The life and times of the Colosseum

Have you ever thought about the world famous Roman Colosseum's origins or history? Well, the Colosseum's construction started between 70 and 72 AD under the Roman emperor Vespasian. He wanted to give back land that was stolen from Roman citizens by Nero. The roman emperor's son, Titus, completed the construction in 80 AD. The original name was the "Flavian Amphitheater." The amphitheater was renamed as the "Colosseum" for the colossus statue of Nero that was brought to the early structure.

The Colosseum could originally seat about 50,000 people. The main purpose for the theater was to hold gladiatorial games. Public announcements and speeches were also delivered from its' vast stage. It would also be flooded for mock sea battles and animal fights. To my surprise, I read that the Colosseum's arena was not sand or dirt, but it was actually made of wood. Below was a basement like area where animals and gladiators waited to perform.

The Colosseum was used for four centuries as the main fighting arena in Rome. After the Colosseum had officially opened, 100 days of games and fights were held.

A Roman ship found off the coast of Spain

A Roman ship was found by accident in 2000. It is 100 meters long and weighs 400 tons. It is the largest Roman ship ever found in the Mediterranean. The ship is around two-thousand years old and sailed to Spain in the 1st century AD. Among the ship's cargo were jars of garum, a fish sauce that rich Romans fancied.

Carles De Juan, the co-director of the wreck's research team said, "I am not going to say it was on the beach but almost." The believed explanation is that the ship went down in storm while heading back from Cadiz in southern Spain to Rome. "Proper exploration" began in July, 2006.

Roman Sarcophagus found near Trafalgar Square, London England

Did you know that in 2006, a Roman sarcophagus containing a headless skeleton was found near Trafalgar Square, London. It was found during excavations at St. Martin-in-the-Field Church in central London. The find dates back to 410AD and it was outside the old Roman walls of London.

Taryn Nixon, the director of th Museum of London Archaeology Service said,"It means that perhaps St. Martin-in-the-Fields has been a sacred site for far, far, far longer than we previously thought. This gives us an extraordinary glimpse of parts of London we haven't seen before, particularly Roman and Saxon London."This was a monumental archaeological discovery in 2006 that gave us a different point of view about what Roman London was like two-thousand years ago.

Romanology: Roman "Warehouse" Excavation

Romanology: Roman "Warehouse" Excavation

Roman "Warehouse" Excavation

I recently read about a team of fifty archaeologists who are excavating what appears to be a military "storehouse" in a corner of an ancient Roman fortress in Caerleon, South East Wales. The archaeologists, led by Dr. Peter Guest of Cardiff University, believe that this might have supplied a Roman legion. "Our work is the first research excavation conducted on a military store in Britain,"states Dr. Guest. Caerleon is also an important Roman site. It was one of three permanent garrisons in Britain and was occupied by the second Augustan legion.

In 74 AD, Caerleon had already become the main administrative center for Roman armies in Wales. The Roman site included a bathhouse and and amphitheatre which could seat 6,000 people. It is hoped that the dig will provide valuable information about the provisioning of the Roman legion.