Perilous Times and The Revived Roman Empire
Roman Colosseum to open gladiator tunnels to public
The dark stone tunnels in which gladiators prepared to do battle in the
Colosseum are being opened to the public for the first time.
Nick Squires in Rome
Published: 4:46PM BST 15 Oct 2010
From next week, visitors will be able to venture into the bowels of the
amphitheatre
But archeologists are concerned about the impact that millions of
tourists will have on the subterranean maze of tunnels and galleries as
they seek to experience their very own Gladiator moment, re-enacting
scenes from the Ridley Scott blockbuster starring Russell Crowe.
From next week, visitors will be able to venture into the bowels of the
amphitheatre, the largest ever built by the Romans, exploring the cells
and passageways in which wild animals such as lions, tigers, bears and
hyenas were corralled.
They were forced into cages and raised with a system of winches and
pulleys to just beneath the floor of the sand-covered arena, emerging
from rope-operated trap doors to do battle with other animals or with
gladiators.
The largest animals – elephants, rhinoceroses and hippopotamuses – were
too big for the hoists and would have entered through a gate directly
into the arena.
Tourists will be able to see the remains of a sophisticated sewerage
system which provided the Colosseum's enormous crowds with dozens of
drinking fountains and lavatories and even enabled the arena to be
flooded for mock naval battles involving hundreds of gladiators on
ships.
Roman bricks still line the floors of the dungeons and tunnels and
stone stairways connect the two underground levels.
An underground passageway, which still exists, linked the Colosseum
with a nearby gladiator barracks, the "ludus magnus", the remains of
which are also still visible.
Gladiators – who were mostly common criminals, slaves and prisoners of
war – would emerge into the arena to the applause of 50,000 spectators.
Those that were killed in combat were carried out of the amphitheatre
through the Porta Libitina – the Gate of Death.
"You can imagine being a gladiator and listening to the roar of those
50,000 people coming through the floorboards – that is what is
magnificent about being down here," said Darius Arya, the director of
archaeology of the American Institute for Roman Culture.
"The animals would have been prepared for slaughter, or slaughtering:
there were bears, boars, lions, tigers, even crocodiles. People would
have been working on hoisting 20ft tall stage sets into the arena –
there was more backstage pressure than for a Broadway show. The smell
and the heat would have been incredible, especially in summer, and it
would all have been done by candlelight."
Opening up the underground area is intended to relieve crowding at one
of Italy's most popular ancient monuments – an average of 20,000 people
converge on the Colosseum each day. Until now, only about 35 per cent
of the vast stone-built stadium has been accessible.
The newly opened areas will be open to guided tours of a maximum of 25
people at a time.
"It is the first time people will have the chance to go down into the
places where games and shows were organised," said Rossella Rea, the
director of the Colosseum.
However, Dr Arya said: "It's great that these new areas are open but
I'm concerned because there's going to be a lot more traffic and a lot
more wear and tear.
"They need to make sure that it is not trampled on. The conservator in
me asks what guarantees are there that the place will still be in good
shape in five or 10 years' time."
Visitors will also be able to access, for the first time in about 40
years, the third highest of four tiers of seating, which in Roman times
was reserved for poor citizens, freed slaves and foreigners.
The Colosseum was started by the emperor Vespasian in AD70 and
completed 10 years later by his son, Titus, who held a 100 day
inauguration festival in which 9,000 animals were killed.