Hermanowski-Colosseum

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The Roman Colosseum

At first the Colosseum was known as the Amphitheater. The Colosseum was 160 feet tall and could hold more than 50,000 spectators. The Roman emperor Verpation started the construction of the Colosseum in 70 AD. It took ten years to fully construct and was opened to the public by the emperor Titus. It was built near the giant statue Colossus (a monument to Nero) and that is how it got its name. The building had 76 entrances and an additional 4 entrances just for the emperor, nobles and gladiators. The Colosseum was designed so that all of the spectators could leave in only 5 minutes. People were seated according to social status. The people who sat on the first 3 tiers were nobles and the fourth tier was for commoners. The fighters in the arena were slaves, prisoners, or sometimes volunteers. Gladiator battles stopped in 400 AD. For many centuries Romans horribly killed hundreds of people who they saw as worthless. The Romans staged fights, had executions and sometimes the Romans removed the wood flooring. The bottom was then filled with 6 acres of water to make mock naval battles. During the middle ages the stones that were on the Colosseum were removed to make new buildings. Today, the Roman Colosseum is pictured on the 5 cent Euro. Sport stadiums today are designed after the Roman Colosseum.

Here is an example of a jail cell that Romans kept the prisoners in until they were sent out into the arena to fight

Here is a picture of the inside of the Collosseum, which is now a very popular tourist attractrion!

The Collosseum at night