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The archæology of Rome, Part 7 cover

The archæology of Rome, Part 7

Chapter 32: Description of Plate VII.
By John Henry Parker
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The author reports on late 19th-century excavations that revealed extensive substructures beneath the arena, showing earlier origins than commonly supposed and multiple construction phases from Scaurus and Nero to the Flavian emperors. The work describes underground features such as a movable boarded arena with corbels, animal cages with vertical lifts and trapdoors, canals and reservoirs for staged naval displays, and wide passages for scenery, and examines reused timber and stone, masonry of tufa, brick, and concrete, plus coins and graffiti as documentary evidence. It also traces repairs from earthquakes and argues the amphitheatre evolved over more than a century rather than being completed in ten years.

THE COLOSSEUM.
PLATE VII.

VIEW AT THE SOUTH-EAST END.

THE COLOSSEUM 1875.

VIEW OF SOUTH EAST END

Description of Plate VII.

VIEW AT THE SOUTH-EAST END.

This plate is from an excellent drawing of Signor Cicconetti, made chiefly from the photographs, in order to explain them more clearly. The photographs are evidence of historical facts, which no drawing alone can be, because drawings are always liable to errors, accidentally or otherwise. Unfortunately drawings are very often made to suit the idea either of the artist who draws the object as he thinks “it must have been,” or to suit the view of the person who orders the drawing. These drawings can be compared with the photographs throughout, and make them more easy to understand.

A. Wooden framework (?), cradle (?), or dry dock (?).

B, B. Marble slabs placed upright, to serve as struts to support the galleys standing on the frame.

C, C. Walls of the central passage.

D. Line of one of the canals.

E, E. Ancient tufa walls, with the dens behind them.

F, F. Podium and state gallery.

G, G. Principal gallery.

H, H. Second gallery.

I. Top gallery, added after the fire.

K. Drain or cloaca.

L. Passage for animals.

M. State entrance and corridor.

N. Modern buttress.