A Roman adventure - part 4

It was a dull and rainy morning for Day 3 in Rome when Laura explored the Colosseum.  Laura hadn't brought a raincoat with her so had to retreat under her girl's raincoat when it did rain, however fortunately most of the visit to the Colosseum was dry.

She went up in the lift to see this view (there were stairs which she used later to go down)

There was a partially rebuilt floor showing where the gladiators once fought.  This was a vast lake in Nero's time, the Flavian emperors restored the area to public use and built the Colosseum for public (bloody) entertainment - apparently they could flood the arena for mock sea battles, but later when the underground passages were built, the arena could no longer be flooded.

Laura and her girl went further up some steps to get an even better view

Further round Laura found a railing stopping people from climbing up the rubble slop which would once have had seating on it, she couldn't resist standing in the railing.

She took a photo across the Colosseum arena

Laura could see out of the Colosseum through the arched doorways to the Domus Aurea ruins

She climbed up towards another railing

It was hard work climbing up the rubble slope which was cemented together

Laura was determined to get to the railing for a better view

and she soon had her hand on the railing

Laura pulled herself up and through the railing

and waved to her girl from behind the railing

The useful plans of the Colosseum placed around the arena was labelled to explain the different areas

Form a different vantage point Laura could see under the arena floor

A rebuilt working trapdoor and lift was positions on the edge of the rebuilt floor, showing how wild animals, gladiators or actors would have made quick entrances into the area from the passages below

Laura was brave and stood near the edge to cheer on the gladiators

In one of the side walls she saw plenty of holes, probably where the support pins for marble cladding or friezes or statues might have been mounted

Laura was interested to see how the archaeologists were storing fragments of decorative masonry in a side wing

Laura posed on a column plinth to get a better view of the arena

She found the Colosseum fascinating

There was a model of what the seating areas looked like when the Colosseum was new

Another model showed how the trapdoors and lifts worked

This model seemed to show animal cages under the arena

The weights and pulley system for the trapdoors and lifts

Outside the Colosseum Laura could see that the outside wall had disappeared, the line of the wall was marked in the pavement.

Laura peeped out from her girl's raincoat to see the scaffolding on the outside rim of the Colosseum by the Gladiator's entrance

The Gladiator's entrance was marked with some foundation stones showing where the gate would have been in the enormous wall

It was raining as Laura and her girl went round the high end of the Colosseum to find some lunch, so Laura in her carry bag hid underneath the blue raincoat.  It had been a fascinating visit to see this enormous ancient arena.

(see also Part 1 of Laura's adventures in Rome and Part 2 when Laura visited the Palatine Hill and Part 3 when Laura explored the Roman Forum)