Sunday, 28 February 2016

Rome's Colosseum: history and architecture




This article provides a concise account of the history, architecture and features of one of the most iconic buildings in the world, namely the Colosseum, which was the largest amphitheatre in Rome.


The Colosseum

The Colosseum is one of the best-preserved buildings in Rome that dates from Classical times. The construction was started during the reign of Emperor Vespasian and completed during that of his son Titus, being dedicated in 80 AD. However, severe damage caused by a lightning strike in 217 was not repaired until 240, and other restorations were made in later centuries following earthquakes.


The site

The site of the Colosseum (the original name of which was the Flavian Amphitheatre), is in a valley between three of the Roman “hills”, the area having previously been a small lake that formed part of the grounds of Nero’s vast palace (which was destroyed after his death). The planners of the building therefore needed to take account of the marshy nature of the terrain, so the streams flowing through the valley were diverted and foundations dug to a depth of 42 feet in places. These precautions were clearly justified by the fact that the massive structure has never suffered damage due to subsidence in the intervening 1900 years.


Architecture

The plan of the Colosseum is quite unlike anything else seen up to that date in Greek or Roman architecture. The architect is unknown, but he was clearly a man of exceptional vision to have designed something so original but at the same time sound enough to stand the test of time.

The Colosseum is not circular but elliptical, the axes being approximately 610 feet and 515 feet. The building had to meet the prevailing standards for symmetry, based on the proportion of 5:3, and the size of the building was determined by the requirement for 80 entrance arches, each of which measured the standard Roman size of 20 feet in width with 3-foot columns between them.

The height of the Colosseum is 165 feet, which also accords with the rules of proportion. Above the ground-floor arches are two further storeys of arches surmounted by a fourth storey that is of solid stone. At least, that was the original design, but the full height has only survived around slightly less than half of what can be seen today. Only two of the storeys can now be seen around the whole perimeter.

The three-quarter columns separating the arches represent the Classical orders of architecture, such that those of the ground floor are quasi-Doric (sometimes referred to as “Tuscan”), those of the first floor are Ionic and the second-floor columns are Corinthian, as are the pilasters on the top storey. The arches above the ground floor were originally adorned by statues of emperors, gods and heroes, but these have long since disappeared.

The rim at the top of the structure was designed so that a vast awning, called a Velarium, could be pulled across to provide shade for the spectators from the hot Mediterranean sun.


The basement area

Visitors who go inside the Colosseum today will be struck by the fact that the arena has no floor. This would have been wooden, and therefore subject to constant repair and replacement. To this day, a partial floor is used for events and displays within the arena.

Of great interest are the walls (built using large flat bricks) that formed the basement area and supported the floor. It is known that during the early years of the Colosseum the arena could be flooded and mock sea-battles fought. However, Emperor Domitian (reigned 81-96 AD) was more interested in staging fights of a different kind and he had the area excavated so that a complex network of passages, tunnels and chambers could be built, although they would have had no natural light.

It is possible to make out the places where hoists operated to lift wild animals from their cages to trapdoors in the arena floor. The shafts are visible, as are the bronze fittings to which the capstans would have been fitted. Fights between gladiators would have had added excitement for the crowd when a trapdoor flipped open and a lion emerged to attack an unsuspecting fighter. At various times public executions of prisoners (including captive Christians) are known to have taken place in the form of wild animals being released to tear the victims to pieces.


The seating area

The Colosseum was designed to allow the maximum number of spectators to see the maximum amount of action. In all, some 50,000 people could have been accommodated on the five tiers of seating that rose above the arena, although they would have been packed together very tightly and those people on the topmost tier would have been a long way from the floor of the arena. Doubtless most spectators would have found standing to be more comfortable than sitting.

The Emperor, of course, could watch in perfect comfort from his private box, reached via his own entrance and passageway.

Because much of the stone that formed the seating/standing areas has disappeared over the centuries, the secrets of how they were constructed have become more apparent. The whole building comprised a series of arched barrel vaults running from the external arches inwards towards the arena, each series standing on top of the one below and ending at the appropriate point for building the spectator terraces on top. This provided an extremely strong construction, similar to that of the spokes of a bicycle wheel, and it allowed for the thrusting forces of the walls to compensate each other. Only in relatively recent years has it been necessary to provide any external buttressing for the outer walls, despite the looting of stone and supporting ironwork down the centuries.


Preservation

The preservation of the Colosseum has been due to a number of factors, one of them being its recognition by the Vatican, in the 18th century, as a place of Christian martyrdom, and thus a sacred site. There may well be some truth to this, although the numbers of Christians who died there has probably been greatly exaggerated, and there were other places in Rome where such executions took place.

However, for such a large building to have survived from ancient times to the present day, even in its current condition, it must have been well built in the first place. That is definitely the case, and the architectural features that can now be seen, particularly the barrel vaulting and ribbed construction, point to why this is so.

That being said, it has still been necessary for the city authorities in Rome to do a lot of work in recent years to preserve the structure. The ravages of time have been nothing in comparison to the damage done by the fumes and vibrations of the traffic of a modern city.


© John Welford

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