and 60 hectares depending on the people.

In doing so, he set the people back. He suppressed to his people the enjoyment of the city center. At his death, his successor, Vespasian decided to destroy the Domus. Instead, he built the most popular and the biggest public building in the Roman Empire: an amphitheater.

With this political decision, he ensures support for future decisions.

The construction

The works begin in 71 (seventy-one AC). They lasted 10 years. 60,000 (sixty thousand) Jewish slaves worked day and night on construction. It was inaugurated in 80 (eighty) by the son of Vespasian, Titus. He is organizing a reconstruction of a naval battle.

Foundations

Geologically, the place is a thick layer of compact clay on which a layer of silt is piled up. The first work is to dry the basin and evacuate the silt.

The excavation was excavated in the form of an oval ring: 6 m deep by 31 m wide and over a distance of 530 meters.

All around this hole, the workers erected a brick wall 3m wide and 6m high, inside and outside the ring.

Then they filled the ring with layers of alternating Roman concrete with layers of stones to make the foundations: 31m wide, 12m high and 530 meters long. There are 200,000 m³ of foundation. The natural level of the ground, it was raised by 3m to support the foundations.

1. Assembly of Cavea

On the foundations, a travertine stone floor 90 (ninety) cm thick was laid. These stones were arranged side by side until covering the entire oval. Travertine stone is common in the Rome region, it is a hard, brown stone. It is easily transported and relatively small. There are different types, one of which is more fire resistant. It was not used during the first construction and so after the fire, it was necessary to rebuild. For the reconstruction, they used it.

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