The Colosseum

The Colosseum is one of the great remaining historical artifacts and sits literally in the center of a bustling modern city. It stands as the embodiment of ancient Roman culture. Construction started in 70 A.D. on the site of Nero's imperial gardens and originally carried the name Flavian Amphitheater after the family that built it. In front stood a 30 meter tall statue of Nero made from bronze and gold that was called the Colossus of Nero and is what eventually led to the nickname Colosseum. Each person was issued a clay "ticket" and each entrance was numbered leading to a section that had numbered seats that each entrant was assigned to. The entire outer face was constructed of marble with marble statues filling each outlook from the upper levels. Canals were in place to fill the floor with water for naval battles (which didn't work very well) after which the floor was reconstructed to have a sand covered wooden floor over a series of passageways and rooms to bring gladiators and animals out through elevators and various trap doors. The sophistication and beauty of the Colosseum is breathtaking and demonstrates the advances the Romans had achieved. The other side of Roman culture is also evident. Upon its opening there were 100 days of "games" where 5000 animals were killed. Slaves would fight trained gladiators and be slaughtered. Rebels who wouldn't join the army and martyrs were led out to be devoured by lions and all to a raucous crowd. It is eerie to look and know that the floor was covered with sand to absorb the blood so it didn't rot the wood. Rome was certainly something to behold.