Most tourists in Rome put the Colosseum at the top of their to-see list. (My own sister-in-law, soon to head out on her Italian honeymoon, plans to head to that storied ruin more or less straight from the airport.) Even those with no particular interest in ancient Roman civilization, stepping into the space that was once the arena — from the Latin harena, referring to the sand laid down to absorb blood shed in combat — fills the imagination with images of gladiators, lions, senators glowering from their courtside seats, and the baying masses behind them. But their visions may not include other such true-to-history details as trap doors, staged naval battles, and a subterranean system of tunnels and elevators, all of which are explained in the new Deconstructed video above.
Even casual Rome enthusiasts all know that competitors and other performers, both human and animal, made their official Colosseum entrances through the floor. (Announcements were made some years ago to the effect that the mechanized floor that made such theatrics possible would be rebuilt by 2023 — a project that seems not to have made much progress as yet, though whether it will end up being put off as long as the Strait of Messina Bridge remains to be seen.)
But only the most obsessive already have a clear understanding of exactly how it worked, which this video clearly explains in both words and 3D renderings, restoring elements of not just the building itself but also its immediate urban context that have long since been lost to time.
Take the velarium, a retractable awning consisting of “long strips of fabric wound around drums, which were mounted on a wooden frame and supported by 240 masts fixed into sockets along the amphitheater’s upper cornice.” With each of its 240 strips operated by a separate winch, it required at least as many human operators to deploy or retract at speed — a greater speed, perhaps, than the operation of some of the retractable roofs incorporated into sports facilities today. Not “just a feat of engineering, but also a precursor for modern stadium design,” the velarium addressed a problem that will hardly escape the notice of modern tourists today — especially those who visit the Colosseum in the middle of a summer day.
Related Content:
Building the Colosseum: The Icon of Rome
What Happened to the Missing Half of the Roman Colosseum?
How Much Would It Cost to Build the Colosseum Today?
When the Colosseum in Rome Became the Home of Hundreds of Exotic Plant Species
Rome’s Colosseum Will Get a New Retractable Floor by 2023 — Just as It Had in Ancient Times
Based in Seoul, Colin Marshall writes and broadcasts on cities, language, and culture. His projects include the Substack newsletter Books on Cities and the book The Stateless City: a Walk through 21st-Century Los Angeles. Follow him on the social network formerly known as Twitter at @colinmarshall.
