The Colosseum or Coliseum, also known as the
Flavian Amphitheatre is an elliptical amphitheater in
the center of the city of Rome, Italy. Near Labicana
valley.
ž  Construction started: 70 AD
ž  Opened: 80 AD
ž  Function: Amphitheater
ž  Architectural style: Ancient Roman architecture
ž  Architects: Vespasian, Titus
ž
ž
It took about ten years to build the amphitheatre
FACTS ABOUT THE COLOSSEUM
ž
ž
ž
ž
Its long axis, oriented WNW-ESE, measures 188 metres and the
short one 156.The overall height of the building is 48,5 metres
(159’)
The arena measures 76 m by 44 (249 by 144 feet, or 83 by 48
yard)
The building stands on a base of 2 steps; there are 3 floors of
arcades and a 4th story with windows .
There were 80 arches on every floor, divided by pillars with a
half column. The Colosseum contained 45,000 sitting places
and 5,000 standing places.
ž
ž
After the death of Nero in 68 AD, Vespasian came to power
and established a new dynasty: the Flavians,
emperors Vespasian, Titus and Domitian between 71-72 and
80 AD as a gift to the Roman citizens in the place where
showing that the times of tyranny and despotism were over:
He made a point of giving back the area of Nero’s Domus
Aurea to the Romans.
The amphitheater then – a public building donated by the
emperor to the Roman citizens – stood on the former site of
Nero’s mansion as a symbol of the new political order.
ž
ž
ž
The area previously was a lake, but it was drained during the
building of Nero’s palace. The area still was marshy after
heavy rains, therefore a perfect drainage system had to be
constructed.
After the area was completely drained, the excavation started,
and it lasted until it reached the clay bed of the lake. In the
firm clay bed an elliptical ring was excavated, 31 metres
wide, 6 metres deep, with a perimeter of 530 meters.
This enormous excavation was filled up with Roman cement,
mixed with coarse crushed stones. Layers and layers of
mortar and stones were laid, and the concrete was compacted
by hammering. It seems that on the SW side the clay bed
wasn't as firm as on other sides, and this could be the reason
why that side collapsed first.
ž
The colosseum is generally
supposed to be elliptical,
but the curve of the arena
and of the remaining
facade, which has now
been measured to a high
degree of accuracy, does
not coincide exactly with a
perfect ellipse. It is in fact
an ovoid (a polycentric
curve, i.e. a curve with
more than one center), but
very approximate to an
ellipse.
ž
ž
ž
Also, there are really esoteric explanations of the geometry of
the Colosseum, like the triangle with proportions 3:4:5 (which
in the case of the Colosseum becomes 6:8:10),
The solution should be found by measuring the building with
a high degree of precision ,has faced many obstacles to it: the
original small deviations of stones and brickwork from the
plan as a result of the general deformation of the structures,
due to earthquakes, land movements etc., then the ruined state
of the stones, etc,hence body can demonstrate in full the
validity of his theory.
Most archeologists believe was made from polycentric curves
because:
ž
ž
ž
ž
First, it has been adopted for amphitheaters all over the
Empire.
Secondly, it is easy to draw with simple instruments that the
(land surveyors) used every day to measure land and make
plans for roads and buildings.
Moreover, if a polycentric curve has a minimum number of
centers e.g. 4 it is almost indistinguishable from an ellipse.
According to the famous Colosseum expert, Ingegner
Giuseppe Cozzo, the hypothesis is that the curve of the arena
is a polycentric one, i.e. a curve composed of many different
curves, whose centers are found by means of a geometric
system.
Doric columns
ž
ž
The first tier was decorated in
Doric columns, the second in
Ionian columns, and the third
in Corinthian columns.
Over many centuries, twothirds of the Colosseum has
been removed to build several
churches and palaces.
IONIC COLUMN
CORINTHIAN COLUMN
ž
ž
ž
The first repairs were probably made during emperor
Antonius Pius (86-161), as proven by one Corinthian capital
of a column of that age found by the archaeologists, after a
fire had destroyed 350 houses in the city.
Major repairs, actually an almost complete rebuilding, were
carried out after 217 AD, the year in which the upper floor
was struck by lightning and went on fire. The embers set
alight the wooden floor of the arena that in turn collapsed
igniting the wooden structures beneath it and the rest of the
building.
It took more than thirty years to rebuild the Roman
amphitheatre
ž
As a result of this plunder, and also because of fires and
earthquakes, two thirds of the original have been destroyed,
so that the present Colosseum is only a shadow of its former
self, a noble ruin
ž  Romans start taking the iron clamps that held blocks together
and looting stone from the Colosseum. Pope Alexander VI
even leased it out as a quarry, collecting one-third of the
profits.
ž  It was not until 1749 that Pope Benedict XIV forbade the
removal of stone from the structure, consecrating the arena to
the Christian martyrs who died there and erecting a cross in
the center. Later popes initiated various restoration projects,
reinforcing the façade and removing the extensive vegetation
which had overgrown the structure and threatened to damage
it further.
Today it is a tourist attraction,with a museum at the top
ž  the-colosseum.net
ž  The Wikipedia
BY;
GITAU JAMES KENNEDY
B02/0886/2013