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Amphitheatrum Castrense

Ancient Roman amphitheatre

Summary

Ancient Roman amphitheatre

Field	Value
name	Amphitheatrum Castrense
location	Rome
image	Anfiteatro castrense.jpg
caption	The Amphitheatrum Castrense
coordinates
map dot label	Amphitheatrum Castrense
map_label_position	left
map_type	Italy Rome Antiquity
map_overlay	Roma Plan.jpg
map_caption	Shown in ancient Rome
mapframe	yes
mapframe-caption	Click on the map for a fullscreen view
mapframe-zoom	11
mapframe-marker	monument
material	Wood

|mapframe-caption=Click on the map for a fullscreen view |mapframe-zoom=11 |mapframe-marker=monument

The Amphitheatrum Castrense is a Roman amphitheatre in Rome, next to the church of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme. Both the Amphiteatrum and the Circus Varianus were part of the palatial villa known as the Horti Spei Veteris and later the Palatium Sessorium. The Regionary Catalogues name it as the "Amphitheatrum Castrense", which could mean it was an amphitheatre connected to an imperial residence.

History

The amphitheatre was built by Emperor Elagabalus (r. 218–222) in the early decades of the 3rd century AD, as dated by the style of the bricks and the absence of brick stamps. It formed part of the Horti Spei Veteris, the imperial villa complex developed by emperors of the Severan dynasty.

The open arches of the outer walls were bricked up when the building was incorporated into the Aurelian Walls (271–275 AD). At that point, it ceased to be used for spectacles and was instead repurposed as a fortification, with the ground level around the structure being lowered accordingly. In the mid-16th century, the remains of the second story were demolished for defensive purposes. In the 18th century, a hypogeum was discovered beneath the arena, filled with the bones of large animals, leading researchers to believe that the spectacles held there included venationes—the hunting and killing of wild beasts. The ruins were also documented in drawings by Andrea Palladio and Étienne Dupérac.

Construction

The building is a regular ellipse of 88 x 76 m constructed of brick-faced concrete, with a few decorative elements in travertine. It was three stories high, but only a section of the lowest story is preserved.

References

Coulston, J C (01/01/2000). ''Ancient Rome : the archaeology of the eternal city''. eBook Academic Collection (EBSCOhost): Oxford University School of Archaeology. {{ISBN. 0-947816-54-2, 978-0-947816-54-4.
(2000). "Ancient Rome: The Archaeology of the Eternal City". Oxford University School of Archaeology.
Elisabetta Borgia et al. Horti Spei Veteris e Palatium Sessorianum: nuove acquisizioni da interventi urbani 1996–2008. Part I, The Journal of Fasti Online, p. 2. www.fastionline.org/docs/FOLDER-it-2008-124.pdf

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

3rd-century-establishments-in-the-roman-empire buildings-and-structures-completed-in-the-3rd-century amphitheatres-in-rome elagabalus

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