Building the Colosseum

History, Facts and Information about Building the

Colosseum
The content of this article provides interesting history, facts and
information about Building the Colosseum. The vision of
Vespasian and his sons to build the greatest arena ever seen in
the Roman world took less than 10 years! How was this
monumental structure built so quickly? Who built the Roman
Colosseum and why was the Roman Colosseum built?
Building the Colosseum - Why was the Roman Colosseum
built?
The decision which led to building the Colosseum was made by
the Vespasian who was emperor of Rome from 1 July 69 23 June
79 AD. His rule quickly followed the reign of the infamous Nero.
During the rule of Nero the Great Fire of Rome of 64AD wrecked
the city. Nero appropriated prime land in the city and built a
fabulous palace with a lake and gardens, it was called the Domus
Aurea (Latin for "Golden House"). A colossal statue of Nero
measuring 100 - 120 Roman feet (37m) high was erected on the
site and had become a landmark in the centre of the city of Rome.
During the burning of Rome the main stone built arena had been
destroyed (the Amphitheater of Statilius Taurus) together with the
wooden, amphitheatre called the Amphitheatrum Neronis which
had been commissioned by Nero to placate the 'plebs' before the
great fire and built in 57AD. After the death of Nero morale and
the confidence of Roman citizens was at an all time low.
Vespasian had to get support back from the people and assure
the popularity of the Flavian family. His idea was to demolish the
palace of Nero and construct a permanent arena for housing free
gladiator games and other entertainment for the amusement of
the 'mob'. The magnificence of the building was to convey the
Glory of Rome.
Building the Colosseum - When was the Roman Colosseum
built?
The building of the Roman Colosseum began between 73-75 A.D.

and was almost completed in 79AD when Vespasian died.

Vespasian's older son Titus saw the completion of building the
Colosseum and the inauguration games in A.D. 81.
Building the Colosseum - Additions to the Colosseum
Vespasian's second son the Emperor Domitian added the top tier
of the Colosseum and a vast network of rooms, cells, tunnels and
passages under the Roman Colosseum called the Hypogeum.
Building the Colosseum - How much did the Roman
Colosseum cost?
No one knows exactly how much the building of the Colosseum
cost. But in A.D. 70 Titus had sacked the city of Jerusalem. The
fabulous treasures of Jerusalem paid for the building of the
Colosseum, and no expense was spared in the project.
Building the Colosseum - The Building Project
The design of the Roman Colosseum applied the latest in Roman
arts, engineering, architecture and other creative endeavours.
The invention of concrete enabled this massive building to be
built quickly, efficiently and to great effect. All of this was done to
the highest artistic standard and in a highly skilled manner.
Building the Colosseum - Who built the Roman
Colosseum?
An estimated 100,000 prisoners were bought back to Rome as
slaves after the Jewish War. Vespasian had a limitless work force.
In the building of the Colosseum the slaves undertook the manual
labor such as working in the quarries at Tivoli where the
travertine was quarried. Slaves would also have been used to lift
and transport the heavy stones 20 miles from Tivoli to Rome.
Teams of professional Roman builders, engineers, artists, painters
and decorators undertook the skilled tasks necessary for building
the Colosseum.
Building the Colosseum - The Invention of Concrete and
the Vaulted Arch
Roman architecture and buildings, such as the Colosseum, were
strongly influenced by two of their great inventions - concrete and
vaulted arches. Concrete was a a recent invention when the

Colosseum was built and the Romans were still learning how to
use it. As concrete was so new they did not know how strong it
was or long it would last. The Romans cautiously combined
concrete together with stone. Concrete was made by mixing a
strong volcanic material ( called pazzolana ) with rubble, sand and
a mixture of limes. The Colosseum had four tiers. The ceilings of
the passages and corridors which circled the arena on each tier
consisted of vaulted arches made of concrete but the supports
they rested on were made of strong, heavy limestone. The
Vaulted arches made the ceilings much stronger than a flat
ceiling would have been. Vaulted arches made of concrete added
strength to the building without adding excessive weight. Without
concrete and vaulted arches, the Colosseum could not have been
built.
Building Techniques used in the Colosseum
The timescale was tight - the Flavian family wanted the
amphitheatre built as quickly as possible. Hundreds of skilled
stonemasons were required to complete the building. The Romans
used a new building technique - standardized parts. Stairs and
seats were constructed off-site. The stairs and seats were all built
to the same size and were made to be interchangeable. They
were made in workshops and then brought to the amphitheatre to
be fitted by teams experienced in this work.
What materials were used in building the Colosseum?
The materials used in the building were as follows:
Travertine limestone
The Travertine limestone was quarried in Tivoli, 20
miles from Rome, and was used for the main pillars, the
ground floor and the external wall
The outer wall is estimated to have required over
100,000 cubic meters (3,531,466 ft) of travertine stone
which were set, without mortar, and held together by
300 tons of iron clamps

 It has been calculated that 300 tons of metal were

used just for the clamps
Tuff or Tufo - a porous stone used in the preparation of
cement
Tuff, or Tufo, was used for the minor pillars and radial
walls
Cement
Cement was used for the vaulted arches
Tiles
Tiles were used for the floors and the walls
Bricks
Bricks were used in walls
Marble
Used for the seating, statues and ornaments, drinking
fountains and as a covering to the outside walls
Lead and terra-cotta pipes for the Water and Sewer system
Building the Colosseum - Design and Dimensions
The Design of the Colosseum was constructed according to
specific plans and dimensions. The Colosseum is an entirely freestanding structure, oval in shape, 615 ft long, 510 ft wide, 187 ft
high and had a base area of 6 acres. These are detailed
in Dimensions of the Colosseum. It was a symbol of the power of
Rome and its emperors. Its classical design features which were
reminiscent of classical Greek architecture was meant to convey
that Rome was also a great and civilised nation.
Building the Colosseum - Crowd Control
The Roman architects and builders had to design the Colosseum

to provide the biggest arena in the world capable of holding

between 50,000 - 80,000 people. Just one series of games might
last for 100 consecutive days. Attention had to paid towards
crowd control. The Roman architects therefore devised an
ingenious system of entrances, corridors, and staircases that
allowed the crowds to enter and exit the Colosseum quickly and
easily. There were 80 separate entrance arches - seeColosseum
Entrances and Exits. By using so many separate entrances the
architect solved the problem of crowd control - the Colosseum
could be cleared in less than 10 minutes.
Building the Colosseum
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