The History Of The Coloseum:Construction And Social Significance

Time has worn away at its 2,000 year-old concrete walls and seats leaving behind a daunting shadow of what it once was. A large earthquake hit Rome in 1231 causing a large section of the amphitheater to collapse. The 1500’s brought further ruin when Pope Alexander VI allowed it to be used as a quarry for new buildings. It wasn’t until 1744 that Pope Benedict XIV resolved to protect the Colosseum from further damage. Today 17.6 million dollars has been donated for the cleaning and excavation the Colosseum.

The structure itself was ingeniously constructed with state of the art materials and tools of the time. Construction began in roughly 72BC. An army of people labored day and night on the project and after 9 exhausting years, the Colosseum was complete. In its peak, it had encompassed over 3.5 million cubic feet of stone and rose over 156 feet high. The arena floor measured 287 feet by 180 feet while the overall structure was a sizeable 620 feet long by 513 feet wide. Because the seating sections are no longer present, historians do not know the exact capacity of the building, but most estimate it to have been between 50,000 and 80,000.

Certainly one of the most extraordinary features of the Colosseum was the velarium. This was a giant awning that would sometimes be used to shade the audience from the hot sun. Raising and lowering the canopy was a tremendous amount of work. One-hundred Sailors were deployed from the barracks at Misenum for this task. Sailors were chosen because of their expertise in rigging and overseeing huge operations. At least a thousand other workers were needed to assist in the process. The Velarium consisted of a giant ring at the center of the stadium which could be raised and lowered through a resourceful system of pulleys and winches. One set of ropes ran from the ring to pulleys on the tops of wooden supports that encircled the attic, then to stone blocks on the ground outside the building, and finally to the winches. There were 160 winches in all encircling the stadium. Sailors would turn these winches to the beat of a drum so that the ring rose evenly on all sides. Another set of ropes ran between the bottom of each

to an end. Execution of criminals, wild animal hunts and wrestling matches, however, continued to be held in the amphitheater for another century. Soon after the last Roman

The scaffolding could only hold so much weight and the workers could only lift heavy materials so high. To get around this, the Romans built cranes. One of the most powerful and ingenious of these cranes was called the Treadmill Crane. The crane was powered by approximately five men walking inside its circular treadmill. It had an elaborate pulley system that allowed heavy objects to be lifted to the top of the building. Thousands of workers labored day and night between A.D. 72 to 81. The various tasks were divided among specialized groups of people. Haulers, surveyors, masons, construction workers, toolmakers, food suppliers, water bearers, sculptors and painters are just a few examples of these factions. Another group of overseers made sure the entire operation ran smoothly and efficiently.

Some topics in this essay:
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