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The Colosseum

The Colosseum. Introduction.

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The Colosseum

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  1. The Colosseum

  2. Introduction The Colosseum - the greatest amphitheatre of the antiquity - was built in Rome, Italy, about 1920 years ago. It is considered an architectural and engineering wonder, and remains as a standing proof of both the grandeur and the cruelty of the Roman world.After the splendour of imperial times, the Colosseum was abandoned, and in turn it became a fortress for the medieval clans of the city, a source of building materials, a picturesque scenery for painters, a place of Christian worship. Today it is a challenge for the archaeologists and a scenario for events and shows.

  3. Description The Colosseum is roughly elliptical in shape, with its long axis which measures 188 m and the short one 156. The building stands on a base of two steps; above it there are three floors of arcades built in travertine stone and a fourth storey with windows. There were eighty arches on every floor, divided by pillars with a half column. The four arches on the axes of the building were the main entrances, and were probably decorated with a little porch and a statue. The other 76 arches were numbered for an easier access to the seats. Only 31 arches of the outer ring, from number XXIII to LIV, have remained intact.

  4. Details The ground floor half columns are doric in style, those of the second floor are ionic and those of the upper floor Corinthian. The attic is divided into panels by Corinthian columns, with a rectangular window every second panel. Ancient authors mention - and the images that we have confirm it - that a series of bronze shields (clipea) was affixed all around the attic on the panels without the windows.

  5. Details Second floor Top floor The arches are 4.20 m. (13’9") wide and 7.05 m (23’1") high on the ground floor, while on the upper floors they are only 6.45 m (21’2") high. Including the cornices between the floors and the attic, the overall height of the building is 48,5 m. First floor The arena where the shows took place measures 76 by 44 metres, it had a floor made with wooden planks covered with yellow sand taken from the hill of Monte Mario.  Over 100.000 cubic metres of travertine stone, quarried near Tibur, were used for the building. A similar quantity of tuff  blocks, bricks and opus cementicium were also used, thus adapting the resistance of the materials to the loads and thrust that had to be supported. The combination of different materials improves the elasticity of the whole: the main pillars are made of travertine, radial walls are of travertine and tuff, the vaults are cast in cementwork, and the walls were plastered and painted white and red. Ground floor

  6. inside The cavea was all in travertine, now almost completely lost. It was divided into three parts called, from bottom to top, podium, gradatio and porticus. In major amphitheatres, like the Colosseum, the gradatio was divided horizontally into different levels by praecinctiones, and vertically into cunei by the scalaria, the steps leading to the vomitoria, the entrances. Upon entering, the spectators had to present a tessera, a tablet that reported the cuneus, gradus and locus of their seat.

  7. L O C u S In the valley  of the Colosseum there is a layer of clay under many metres of sand and silt. In prehistoric times the ground level was about 10-15 metres lower than it is today. Rain and water from streams gathered in the valley, and, depending on the season, formed a marsh or a little lake in the depression. From there the waters reached the valley of the Circus Maximus and then the Tiber river. Some drillings carried out recently have demonstrated that the site had been reclaimed from archaic times, with a drain that collected the waters as far as to the Circus Maximus Valley. The site had been certainly inhabited, at least since republican times, because remains of many buildings of that epoch have been discovered all around the valley. We know that those buildings were expropriated and demolished after the fire of 64 AD, when Nero decided to make his first residence there with a lake, surrounded by buildings and gardens, which we know about from ancient authors.

  8. S u B S T R U C T I O To build the amphitheatre the original site was deeply transformed. First of all, some enormous drains were built in order to ensure an adequate drainage towards the Circus Maximus. 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 metres. This enormous excavation was filled up with Roman cement, i.e. mortar made with pozzuolana and lime, 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.Then the foundation was raised for a further 6 metres, so that the thickness of this enormous doughnut is over 12 metres. All around the foundations a reinforcement brick wall was built, and a similar wall was built inside. On the internal side of the brick wall were arranged 32 cells.

  9. itg "E.masi" foggia italy Students: casolaro gianluca and siani giovanni Teacher: cortellessa maria pia

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