Chapter V: Part 5

It is even probable that the _stagna_ of Nero were in the same place as these, as a good deal of brickwork of his time is on a higher level than these walls, and the two sheets of water, one on either side of the great central passage, would have been magnificent sheets of water, about three hundred feet long and fifty or sixty or more wide in the central part, though narrow at both ends. It is still possible, though not probable, that the _stagna_ of Nero were on a lower level, cut through a bed of tufa, which is not generally very thick, to the clay of the Tiber valley beneath. This would account for the central passages on the site of the _stagna_ having suffered so much from the earthquakes, while the great corridors of the Flavian Emperors, standing on the bed of tufa, have not suffered at all.

THE COLOSSEUM.

PLATE XI.

TWO CAPITALS.

A. FROM THE UPPER STOREY.

B. FROM THE LOWER ONE, OR THE PODIUM.

A. OF UPPER STOREY—B. OF LOWER]

DESCRIPTION OF PLATE XI.

TWO CAPITALS.

A. FROM THE UPPER STOREY.

B. FROM THE LOWER ONE, OR THE PODIUM.

It will be seen at once that this capital (A) is intentionally left in a rude state to be seen from a distance[247], the upper gallery being nearly a hundred feet above the level of the arena. A great number of these capitals, and of the white marble columns to which they belonged, have rolled down from the top of the building to the bottom in an earthquake, crushing all the seats of the galleries in their fall; as many as forty of them have been found, and a still larger number of broken columns, which have evidently fallen with great force; some of them have been found passing quite through the walls in the substructure, and can be still seen with one end on one side of the wall, and the other on the opposite side.

B. is a highly-finished capital of the Corinthian order: of this kind only three or four have been found, but much more perfect than most of the others. They were probably on the short columns of the _podium_ by the side of the state entrance.

THE COLOSSEUM.

PLATE XII.

RESTORATION OF ONE COMPARTMENT OF THE SUPERSTRUCTURE.

RESTORATION OF ONE COMPARTMENT]

DESCRIPTION OF PLATE XII.

RESTORATION OF ONE COMPARTMENT OF THE SUPERSTRUCTURE.

Shewing the colonnade of the third century, on the upper storey, after the burning of the wooden upper floor; to this colonnade the capitals and columns that have fallen down in an earthquake have belonged,—shewing also the arrangement of the seats, the corridors, and the _vomitoria_.

THE COLOSSEUM.

PLATE XIII.

SECTION AND DETAILS OF ONE COMPARTMENT, INCLUDING THE SUBSTRUCTURES BELOW, AND THE AWNING ABOVE.

DESCRIPTION OF PLATE XIII.

SECTION AND DETAILS OF ONE COMPARTMENT, INCLUDING THE SUBSTRUCTURES BELOW, AND THE AWNING ABOVE.

A, A, A. The wooden framework.

C. Wall of central passage.

D. Wall of central passage.

E, E, E. The ancient tufa walls.

F. The _podium_.

G. First gallery.

H. Second gallery.

I, I. Upper galleries.

K. The drain or cloaca.

L. The passage for animals.

M, M. The state corridors.

O, O, O, O. Corbels at the foot of the masts.

P, P. The dens, and vertical shafts for a man to descend to feed the animals.

R, R, R, R. Corbels to stiffen the masts, and to carry the boards or planks of the arena.

S. Passage from the den to the cage.

a. Series of lattice-work to protect the lower gallery from the wild beasts.

b, b, b. Masts to carry the awning.

e. Place for the counter-weight in the tufa wall.

f, f. Sockets in the pavement of the passage, for the pivots of the capstans to work in.

THE COLOSSEUM.

PLATE XIV.

SECTION OF ONE BAY OR COMPARTMENT, AND PLANS OF THE SIX STOREYS.

PLANS OF THE SIX STOREYS

SECTION OF ONE BAY]

DESCRIPTION OF PLATE XIV.

SECTION OF ONE BAY OR COMPARTMENT, AND PLANS OF THE SIX STOREYS.

a. Ground-storey and corridor.

b. First storey and upper corridor.

c. Second storey and _vomitoria_.

d. Third storey, passage, and _vomitoria_.

e. Fourth storey with _vomitoria_.

f. Upper storey.

It has not been generally observed that there are so many floors or storeys in the Colosseum. Two of these are only subdivisions for the _vomitoria_, still, to give a complete idea of the whole building, it was necessary to have them.

THE COLOSSEUM.

PLATE XV.

SUBSTRUCTURES, WITH PROBABLE RESTORATIONS OF THE STAGNA, THE ARENA, &C.

TWO VIEWS.

h.h. STAGNUM—l.l. ARENA

BRICK ARCHES OF NERO SUPPORTING THE TUFA WALL AND ARCH]

DESCRIPTION OF PLATE XV.

SUBSTRUCTURES, WITH PROBABLE RESTORATIONS OF THE STAGNA, THE ARENA, &C.

TWO VIEWS.

A. STAGNUM AND ARENA.

h, h. Stagnum.

i, i. Space between two canals, flooded at the time of the shows.

g, g, g. Passage under the canals.

A. The wooden framework.

F, F, F. Narrow platform and passage in front of the _podium_, and one of the dens.

I, I, I. The trap-doors for the lifts.

k, k. Smaller trap-door for lifts, (for dogs?).

B. BRICK ARCHES OF NERO SUPPORTING THE TUFA WALL AND ARCH.

n, n, n. Level of the original pavement.

o. Passage.

p. Ancient tufa wall.

q. Brick arch of Nero, under an arch of tufa.

r. Segment of another brick arch of Nero, abutting against the centre of the tufa arch to support it, like an arch-buttress or flying-buttress of the Middle Ages. (For the Phototype of this arch, see Plate IX.)

s. Socket for a pivot to work in.

THE COLOSSEUM.

PLATE XVI.

SUBSTRUCTURES EXCAVATED IN 1875, WITH PROBABLE RESTORATIONS OF THE LIFTS OR PEGMATA.

WITH PROBABLE RESTORATION OF THE LIFTS OR PEGMATA]

DESCRIPTION OF PLATE XVI.

SUBSTRUCTURES EXCAVATED IN 1875, WITH PROBABLE RESTORATIONS OF THE LIFTS OR PEGMATA.

The object of this plate is to make more clear to the eye what has previously been explained. An animal is represented first as coming out of the den behind the tufa wall into the cage, with the empty socket behind, as they actually remain, and a capstan with the cord is placed in the socket on the opposite side of the cage. The second is half-way up, to shew the action of the cords, which seems the only mode of explaining the things found. In the third the animal is leaping out on to the stage or arena, as described by Herodian. In front of the _podium_ a piece of trellice-work is shewn in its place, taken from a graffito found on the spot.

THE COLOSSEUM.

PLATE XVII.

VIEW IN THE SUBSTRUCTURES.

DESCRIPTION OF PLATE XVII.

VIEW IN THE SUBSTRUCTURES.

E. The Consoles, for placing the boards of the arena upon when not in use.

F. F. The Podium.

X. The level of the arena.

a a a. Doorways to small chambers, to descend to feed the wild beasts in their dens.

b b b. The dens for the wild beasts.

c c c. Blocks of travertine to support the foot of the masts.

d d d. Aperture at the foot of the small chambers, for feeding the wild beasts; these are ten feet from the ground.

e e e. Small water-course in front of the dens.

f. Socket for the pivot of a capstan.

g g. Original pavement of bricks, arranged herring-bone fashion.

h h. Sites of piers of tufa, (removed in the drawing to shew what is behind them).

THE COLOSSEUM.

PLATE XVIII.

VIEW IN THE SUBSTRUCTURES.

DESCRIPTION OF PLATE XVIII.

VIEW IN THE SUBSTRUCTURES[248].

E. The consoles, for placing the planks of the arena upon.

E*. Consoles, now enclosed in the older tufa wall, in which holes are cut to insert them.

F. The podium.

X. Level of the arena.

a. Doorways of the small descending passages, for feeding the wild beasts in the dens below.

b. The dens for the wild beasts.

c. Blocks of travertine, to support the lower end of the masts for the awning.

d. Recesses for lamps.

e. Small drain for water, which runs round the building in front of the dens.

f. Sockets for the pivots of the capstans.

g. Brick pavement of the second century, in herring-bone pattern.

h. Line of the profiles of ancient tufa piers of arches. (These are represented by dotted lines only, as if transparent, to shew the consoles of the Flavian Emperor inserted in them.)

i*. Line of second arcade of tufa.

A. Plan.

B. Section.

The same letters of reference are used in the plan of this section.

THE COLOSSEUM.

PLATE XIX.

VIEW IN PART OF THE SUBSTRUCTURE, WITH PLAN AND SECTION.

DESCRIPTION OF PLATE XIX.

VIEW IN PART OF THE SUBSTRUCTURE, WITH PLAN AND SECTION.

E E. The consoles.

F F. The podium.

a. Entrance to the descent to feed the animals.

b. One of the dens.

c. The stream of water in front of the dens.

f f. The sockets for pivots for the capstan to work in.

g g. The original pavement.

h h. Piers of tufa in front of the dens.

k k. Long and lofty chamber under the gallery, in which are seven sockets for the pivots of the capstan to work in.

y. Mouth of the great drain, with the iron grating.

z. Site of the sluice-gate, and groove for it to work in, as a portcullis.

A. The Plan of this part.

B. The Section of it.

THE COLOSSEUM.

PLATE XX.

PORTION OF THE SUPERSTRUCTURE IN THE PRINCIPAL GALLERY.

DESCRIPTION OF PLATE XX.

PORTION OF THE SUPERSTRUCTURE IN THE PRINCIPAL GALLERY.

A A. Walls of brick, dividing the different bays of the gallery.

B B. Arches of construction, to make the brick facing adhere better to the mass of tufa concrete behind it.

C C. A void space from which a pier of travertine has been carried away for building purposes[249].

D D. The great pier of travertine on one of the arches of the corridor of the Flavian Emperors.

THE COLOSSEUM.

PLATE XXI.

VIEW IN THE UPPER PART.

DETAILS.

DETAILS IN UPPER PART]

DESCRIPTION OF PLATE XXI.

VIEW IN THE UPPER PART.

DETAILS.

A A. Piers of the great corridor.

a a. Aperture from which a pier of travertine has been removed for building material, by the Barberini (?).

b b. Wall of brick, with arch of construction standing equally well without the support of the travertine pier.

c c. Wall of tufa, of a lower storey.

d d. Vault of a third storey, below.

e e. Remains of the vault of the stairs to the upper storey.

f f. Floor of the second corridor.

g g. Floor of the principal gallery.

The object of this plate is to make it still more clear that the brick arches of construction did not _really_ rest on the piers of travertine, although at first sight they appear to do so. The Roman bricks of the first century are two feet square and one inch thick, but in these arches they are cut down from two feet to three or four inches at the impost, or springing of each arch, just where the greatest strength would have been required. They have evidently been cut through to admit the stone piers, which were required to carry the upper gallery, when that was built of stone instead of wood.

THE COLOSSEUM.

PLATE XXII.

THE GRAFFITI, OR SCRATCHINGS ON MARBLE BY THE WORKMEN OF THE SECOND CENTURY.

A. AND B. ATHLETES

C. WILD-BEAST HUNT]

DESCRIPTION OF PLATE XXII.

THE GRAFFITI, OR SCRATCHINGS ON MARBLE BY THE WORKMEN OF THE SECOND CENTURY.

A. An athlete, commonly called a wrestler; but the athletes were more than merely wrestlers, they were often men of high rank, and fought with weapons also, sometimes with fatal results. This is a prize-man with his palm-branch in his hand.

B. Athletes.—On this fragment of marble the drawing is very indistinct, but there appear to be two figures only, with arms in their hands, and their heads bare, their helmets being on a table behind them. Inscriptions are scratched upon these, which are rather difficult to make out, but seem to be—on one, IVTOR (?); on another, LIMENI NIKÆ; on a third, OVIM. The rest are too indistinct to be read.

C. A hunt of wild beasts.—This is extremely curious, but not very distinct in the original, and therefore not in the photo-engraving, which admits of no _restorations_. There are five animals all of the same kind, but what animal they are intended for it is not easy to say; they have claws, the heads look like wolves’. Each has a broken cord hanging to its neck. There are two huntsmen with spears in their hands running after them; they are clothed in tight dresses, with bands round the waist and the knees, and with buskins on their feet.

THE COLOSSEUM.

PLATE XXIII.

GRAFFITO OF THE PODIUM, &c.

DESCRIPTION OF PLATE XXIII.

GRAFFITO OF THE PODIUM, &c.

This is one of the four _graffiti_ found during the excavations in 1874. It represents the front of the _podium_, with the framework for the netting to protect the spectators in the lower gallery, or state-gallery, from the wild beasts, if they should attempt to spring up into it when hunted on the stage or arena below, at the foot of the _podium_. This fragment shews the lower portion of the screen, which is recorded to have had a bar at the top that turned round, so that if any animal tried to cling to it he would fall backwards on the arena. This was level with the foot of the _podium_, and twenty-one feet above the pavement at the bottom, on the level of the dens for the wild beasts, and the floor of the passage between the two walls of tufa, with vertical grooves in them for the lifts, with the cages upon them. Behind the place for each cage in the paved floor of the passage, is a socket for a pivot to work in, at the foot of a capstan or post, to wind the twenty-one feet of cord upon, with the lift, when pulled up to the trap-door of the arena. This pavement is represented as resting on the top of a series of arches with bars across; these are probably intended for the doors of the wild beasts below, but rudely represented, and with some sort of performance going on in front.

THE COLOSSEUM.

PLATE XXIV.

REPRESENTATIONS ON COINS OR MEDALS.

DESCRIPTION OF PLATE XXIV.

REPRESENTATIONS ON COINS OR MEDALS[250].

1. Titus sitting upon a trophy of arms (A.U.C. 823, A.D. 80).

On the obverse the legend is, TIB. VESP. AVG. P.M. TR. P.P. COS. VIII. S.C.

On the reverse is the amphitheatre, with the Meta Sudans to the left, and on the right a double colonnade, one over the other, for the aqueduct (?).

2. Head of Alexander Severus, A.D. 224.

Legend:—IMP. CÆSAR DIVI SEV. ALEXANDER.

Reverse:—The Amphitheatre, with the Meta Sudans on the right, and two figures on the left, with the legend of the dates of his tribuneship and consulate.

3. Obverse:—Head of Alexander Severus (A.U.C. 937, A.D. 224).

Legend:—IMP. CAES. DIVI. SEV. ALEXANDER.

Reverse:—Amphitheatre, with a group of figures to the left, and a building of two storeys to the right[251].

Legend:—Dates of tribuneship and consulate.

4. Obverse:—Head of Gordianus III. (A.U.C. 997, A.D. 244).

Legend:—IMP. GORDIANVS PIVS FELIX AVG.

Reverse:—Amphitheatre, with a colossus on the left, and a small building on the right[252].

Legend:—MUNIFICENTIA GORDIANI. AVG.

THE COLOSSEUM.

PLATE XXV.

DIAGRAMS OF COINS OR MEDALS.

DESCRIPTION OF PLATE XXV.

DIAGRAMS OF COINS OR MEDALS.

1. Obverse:—Head of Titus.

Legend:—VESP. GENS. T. CAES. IMP.

Reverse:—Amphitheatre, with Meta Sudans to the left, and double colonnade to the right. (Same as No. 1, Plate XXIV.)

2. Obverse:—Head of Domitian, with legend, IMP. CAES. DOMIT. AVG. GERM. P.M. TRP. XIIII.

Reverse:—Amphitheatre, with Meta Sudans and colonnade, probably of aqueduct from the Cœlian.

3. Obverse:—Head of Alexander Severus (same as No. 3, Plate XXIV.), with legend, IMP. CAES. M. AVR. SEV. ALEXANDER. AVG.

Reverse:—Amphitheatre, with group of figures on the left, and a small building on the right (_castellum aquæ?_).

4. Obverse:—Head of Gordianus III.

Legend:—IMP. GORDIANVS. PIVS. FELIX. AVG.

Reverse:—Amphitheatre, with a colossus and a building.

Legend:—MVNIFICENTIA GORDIANI. AVG.

THE COLOSSEUM.

PLATE XXVI.

A ROMAN GALLEY ON A CRADLE FOR LAUNCHING.

DESCRIPTION OF PLATE XXVI.

A ROMAN GALLEY ON A CRADLE FOR LAUNCHING.

This is drawn from a restoration made by M. Viollet-le-Duc for Napoleon III. at Compiègne. It illustrates in a very remarkable manner the cradle found in the Colosseum, with the struts on each side. As this cradle was made from the best authorities long before the finding of the cradle in the Colosseum, it is particularly valuable for the purpose of comparison.

THE COLOSSEUM.

PLATE XXVII.

AMPHITHEATRE OR COLOSSEUM AT CAPUA.

AMPHITHEATRE WITH AWNING FROM A FRESCO AT POMPEII]

DESCRIPTION OF PLATE XXVII.

AMPHITHEATRE OR COLOSSEUM AT CAPUA.

_This Plate is a reproduction of Photograph with no attempt at restoration._

The resemblance between this and the Colosseum in Rome is so remarkable, that there can be no doubt one is a copy from the other. In this amphitheatre the two canals for water, on each side of the great central passage, and the curved passage round the outer edge, are distinctly visible. At Capua, the aqueduct for the water, and the drain to carry it off, remain.

AMPHITHEATRE AT POMPEII, FROM A FRESCO PAINTING.

The lower view is from a fresco at Pompeii. It shews the awning is drawn off behind. There is a front built out distinct from the oval building, with which it is connected by a curved wall at each end, and on which is a passage with persons upon it; there are two grand flights of steps leading up to the top, and persons going up them. These steps are carried on arches, increasing in height as they get nearer the top. The front passage is also carried on tall arches. All these arrangements for the entrance and exit seem to be a bad substitute for the _vomitoria_ of the Roman Colosseum.

There appears to be another place of amusement of some kind by the side of the amphitheatre. A square space enclosed by a high wall, with two arches on one side or doorways (?), probably a school for gladiators, with an _impluvium_ in the middle. There is an inscription on the wall, of which all that is legible is DIVCRET ...; there is also in the front of the picture a tent with persons under it, and two small square or oblong huts, evidently of wood, the planks being shewn in one with a door; this was probably a wine-shop.

There are a number of figures in active motion in all parts of the picture, many of them evidently fighting, and it represents a skirmish between the Nucerini and the Pompeiani; the inhabitants of a neighbouring town, called Nuceria or Nocera, having made a sudden inroad on Pompeii, the Pompeians are flying in all directions, closely followed, some dying and some dead. These hand-to-hand fights are seen on the arena, in the corridors or _ambulatories_, on the walls of the town, and on the esplanade round the building, which is planted with trees for shade[253].

THE COLOSSEUM.

PLATE XXVIII.

AMPHITHEATRE AT CAPUA.

DESCRIPTION OF PLATE XXVIII.

AMPHITHEATRE AT CAPUA.

A. Perspective view, looking down upon it, with a restoration of the canals for water.

d. The pavement.

g g. Walls to support the canals of water.

h h. Dens for the wild beasts.

i. Socket for a pivot.

k k. Canals for water.

B. One of the chambers in the substructure of the time of Hadrian, with the aqueduct, l, and an opening made in the vault.

THE COLOSSEUM.

PLATE XXIX.

AMPHITHEATRE AT CAPUA.

DETAILS.

A. PORTION OF EXTERIOR

B. LONGITUDINAL SECTION

C. PORTION OF ARCADES AND DENS

D. PLAN OF THE SAME]

DESCRIPTION OF PLATE XXIX.

AMPHITHEATRE AT CAPUA.

DETAILS.

o o o. Portion of the exterior,—all that remains of it being two arches of the arcade, with pilasters between them, and one pilaster of the upper storey.

A—B. Transverse section of the remains.

C. Four arches of the inner arcade.

h h h. Dens for wild beasts.

P P P. Corbels, or consoles, as in the Colosseum, Plate XVII.

l l. Aqueduct coming from the chambers of the time of Hadrian. (See the Plan.)

D. Plan of this portion of the building.

THE COLOSSEUM.

PLATE XXX.

AMPHITHEATRE AT CAPUA.

PLAN OF THE SUBSTRUCTURES, WITH THE SUPERSTRUCTURES IN DOTTED LINES.

PLAN WITH THE SUBSTRUCTIONS]

DESCRIPTION OF PLATE XXX.

AMPHITHEATRE AT CAPUA.

PLAN OF THE SUBSTRUCTURES, WITH THE SUPERSTRUCTURES IN DOTTED LINES.

a. North entrance.

b b b. Central passage.

c c c. Eastern passage.

d. Small chamber of the time of Hadrian.

e e. Western passage.

f f. The galleries.

g g. Substructures with water.

h h h. Dens for the wild beasts.

i i. Sockets for pivots, as in the Colosseum.

k k k. Canals for water.

l l. The aqueduct.

m m. The drain.

n n. Stairs.

o o. Superstructure. The only remains of the exterior façade.

THE COLOSSEUM.

PLATE XXXI.

AMPHITHEATRE AT VERONA.

A. VIEW OF EXTERIOR WITH THE ARCADES

B. VIEW IN INTERIOR WITH SEATS]

DESCRIPTION OF PLATE XXXI.

AMPHITHEATRE AT VERONA.

(_From Photograph._)

A. EXTERIOR, with the double arcade,—and remains of the exterior front.

B. INTERIOR, with the marble seats. These are the most perfect that remain anywhere, and they shew what the Colosseum must have been when perfect.

THE COLOSSEUM.

PLATE XXXII.

THE AMPHITHEATRE AT POZZUOLI, NEAR NAPLES.

DESCRIPTION OF PLATE XXXII.

THE AMPHITHEATRE AT POZZUOLI, NEAR NAPLES.

In this instance the arena has fortunately been preserved, with the trap-doors in it; those round the edge being for wild beasts, the others for men and dogs, and the central passage as in the _Colosseum_. We see that the central passage has been boarded over also. The arrangement of the seats in the galleries is also the same, and the tufa wall behind probably indicates that there was an awning over the galleries in the same manner. This confirms one part of the history of the Colosseum, and the Amphitheatre at Capua confirms another part, the canals for the _naumachia_ or naval battles, although these were evidently very different from what had formerly been supposed. At each end of the part that is uncovered of the central passage it will be observed that there is a short post, looking very much like a capstan for winding a cord upon, as in Rome, although in this instance they are square and on the surface, and not on the pavement below. Each of the openings to the trap-doors has a groove round it, for a cover to fit into; possibly this was made water-tight, so that the whole surface could be flooded. The central passage has the same sort of groove sunk round it. The same arrangement may have been used in the Colosseum, but in that case there is the difficulty of the interval between the _podium_ of the lower gallery and the floor of the arena, which does not appear to have existed at Pozzuoli. This would have made it impracticable to flood the whole surface at Rome, which might have been done at Pozzuoli.

THE COLOSSEUM.

PLATE XXXIII.

AMPHITHEATRE AT POZZUOLI.

PLAN.

DESCRIPTION OF PLATE XXXIII.

AMPHITHEATRE AT POZZUOLI.

PLAN.

A—B. Line of the Longitudinal Section.

C—D. Line of the view of the exterior.

a. Plan of the substructions.

b. With the superstructure in dotted lines.

c. Principal entrance from the west.

d. Eastern entrance.

e. Central passage.

f. Transverse Section.

g. Aqueduct.

h. Dens for animals.

i i. Part of the substructure not yet excavated.

k. Chambers commonly called “the Prison of Nero.”

l l. Drain leading to the sea.

THE COLOSSEUM.

PLATE XXXIV.

AMPHITHEATRE AT POZZUOLI.

DESCRIPTION OF PLATE XXXIV.

AMPHITHEATRE AT POZZUOLI.

A—B. Longitudinal Section.

c. Principal entrance from the west.

d. Eastern entrance.

These two entrances are on sloping ground, descending to the central passage, e e e.

e. The drain to the sea.

C—D. View of the Exterior, from the principal entrance on the western side.

THE COLOSSEUM.

PLATE XXXV.

AMPHITHEATRE AT POZZUOLI.

DESCRIPTION OF PLATE XXXV.

AMPHITHEATRE AT POZZUOLI.

E. VIEW in the principal corridor, with the receptacles to collect the water, m m m.

F. VIEW in a subterranean corridor under the arena, shewing remains of the decorations thrown down by the hand of men, through the aperture, n.

It is here impossible that they could have fallen down in an earthquake, as was the case in the Colosseum. A garden was made here upon the arena, and these decorations were removed from the surface, as interfering with the cultivation of the garden, and thrown down into the substructures, and then arranged under the vault as we see them.

THE COLOSSEUM.

PLATE XXXVI.

PLAN OF THE GREAT DRAIN.

DESCRIPTION OF PLATE XXXVI.

PLAN OF THE GREAT DRAIN.

A. The Colosseum.

B. Part of the Cœlian Hill, on which the Claudium stood.

C. Part of the Palatine Hill.

a. Summa Sacra Via.

a*. Clivus Triumphalis.

b. Meta Sudans.

c. Arch of Constantine.

d d. Passage of Commodus.

e. Site on which the steam-engine was placed in 1874-5, to pump out the water coming from this point.

f. Piscina of the time of Nero.

g. Castellum Aquæ, or reservoir of Alexander Severus.

g*. Aqueduct of the third century.

h h. Exhedra of the Ludus Magnus.

i i i. Great Drain of the Colosseum, to convey the water to the Tiber.

k. The exact spot where the water runs down from the Cœlian into the Colosseum, called a natural spring, but not having the usual bubbling character of a spring.

l. Via di S. Giovanni in Laterano.

m. Via Cœlimontana.

n n n. Orto Botanico. Waste ground at the foot of the Cœlian Hill, planted with trees and shrubs, _called_ the Botanical Garden, but not used as such.

o o. Via del Arco di Constantino. The road between the Cœlian and the Palatine Hill.

p. Podium of the colossal statue of Gordianus, 50 ft. high.

FOOTNOTES

[1] See Plate XIII.

[2] Ibid. XVII., XVIII.

[3] See Plates V., VI.

[4] See Plate XVI.

[5] Ibid. XXII.

[6] Ibid. XXIII.

[7] Ibid. XXIV., XXV.

[8] Ibid. X.

[9] Ibid. IX., XV.

[10] See Plate IV.

[11] Ibid. XV.

[12] Ibid. I., II.

[13] See Plate XII.

[14] Ibid. XI.

[15] Ibid. XX., XXI.

[16] Ibid. XIV.

[17] Ibid. VII., VIII., XXVI.

[18] Ibid. XIX.

[19] Ibid. XXXVI.

[20] See Plates XXVII., XXVIII., XXIX., XXX., XXXI.

[21] Ibid. XXXII., XXXIII., XXXIV., XXXV.

[22] See the Part of this work on the Forum Romanum and the Via Sacra for evidence of this.

[23] “Fecit et nova opera ... item amphitheatrum urbe media, ut destinasse compererat Augustum.” (Suetonius, Vespasianus, c. 9.)

[24] Plinii Nat. Hist., lib. xxxvi. c. 24, s. 8.

[25] Dionis Hist., lib. xliii. c. 25.

[26] “Non patiemur duos Caios, vel duos Nerones, ne hac quidem gloria famæ frui: docebimusque etiam insaniam eorum victam privatis operibus M. Scauri, cujus nescio an ædilitas maxime prostraverit mores civiles, majusque sit Sullæ malum, tanta privigni potentia, quam proscriptio tot millium. Hic fecit in ædilitate sua opus maximum omnium, quæ unquam fuere humana manu facta, non temporaria mora, verum etiam æternitatis destinatione. Theatrum hoc fuit. Scena ei triplex in altitudinem, CCCLX columnarum, in ea civitate, quæ sex Hymettias non tulerat sine probro civis amplissimi. Ima pars scenæ e marmore fuit: media e vitro, inaudito etiam postea genere luxuriæ: summa, e tabulis inauratis.” (Plinii Nat. Hist., lib. xxxvi. 24. 7.)

[27] The meaning of this appears to be that the upper part was temporary, and was removed shortly afterwards, as is related in another place; but the substructures were permanent, or eternal.

[28] Dionis Hist. Rom., lib. xxxvii. c. 58.

[29] Justi Lipsii de Amphitheatro liber, 1684; _et apud_ Grævii Thesaurus Ant. Rom., Lugd. Bat. 1699, folio, vol. ix.

[30] “Alter in Amphitheatrali _cavea_ cum adfuturus spectaculis introiret.” (Ammiani Marcellini, lib. xxix. 1, Valentinianus, &c., A.D. 371.)

[31]

“Quid pulvis _Caveæ_ semper funebris et illa
Amphitheatralis spectacula tristia pompæ.”

(Prudentius contra Symmachum, lib. i. l. 384-5.)

[32]

“... stat cardine aperto
Infelix _Cavea_ et clausis circum undique portis
Hoc licuisse nefas pavidi timuere Leones.”

(Statii Silvæ, lib. ii. 5; Leo Mansuetus imp., l. xi.)

[33] Claudianus de laudibus Stilicho, lib. iii.

[34] Lipsius has collected a host of extracts from the classical authors respecting this great amphitheatre, and the arrangement and amusements in it; but as the substance of these is given in the usual classical dictionaries, especially Dr. Smith’s, and they do not affect the history of the building, it is not necessary to repeat them here.

[35] Polybii Hist., i. 84.

[36] Cassiodori Variar., lib. v. epist. 42.

[37] Livii Hist., xxxix. 22.

[38] Ibid., xliv. 18.

[39] Sig. Fabio Gori has collected all these passages, and given an Italian translation of them in his work entitled _Le memorie storiche, i giuochi e gli scavi dell’ anfiteatro Flavio_. Roma, 1874.

[40] Suetonii Julius Cæsar, cap. 39.

[41] That is, chariots on two wheels and others on four wheels.

[42] “In minore _Codeta_, defosso lacu.”

[43] Vessels with two, or three, or four rows of oars.

[44] See Plate IX.

[45] Every square yard of this part of Rome has been trenched in the search for statues in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and records of these numerous excavations are carefully preserved in the Miscellanea of Fea. Had there been any such building as would be required for this purpose anywhere near his palace, it must have come to light, and nothing of the kind has been found.

[46] See Plate II.

[47] The basin of Nero was possibly cut through the layer of tufa, which underlies the whole soil of Rome, down to the clay under it. In some excavations made under my direction in a cave under the Aventine, near the Marmorata, which was the mouth of the Aqua Appia, a level bed of white clay was found under the tufa rock of which the Aventine Hill consists; this would account for the walls in the central part built of concrete and brick, on this clay foundation, having been frequently damaged by earthquakes, while the great stone arcades, being built upon the tufa rock, did not suffer from the shocks. Clay is always a bad foundation to build upon, and there are always settlements in buildings that rest upon it. The objection to this theory is, that the surface of the water would be twenty-one feet below the arena and the foot of the _podium_.

[48] See Plate IX.

[49] In the ancient catalogue of the Emperors and their works, known as “Catalogus Viennensis Imp. Rom. apud Eccard.,” under Vespasian, it is stated that he dedicated the first three steps of the amphitheatre, implying that three were already finished even in his time.

[A.D. 70.] “Hic prior tribus gradibus amphitheatrum dedicavit;”

That Titus added two more.

[A.D. 81.] “Hic amphitheatrum a tribus gradibus patris sui dura adjecit.”

And further, that Domitian completed the building up to the clypea, that is, the top cornice at that time, when the upper storey was of wood.

[A.D. 92-96.] “Domitianus Imp. ... Amphitheatrum usque ad clypea.”

[50] See Plates V., VI., XV., XVI.

[51] Photos., Nos. 3136, 3137.

[52] Photos., No. 3204.

[53] This platform was, perhaps, constructed of a great number of timbers fastened together. Lucan has described such a platform with a tower on it. (Pharsal., lib. iv. 420, sqq.)

[54] Dionis Hist., lib. lxii. cap. 15.

[55] Ibid., lib. lxi. Nero, vi. c. 9 and 17.

[56] Ibid., lib. lxvi. c. 25.

[57] Ibid., lib. lxii. Nero, iii. c. 15, and 20, 22.

[58] “Spectacula magnifica assidue et sumptuosa edidit, non in amphitheatro _modo_, rerum et in circo ... ac in amphitheatro, navale quoque.” (Suetonii Domitianus, c. 4.)

[59] Dionis Hist., lib. lxii. c. 18.

[60]

“Omnis Cæsareo cedat labor Amphitheatro:
Unum pro cunctis fama loquatur opus....”

(Martialis, De Spectaculis, Epigr. 1.)

“Hic, ubi conspicui venerabilis Amphitheatri
Erigitur moles, stagna Neronis erant.”

(Ibid., Epigr. 2.)

[61] Taciti Ann., xv. 42.

[62] Ibid., lib. xiv. c. 15.

[63] Ibid., c. 31.

[64] “... lacu in ipso navale prælium adornatur, ut quondam Augustus, structo cis Tiberim stagno; sed levibus navigiis et minori copiâ ediderat.” (Taciti Annal., xii. 56.)

[65] “Igitur in stagno Agrippæ (Tigellinus) fabricatus est ratem, cui superpositum convivium aliarum tractu navium moveretur ... volucres et feras diversis e terris, et animalia maris Oceano abusque petiverat.” (Taciti Annal., lib. xv. c. 37.)

[66] Taciti Ann., lib. xv. c. 42.

[67] Ibid., lib. xiv. c. 15.

[68] See p. 5.

[69] Santi-Bartoli (in a paper printed in the _Miscellanea_, by Fea, vol. i. p. ccxxiii.) states that in his time a quantity of leaden water-pipes, which carried water from the Thermæ of Titus to the Colosseum, were found in an orchard north of the Colosseum.

[70] Suetonii Nero, c. 12.

[71] This dedication is referred to by Eutropius thus,—

“Hic [Titus] amphitheatrum Romæ ædificavit, et in dedicatione ejus quinque millia ferarum occidit.” (Eutropius, lib. vii. c. 14. See also Cassiodorus, Variar. l. v. op. 42. Opera omnia, ed. 1679, fol. vol. i. p. 94, c. 2.)

The account by Suetonius, writing some eighty or ninety years previously, is very clear:—

“Amphitheatro dedicato, thermisque juxta celeriter exstructis, munus edidit apparatissimum largissimumque. Dedit et navale prœlium in veteri naumachia: ibidem et gladiatores: atque uno die quinque millia omne genus ferarum.” (Suetonius Titus, c. 7.)

These old _naumachia_ were the same as the _stagnum navale_, the old place for such amusements on the spot. They have been supposed to be the Naumachia of Augustus in the Trastevere, but without authority; and the mention of the gladiators in connection with them implies that it was at the same place.

[72] See Photos., Nos. 3268, 3269, and the drawing of this restored in Plates VII. and XV.

[73] See p. 37, and Plate X.

[74] Photos., Nos. 1761, 1762.

[75] Photos., No. 3279, and Plates II. and XX.

[76] It is important to notice this, because some able architects did not see it at first sight, and imagined that these brick arches rested upon the stone piers, which was evidently not really the case, though it appears to be so.

M. Viollet-le-Duc, one of the most eminent architects of our time, says that an experienced architect would cut through old tufa walls of this kind as easily, and with as little scruple, as he would cut through cheese, and the brick facing made no material difference.

[77] “... item stagnum maris instar, circumseptum ædificiis ad urbium speciem.” (Suetonii Nero, c. 31.)

[78] Photos., Nos. 3282, 3285.

[79] See Plate XXI.

[80] See Plate XXII.

[81] See Plate XV.

[82] Photos., No. 3268, 3269.

[83] Photos., Nos. 3203, 3205, 3282, 3283. In some parts a brick wall of the fifth or sixth century has been introduced between the two old tufa walls, during the repairs after the earthquakes. This is at first sight rather puzzling, until it is examined and properly considered.

[84] Photos., No. 3271.

[85] Photos., Nos. 3285, 3286.

[86] For elephants there are four larger dens provided, two on either side of the central passage. See the Plan.

[87] Photos., No. 3282.

[88] See Plates XVI., XVII.

[89] This _vivarium_ is a triangular piece of ground, the wide end of which touches the wall of the Amphitheatrum Castrense; the narrow end is only just wide enough for the body of a man to pass through an aperture made in it, as the ground is between a wall of Aurelian on the inner side, and a wall of the Sessorium on the outer side, preserved by Aurelian as an outwork. This was the scene of the celebrated ambuscade of Belisarius, by means of which the Goths were driven away from Rome, as described by Procopius (De Bello Gothico, lib. i. c. 22.)

[90]

PRO S. IMP. M. ANTONI . GORDIANI . PII
FELICIS AVG. ET TRANQVILLINAE SABI
NAE AVG. VENATORES IMMVN. CVM CV
STODE VIVARI PONT. VERVS MIL. COH
VI. PR. CAMPANIVS VERAX. MIL. COH. VI
PR. FVSCIVS CRESCENTIO ORD CVSTOS
VIVARI. COHH. PRAETT. ET VRBB
DIANAE AVG. D. S. EX. V. P.
DEDICATA XII. KAL. NOV.
IMP. D. N. GORDIANO AVG. ET POMPEIANO COS.

(Inscription found in Rome in 1710, and printed by Nibby, Roma Antica, vol. i. p. 386.)

[91] A compartment of this is shewn in one of the _graffiti_, found in the excavations of 1874.

[92] “Caius princeps in circo pegma duxit.” (Plinii Nat. Hist., xxxiii. 16.)

[93] “Ludiviæ sunt, quæ ad voluptatem oculorum atque aurium tendunt. His annumeres licet machinatores, qui pegmata per se surgentia excogitant, et tabulata tacite in sublime crescentia, et alias ex inopinato varietates, aut dehiscendentibus quæ cohærebant, aut his quæ distabant, sua sponte coeuntibus aut his quæ eminebant paulatim in se residentibus.” (Seneca, Epist., 88, s. 19.)

[94]

“Sic pugnas Cilicis laudabat, et ictus;
Et pegma et pueros inde ad velaria raptos.”

(Juvenal, Satyr iv. 121, 122.)

[95] See p. 49.

[96] Photos., No. 3283.

[97] Photos., No. 3286, and Plate VII.

[98] Photos., No. 3263.

[99] Those English people who remember Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London about 1820, must know that there was always a sheet of water or reservoir under the stage, and trap-doors in the floor by which sea-monsters could be introduced. The amusements of the old Roman people seem to have been frequently of this kind. Naval fights in boats might have been performed in the Colosseum, and a great deal of machinery must have been required to remove the floor and replace it.

A wooden Roman bridge still remains under water near Compiègne in France, of which M. Peigné Delacourt has published an account, with engravings of it, so that wood under water is preserved in the same manner as when it is buried in a wet soil. This is well known in the case of piles for bridges, and in those under the city of Amsterdam.

[100] See Plate XXVI.

[101] It appears evident from the inscriptions from the College of the Arvales that the seats were regularly and permanently allotted to different persons holding different offices, according to their rank. The lower seats being of marble, the upper ones of wood.

There are many inscriptions relating to the seats in the different theatres and amphitheatres in Rome:

LOCA . ADSIGNATA IN AMPHITEATRO
L . AELIO . PLAVTIO . LAMIA . Q . PACTVMEIO
FRONTONE . COS .
ACCEPTVM . AB . LABERIO . MAXIMO
PROCVRATORE . PRAEF . ANNONAE
L . VENNVLEIO . APRONANO . MAG .
CVRATORE . THYRSO . L
FRATRIBVS . ARVALIBVS . MÆNIANO .
I̅ . CVN . X̅I̅I̅ . GRADIBVS . MARM . VIII.
GRADVI . P . V = GRAD . VIII . PED .
V≡£ . F . PED . XXXXIIS . GRADV. I . VNO .
P . XXII S . ET . MAENIANO . SVMMO .
I̅I̅ . CVN . V̅I̅ . GRADIB . MARM . I̅V̅ .
GRADV . I . VNO . P . XXII S . ET .
MAENIANO . SVMMO . IN . LIGNEIS .
TAB . LIII . GRADIBVS . XI . GRADV .
I PED . V = GRAD . XI. PED . V = = —)
F̅. PED . LXIII S = = — SVMMA . PED .
CXXVIIII S = = —

(Gius.-Ant. Guattari, Roma descritta ed illustrata, &c. Roma, 1805, 4to., vol. ii. p. 13.)

[102] Photos., No. 3279.

[103] See p. 6, and Plates II. and XX.

[104] See Photos., No. 367.

[105] One series of these corbels in the upper corridor seems to have been for a wooden gallery, for the use of the sailors going to furl or unfurl the awning.

[106] Some clamps of the same form were found, in 1870, in the interior of the wall of Servius Tullius, (in the part destroyed for the railway,) where the stones were joined together by them.

[107] SIC PREMIA SERVAS VESPASIANE DIRE PREMIATVS ES MORTE GAVDENTI LETARE CIVITAS VBI GLORIE TVE AVTORI PROMISIT ISTE DAT KRISTVS OMNIA TIBI QVI ALIVM PARAVIT THEATRV̅ IN CELO. This inscription only shews that he was employed upon the work; it is preserved in the church of S. Martino a Monti. See Nibby, Roma nell’ anno MDCCCXXXVIII. parte i. Antica, p. 400.

[108] See Photographs, Nos. 1500 and 1501, and the Photo-engraving, Plate XXIII. of Supplement to vol. i.

[109] See Photos., No. 488, and Plates XXIV., XXV.

[110] L’Anfiteatro Flavio descritto e delineato dal cavaliere Carlo Fontana. Nell’ Haia, M.DC.XXV. fol. max.

[111] These views of buildings on coins appear to have been made from the architect’s designs before they were carried out, and were sometimes altered. There is no representation of the Colossus of Nero in any of them. For the shallow channel of water, see Photos., No. 1759.

[112] See No. 302, and 488 c.

[113] On bad impressions of this coin the Meta Sudans looks like a second smaller figure, or of a youth; but on good impressions the Meta Sudans is distinct, and the figure behind it overtops it by the head and shoulders only.

[114] See No. 488 c.

[115] “... Romæ templum Hadriani, honori patris dicatum, Græco-stadium post incendium restitutum, instauratum amphitheatrum,” &c. (Jul. Capitolinus-Antoninus Pius, c. 8, ap. Script. Hist. Aug.)

[116] Dionis Cass. lib. lxxii. c. 17-22.

[117] “Postea in theatris tantum umbram fecere: quod primus omnium invenit Q. Catulus, cum Capitolium dedicaret. Carbasina deinde vela primus in theatro duxisse traditur Lentulus Spinter Apollinaribus ludis.... Vela nuper colore cæli, stellata, per rudentes iere etiam in amphitheatro principis Neronis.” (Plinii Nat. Hist., lib. xix. c. 6.)

[118] See Plate XVII.

[119] Photos., No. 185.

[120] This is reproduced in Plate XXI.

[121] Photos., Nos. 167, 185.

[122] See Regio III., Castra Misenatium.

[123] Calpurnius has usually been considered as a writer of the third century, but the most recent editor of his Eclogues (Haupt) shews that he was contemporary with Nero and Titus, and Dean Merivale is of the same opinion.

[124]

“Vidimus in cœlum trabibus spectacula textis
Surgere, Tarpeium prope despectantia culmen,
Immensosque gradus, et clivos lene jacentes....
Ordine quid referam? vidi genus omne ferarum....
Non solum nobis silvestria cernere monstra
Contigit: æquoreos ego cum certantibus ursis
Spectavi vitulos, et equorum nomine dignum,
Sed deforme pecus (i.e. Nilo).
Ah trepidi quoties nos descendentis arenæ
Vidinus in partes ruptaque voraginæ terræ
Emersisse feras!
Et coit in rotulam teretem quo lubricus axis
Impositos subita _vertigine_ falleret ungues
Excuteretque feras auro quoque torta refulgent
Retia, quæ totis in arenam dentibus extant,
Dentibus æquatis: et erat mihi crede Lycota
Si qua fides, nostro dens longior omnis aratro.”

(T. Calpurnii Siculi Bucol. Ecloga vii.)

[125] Dionis Cass. lib. lxxviii. c. 25.

[126] “Opera publica ipsius præter Æden Heliogabali Dei ... et amphitheatri instauratio post exustionem ... nulla extant.” (Lampridius, Antoninus Heliogabalus, c. 17, ap. Script. Hist. Aug.)

[127] “... sumptibus publicis ad instaurationem theatri, circi, _amphitheatri_, et ærarii, deputavit.” (Lampridius, Alexander Severus, c. 24.) There are coins of this emperor with the amphitheatre on the reverse. See Plate XXV.

[128] “Fuerunt sub Gordiano Romæ elephanti triginta et duo, quorum ipse duodecim miserat, Alexander decem: alces decem, tigres decem, leones mansueti sexaginta, leopardi mansueti triginta, belbi, id est hyænæ, decem, gladiatorum fiscalium paria mille, hippopotamus et rhinoceros unus, archoleontes decem, camelopardali decem, onagri viginti, equi feri quadraginta, et cetera hujusmodi animalia, innumera et diversa: quæ omnia Philippus ludis sæcularibus vel dedit vel occidit.” (Jul. Capit. Gordianus Tertius, c. 33.)

[129] This celebration shews that the chronology then accepted by the Roman people is the same as that of Livy, which is used as the chronological table of buildings prefixed to this work.

[130] Suetonius in Gordiano III., c. 33.

[131] Herodian, lib. i. c. 8. Ammianus Marcellinus mentions the same exhibition, and the same number of lions leaping out at once, lib. xxxi. c. 19. See Plates VI. and VIII.

[132] “Centum jubatos leones.” (Vopiscus in Vita Probi, c. 19.)

[133] “Eam autem denunciationem adque interpretationem, quæ de jactu amphitheatri scripta est, de qua ad Heraclianum Tribunum, et magistrum officiorum scripseras, ad nos scias esse perlatum.” (Codex Theodosianus, lib. xvi. tit. x. lex 1. Imp. Constantinus ad Maximum, A.D. 321.)

[134] “Amphitheatri molem solidatam lapidis Tiburtini compage, ad cujus summitatem ægre visio humana conscendit.” (Ammianus Marcellinus, lib. xvi. c. 10.)

[135] SALV_is_ . _dd._ NN. THEODOSIO . ET . PLACIDO . _valentiniano_ . _augg._ RVF_v_S CAECINA . FELIX . LAMPADIVS . VC. _et_ . _inl._ _praef._ _vrb._ HAR_e_NAM . AMPHITEATRI . A . NOVO . VNA . CVM . _Podio_ . _et_ . _portis_ . _posti_CIS . SED . ET . REPARATIS . SPECTACVLI . GRADIBVS _restitvit_.

[136] Paulus Diaconus, Miscell., lib. xiv.; ap. Murat. Rer. Ital. Script., vol. i. p. 96, c. 1, A.

[137] This appears from another inscription found in 1813:—

DECIVS MARIVS VENANTIVS BASILIVS V̅ C̅ et INL̅. PRAEF V̅RB PATRICIVS CONSVL ORDINARIVS ARENAM ET PODIVM QVAE ABOMINANDI TERRAEMOTVS RVIN PROSTRAVIT SVMPTV PROPRIO RESTITVIT.

[138] “Muneribus amphitheatralibus diversi generis feras, quas præsens ætas pro novitate miraretur, exhibuit. Cujus spectaculi voluptates etiam exquisitas Africa sub devotione transmisit.” (Cassiodori Chronicon, A.D. 519; inter opera ejus, ed. 1679, fol., tom. i. p. 195, col. 2.)

[139] “Quamdiu stat Colysæus, stat et Roma; quando cadet Colysæus, cadet et Roma; quando cadet Roma, cadet et mundus.” (Bedæ Opera, Basileæ, 1563, fol., vol. iii. col. 651.)

[140] Card. de Aragonia, Vita Innocentii II. apud Muratori, Rerum Italicarum Scriptores, vol. iii. p. 1, p. 435 B.

[141] Cort. de Senatu Romano, lib. vii. c. 1, §. 168.

[142] Delle Memorie Sacre, e profane dell’ Anfiteatro Flavio di Roma, &c., dal Canonico Giovanni Marangoni Vicentino. In Roma, 1745, 4to. Cap. l. p. 49, Codice pergameno, Scritto dal celebre Onofrio Panvino inedito ed intitolato, _de Gente Fregepanica_.

[143] Card. de Aragonia, Vita Alexandri III. ap. Muratori, Rerum Ital. Script., tom. iii. p. i. p. 459.

[144] Albertino Mussato, Hist. Aug., lib. v.; ap. Murat. Rerum Italic. Script., tom. x. c. 454. Nibby, Roma nell’ anno MDCCCXXXVIII, parte i. p. 413.

[145] Rainaldi Annal. an. 1244; Panvin. de gente Frangipani; Muratori, Rerum Italicarum Scriptores, tom. xii. col. 535, 536. Nibby gives a more complete and accurate version of this occurrence from a better text, though modernized. See Roma Antica, part i. p. 414.

[146] “... et præterea se omnes emendarent de faciendo tiburtinam (travertini) quod esset commune id quod judicitur.” (Fea, Dissertazione nelle Ruine di Roma, p. 398.)

[147] F. Vacca, Memorie ap. Fea, lxxiv. p. 72.

[148] Poggio the Florentine, writing in 1425, says that a large part of the building was reduced to lime by the stupidity of the Romans:—“... atque ob stultitiam Romanorum majori ex parte ad calcem delatum.” (Poggio, de Varietate Fortunæ, lib. i.)

[149] Flaminio Vacca, Memorie, 72; Marangoni, Memorie dell’ Anfiteatro Flavio, p. 57, quoted by Nibby, Roma nell’ anno MDCCCXXXVIII, parte i., Antica, p. 418.

[150] Bellori, Vita di Domenico Fontana. Roma, nell’ anno MDCCCXXXVIII, &c., parte i., Antica, pp. 414-417. (Le Vite de pittori, &c., Roma, 1728, 4to. p. 93.)

The space enclosed within the outer walls is six acres, and there is an extraordinary difference of climate between the northern and the southern side. Dr. Deakin published a work on the Flora of the Colosseum: he found 423 _species_ of plants, belonging to 253 _genera_.

Over the door now generally used is a painting of the heavenly Jerusalem and the Crucifixion, of the time of Paul III., A.D. 1534-50, in the style of the older pilgrimage pictures. At the time it was painted the passage appears to have been filled up with earth to such a height as to make the picture a conspicuous object in leaving the building; at present it is quite above the heads of the passers-by, and is seldom noticed or seen.

[151] The interior of the building is still grand in its ruins. This is well shewn in the photograph (No. 1195,) with the cross, and the altar, and the stations erected by the pope about 1750, and destroyed in 1874, in order to excavate the whole of the area. A restoration of the interior according to Canina can also be seen in another photograph (No. 724).

[152] Etudes Statistiques sur Rome, par le Conte P. N. C. de Tournon. Paris, Didot, 1821, 8vo., 4 vols., and deuxième edition, 3 Volumes en 8vo avec atlas, Paris, 1858.

The fine set of drawings made for the French Government at that period are now preserved in the British Museum, and fully bear out what I had stated before I had seen them. They clearly shew that the French excavations were not carried down more than ten feet. The tops of the arches of the lower passage are shewn in the drawings, but these excavations appear to have been stopped by water rising to that height. See Plate III.

[153] See No. 1742, and Plate III.

[154] Probably the aqueduct which passes there had a hole made in it; the same aqueduct goes on from this side of the building to the south-east end. This occurred again in 1874, and a steam engine had again to be employed. This passage, before it turns, goes in the direction of the _castellum aquæ_ of the time of Alexander Severus, of which there are considerable remains between this point and the Cœlian. The _specus_ of an aqueduct of the same period passes along between the Cœlian and the amphitheatre, near the surface of the ground; a portion of this was visible in 1874.

[155] See Photograph, No. 367.

[156] See p. 5.

[157] In the summer of 1875 they were again suspended for want of funds to pay for the steam-engine, which costs a pound a-day.

[158] Of which an account has been given in pages 5, 6, 10, 13, 14, 21, 35, of this chapter.

[159] See Plate III.

[160] See Plate XV.

[161] About the year 1865 a new drain was made by the Municipality under that road, and when it was nearly finished the old drain of the Empire (?), or of the time of Sylla (?), was found under it at a considerably lower level. It is fifteen metres below the surface of the ground, and so much filled up with earth that it is considered (in 1876) quite impracticable to have it cleared out and repaired.

[162] Photos., Nos. 3203, 3283.

[163] For the _pegmata_, see p. 14, and the authorities quoted in the note.

[164] See Plates XVIII., XIX., and Photos., No. 3283, and the graffito of the net, Plate XXIV.

[165] See Photos., No. 3201, and Plate XIX.

[166] See the evidence of this, p. 13.

[167] See Plates XIII. and XVI.

[168] Dionis Cass. Hist. Rom., lib. lxxii. c. 17, 18, 19, 20, 21.

[169] Some scholars say that those scenes could not have taken place on this site, because the Flavian Amphitheatre was not built in the time of Nero. But it has been shewn that an awning in the _amphitheatre of Nero_ is described by Pliny, writing at the time, during the life and reign of Nero, as he uses the expression _principis Neronis_, which he could hardly have used after his death. No other site but this can be found for such a large building as an amphitheatre, and this is close to the Golden House of Nero. In any case athletes or wrestlers, and _naumachia_ or naval fights, are part of the tradition of many Roman amphitheatres, and there are sufficient remains of the substructures in many places to prove that this tradition is well founded. The _corridors_ of the Flavian Emperors, though splendid additions to this great theatre, were not _necessary_ for the performance of those pantomimes. It has also been shewn that the old tufa walls _must be_ earlier than the time of Nero, and are probably of the time of Sylla.

[170] See Plates IV. to X.

[171] They were made at the suggestion of the author of this work, rather sooner than would otherwise have been the case, in order that he might be able to see them. Signor Rosa unfortunately began pulling down the walls of the substructure, calling them “Frangipani walls.” The Frangipani family had possession of the Colosseum in the twelfth century, but the construction of that period is totally different from any of the walls in the Colosseum, either above or below the level of the _arena_. The Minister of Public Instruction fortunately arrived in Rome in time to stop their demolition, and obtained an Act of Parliament, in 1875, appointing a general Archæological Commission for all Italy, with Signor Fiorelli, from Pompeii, at the head of it; and no individual will in future be permitted either to destroy antiquities, or to build anything new, without the consent of the Commission.

[172] See No. 3202, and p. 27.

[173] See No. 3201.

[174] See No. 3263, and Plate VII.

[175] See No. 3203.

[176] The plan of one section of this enormous building (see No. 183 and Plate XIV.), and those of the six different floors or storeys, shew the admirable arrangement of the seats and passages, and _vomitoria_ for the rapid exit of the people, as well as the plan of the whole building would do. The magnificent stone arcades of the Flavian Emperors, A.D. 80, appear in many parts to be built against brick walls and galleries of the time of Nero, originally built for the spectators of the old Naumachia. (See No. 3205, 1762.)