10 facts about the Colosseum!
Learn all about the Colosseum of Ancient Rome!
Do you enjoy watching sports? Love cheering on your favourite team or athlete? Well, gang – so did the Ancient Romans!
Join National Geographic Kids as we head back in time to visit one of the world’s most famous historical sites and sports arenas – the Colosseum. Let the games begin!
1) The Colosseum was built between 72 A.D and 80 A.D under the Emperor Vespasian, in the heart of Ancient Rome.
2) Made from stone and concrete, this magnificent monument was built with the man power of tens of thousands of slaves.
3) The Colosseum is the largest amphitheater (meaning “theatre in the round”) in the world! Oval in shape, it measures 189m long, 156m wide and 50m high (about the height of a 12 storey building). This ancient sporting arena could easily fit a modern day football pitch inside!
4) This brilliant building had 80 entrances and could seat approximately 50,000 spectators who would come to watch sporting events and games. These events included gladiatorial combats, wild animal hunts and, believe it or not, ship naval battles!
5) Free for all! At the Colosseum’s major events – often those organised and paid for by the emperors themselves – there was no entry fee. And free food was sometimes served, too. Bonus! Emperors would use this as a way to gain popularity and support from the public.
6) The event at the Colosseum were seriously brutal, though – during certain games held by the emperors around 10,000 animals were killed in a single day.
7) The first games ever to be held were in 80 A.D, under Emperor Titus (the son of Vespasian), and they ran for 100 days straight. Games continued to be held for centuries to come – gladiatorial games until the fifth century and animal hunts until the 6th century.
8) To protect the spectators from the blistering sun and heat of Ancient Rome, there was the velarium – an awning that could be pulled over the top of the seating area to provide shade. Clever, eh?
9) Below the Colosseum were numerous rooms and underground passages. Here is where the animals and gladiators were kept, waiting to meet their fate in the arena above. There were also 36 trap doors in the arena for special effects!
10) Although two-thirds of the colosseum has been destroyed over time – mostly the result of vandalism, earthquakes and fires – it is today a popular tourist site, attracting thousands of people every year!
LEAVE A COMMENT
THANK YOU
Your comment will be checked and approved shortly.
WELL DONE,
YOUR COMMENT
HAS BEEN ADDED!
COMMENTS
nice facts
very interesting facts
nice
cool
gooooooood
wow
.
NOICE
Cool
Sooooo good
really cool
Hi I love this
Wow
super cool
hi
really interesting
these are cool facts.
i love roman history so much and i wonder if my family whos from italy ever saw a battle in that colleseum!
amazing
i love the fun
cool!
Interesting
cool I can´ wait wow lol let take action
Thanks for the info it helped me with my history project
Cool
huh
Cool but not that is the place were a lot people died
SO COOL
Nice
best way to get information
Very helpful, thank you!
cool
I believe the article was very correct and helpful to me.
cool
sweet thanks
this is actually pretty cool learnt a lot I'm gonna use this site more often!!!
I absolutely love this website!So informative
This was very informative and helped me with my research! Thanks, National Geographic Kids!
that is crazy how the colusim has been destroyed thourgh time because it was strong and prowerful i have never seen anything likeit be so big in pictures i want to go there some day
Awesome facts Ill just write them down in my reading book. Bye!!!!
thanks that helped me allot for my speech
Thanks a lot! I had to do an essay on Italys art forms, architecture, ceremonies, industries, landmarks, tourism, e.t.c. and this really helped a lot on the tourism part so now I am almost done! Guess what? Now I have to make a poster on it.
so long ago
Awesome many brilliant facts about Colosseum .
i loved looking at the long facts
1) The Colosseum was built between 72 A.D and 80 A.D under the Emperor Vespasian, in the heart of Ancient Rome.
o sick brill dam right
sweet! but did you know that the gladiators fought to actual death, and the naval battles involved real killing? and that if the crowd does a thumbs down meant, to kill the man and thumbs up to spare?
This website really helped me. It was really fun. Thanks
This website really helped me. Thanks
awesome
awsome
wow
nice
Hiii
i love it
i lov this websit<3its pretty neat!!!!! you can tell its neat by the way it is!1!!11!!11!!!!!
AWESOME but maybe more facts
Good information :) <3
cooooooooooooooooooooooooool w000000000000000000000000w
this is a cool website
amazing
whats up fuzz
Awesome
good website but should include facts about the Colosseum today and how it is used today.
I love this website it helped me with my Rome Coloseum essay
This helped me a little but Im in sixth grade and I had to do a really loooooooong report ugh so boring!
C
Fityrhxbjm
I found ygcgufgd this helpful
good but wired
I ?? This website
This website is so cooooooooool I learned a lot That I did not know
NOICE
It is very good but maybe put were it is at the top
coooooooooooool
We loved it
hi
This is a terrific quality
GREAT
CUSTOMIZE YOUR AVATAR