ColosseumGo › Colosseum history: who built it, when, and how many it held
Colosseum history: who built it, when, and how many it held
The Colosseum took about ten years to build and was used for games for more than four centuries. Here is the short history, with the numbers you can check on the spot.
Who built it and when
Construction began under Emperor Vespasian around AD 70–72. The site was chosen deliberately: it had been the artificial lake of Nero’s Golden House, and the new dynasty gave the land back to the city as a place for public entertainment.
Vespasian’s son Titus opened the amphitheatre in AD 80 with games that, according to Roman historians, lasted a hundred days. His brother Domitian completed the building. Its Latin name is the Flavian Amphitheatre, after the family of all three emperors.
How big it is and how many it held
The Colosseum is an ellipse of roughly 188 by 156 metres and about 48 metres high. Historians estimate its capacity at 50,000 to 80,000 spectators; the figure most often cited is around 50,000.
People got in through eighty ground-floor arches. Most of them were numbered, and you can still see the Roman numerals above the entrances. The number on a spectator’s token told them which arch to use, which is why the crowd could fill the building quickly.
What it is made of
The outer ring is travertine; inside are tufa, brick and Roman concrete. The facade has three tiers of arches framed by columns of three different orders, with a solid top storey above them.
The holes that pit the stone are where metal clamps once held the blocks together. In the Middle Ages the metal was pried out and reused.
After the games
Gladiator fights died out in the fifth century, and the last recorded animal hunts took place in 523. Earthquakes, above all the one of 1349, brought down part of the outer ring, and for centuries the stone was carted away for new buildings in Rome.
In the Middle Ages the building served as a fortress and housing. In 1749 Pope Benedict XIV dedicated it to the memory of Christian martyrs, which helped stop the dismantling.
Why is it called the Colosseum?
The name comes from a colossal bronze statue of Nero that stood nearby. It came into use in the Middle Ages; the Romans called the building the Flavian Amphitheatre.
How long did it take to build?
About ten years: work began around AD 70–72, and Titus opened it in AD 80. Domitian completed the building in the following years.
Were naval battles held in the arena?
Roman writers describe the arena being flooded for mock sea battles in its early years. Historians still debate how this worked, and it could only have been done before the underground was built.
- You can see the numbered entrance arches from outside, before you even go in. Look above the arches on the side facing the Colosseo metro station.