The Colosseum History

The Colosseum is an amphitheatre in the center of Rome. It was originally named the Flavian Amphitheatre, the name Colosseum did not come about until a later date. Construction started in 72 AD and was completed in 80 AD under the Emperor Titus. The Colosseum was primarily used for gladiatorial contests and was originally designed to hold approximately 50,000 spectators. It was one of the most ambitious construction projects of the first millennium. The original arena floor was a false wooden floor covered by sand that included trap doors that would open to allow animals and humans to enter the arena from a two level subterranean labyrinth of hallways below. It also had the first ever retractable roof in the form of a cloth awning that covered about two-thirds of the arena and protected spectators from the sun and elements. It was even rumored to have the capability to be filled with water to perform mock sea battles in the early days after construction.

There were three levels of seating in the Colosseum. Basically, the more important you were, the closer you were able to sit to the arena floor. There were special box seats reserved for the emperor of Rome. You will see that the Colosseum incorporated many stadium construction techniques still in use at modern facilities today. Those include 3 decks of seating, concourses underneath the seating, and passageways leading to the tiered seating that allowed for quick entrance and exiting of the Colosseum, and a retractable roof.

The Colosseum continued to hold gladiatorial contests for the next 500 years. It was then used for a variety of purposes for the next 1300 years including housing, workshops, a fortress, a quarry, and even religious sects up until the 19th century when restoration projects began. The Colosseum has been repaired and rebuilt several times over the course of the last two millennia. The last major restoration project took place from 1993 to 2000. The Colosseum has survived earthquakes, stonerobbers, and the mother nature to become one of the major historical icons of modern Rome.

The Colosseum: Wonder of the World

On July 7, 2007, The Colosseum was voted as one of New Open World Corporation's New Seven Wonders of the World. The others were Machu Picchu in Peru, Christ Redeemer in Brasil, Petra in Jordan, Chichen Itza in Mexico, Taj Mahal in India, and The Great Wall of China.

On December 15th, 2008 The Colosseum was voted as the 2nd of 12 Wonders of the World on our own Wonders of the World Vote. The other one voted in was Machu Picchu in Peru.