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The archæology of Rome, Part 7 cover

The archæology of Rome, Part 7

Chapter 34: Description of Plate VIII.
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 VIII.

PLAN OF THE SOUTHERN HALF, AT THE LOWEST LEVEL,
Shewing the Excavations in 1874 and 1875.

THE COLOSSEUM—PLAN AT THE LOWEST LEVEL IN 1875.

Description of Plate VIII.

PLAN OF THE SOUTH-EASTERN HALF, AT THE LOWEST LEVEL,
Shewing the Excavations in 1874 and 1875.

A, A. The frame, cradle, or dry dock, for the galleys to stand upon when not wanted for use.

F, F. The podium.

L. The passage for animals.

T, T. Lofty vaulted chambers, with seven sockets in a line in each.

V. Subterranean side-passage, called of Commodus.

a. The dens for wild beasts.

b. The shaft for a man to descend and feed the animals.

c. The drain and flood-gate at the mouth of it.

e, e. Small brick chambers of the time of Nero.

All the sockets that are visible are shewn in the plan, whether in the passages or in the chambers.