The Colosseum Research Paper

The Flavian Amphitheater, better known as the Colosseum, is regarded around the world as a marvel of architecture. The structure was viewed as a symbol of the Roman Empire’s wealth and power and was even featured on ancient roman coinage (Coarelli 175). A symbol not only of imperial pride during the Roman Empire, the Colosseum is now viewed as a symbol of the city of Rome and the nation of Italy and is even featured on Italian Euro coins. The amphitheater was not the first amphitheater created, nor the first in the city of Rome, rather it is revered for its sheer size. The massive amphitheater, which took ten years to construct, required over two hundred ox carts a day of eight by three foot blocks of travertine, tufa, brick, and iron.
A capacity for eighty thousand people is astounding, especially for ancient times, and yet a number this large brings to mind the question of how the stadium could be filled, or more importantly emptied in the case of an emergency. It is estimated that this massive amphitheater could be emptied in an astonishing twelve minutes (Nash), a number which, even today, seems beyond human means. The Colosseum was designed with eighty entrances. There were four major entrances, located along the major and minor axes, which were not numbered (Coarelli 132). The two main entrances along the major axes were the service entrances. The Western main entrance was known as the porta triumphalis, where the procession made its entrance (Coarelli 132). The opposite entrance, known as the porta libitinensis, was where the gladiators exited (Coarelli 133). The numbered exits were placed strategically with different staircases leading to different exits, so that when the amphitheater emptied there would be no traffic within the building nor on the surrounding streets (Nash). The strategic placement of entrances and designation of who may use which allowed for the Colosseum to be an extremely efficient people