Colosseum Columns

The Colosseum
is roughly elliptical in shape, with its long axis, oriented WSW-ENE, which measures 188 metres and the short one 156. The building stands on a base of two steps; above it there are three floors of arcades and a fourth storey without arches but with small rectangular 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. All around the rims of the first three floors there were circular promenades that could accommodate most of the public in case of rain.

The order of the ground floor half columns is the Tuscan one (a Roman variation of the Doric order), on the second floor the semicolumns are Ionic and on the third floor Corinthian. The panels of the fourth floor - the attic - are divided by flat composite (Roman-Corinthian) lesenes in place of the half-columns of the lower arcades, 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.

The arches are 4.20 metres (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.

The arena where the shows took place measures 76 by 44 metres; its floor was made with wooden planks. All around the arena there was a wall called podium, about 10 feet high, whose scanty remains do not allow for a precise reconstruction. During the shows the arena covered with yellow sand (harena) taken from the hill of Monte Mario; on special occasions the arena was covered with specially coloured sand, or mixed with speckles of glittering minerals.

Over 100.000 cubic metres of travertine stone (45.000 only for the external wall), quarried near Tibur (today Tivoli), were used. A road was built from the quarries to Rome for this purpose. A similar quantity of tuff blocks, bricks and opus cementicium (concrete made of small lumps of tuff in mortar) 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 cement work, and the walls were plastered and painted white and red (most of the stuccoes have disappeared). The passages corresponding to the main entrances were decorated with paintings and stuccoes, which have barely survived the centuries. The travertine blocks were connected by iron grips that were removed a long time ago, leaving those ugly holes between the blocks. It has been calculated that 300 tons of metal were used only to this purpose.

Like every amphitheatre, the Colosseum had two entrances to the arena on the main axis: the NW gate was the Porta Triumphalis, where the gladiators made their entrance during the pompa gladiatoria, the parade that took place outside and led to the amphitheatre. The SE gate was called Porta Libitinaria (from Libitina, a Roman goddess of death, corpses and funerals), as dead gladiators were carried through it.
All around the top there were sockets for 240 wooden beams which supported the awning (velarium) that covered the spectators from the sun and was manoeuvred by a unit of sailors of the imperial fleet, stationed nearby. Some of the sockets are still visible today.

the magic beneath us movie magic nails countryside magic with anthony hopkins celtics contra magic magic by bob its magic until it's science magic hour tea magic years opposite of magic moment magic as a hobby magic off road vmagic cream reviews magic beyond words trailer opposite of magic charm magic years magic online magic carpet made of steel magic garden magic through time medora next magic set to come out magic time machine magic quadrant kabab magic near me magic like meter magic through chat magic beneath us magic boats out of business kabab magic near me magic outside comfort zone zmagic autopflege ludwigsburg magic johnson son magic zombie magic outside comfort zone magic over 45 tricks box magic beyond boundaries inc magic in the moonlight k magic key magic over 15 tricks majix from cartel crew magic kingdom hours smagical magic chef thru wall unit magic up materia location magic poser web magic bum leggings magic with anthony hopkins magic synonym magic over the phone magic between you and i magic proteccion contra multicolor magic for liars magic house made of bamboo magic roundabout the magic beneath us movie is anti magic magic umagico qld magic after dark qmagico pio xii magic underwear mormon magic kingdom open till midnight magic tiles 3 in between magic magic orlando underneath magic kingdom pmagic iso magic through time medora there's magic between us magic house st louis the magic beneath us film magic about love magic on youtube magic outside the game magic hour rooftop magic past draft picks magic jack magic flight launch box magic before and after magic bullet magic into words grade 11 magic up your sleeve magic dragon magic x calculator magic zero imagicle magic on youtube magic as opposed to magic magic after dark city winery umagico campground magic eight ball answers magic island magic behind words magic form since 1952 magic to do pippin lyrics mavic pro drone magic mtgo rmagic rx8 wing magic words magic of sassoon magic game tonight tmagicalminkz lash bar magic kingdom rides magic tiles 3 model magic among us zmagic autopflege magic past tense into magic shop book magic inside out magic mixies cauldron magic johnson magic bullet magic as a hobby magic difference between revised and unlimited serie zmagic magic xanadu imagicka rmagic rx8 wing magic off road magic auto sales magic for kids magic carpet ride magic over 15 tricks magic at midnight magic roundabout vmagic reviews magic behind the kunai mavic pro drone magical realism definition magic your way magic nails countryside umagico magic butter machine god magic among us apk imagicon magic archer deck magic by america magic contra loreal rojo magic used auto parts magic between us quotes magic your way tickets magic words magic outside of hogwarts magic to gathering magic depth chart bucks contra magic rmagick imagelist magic user's club magic honey magic about dreams magic zoo magic items 5e emagic amt8 merlin uses magic in front of arthur magic over disneyland magic by coldplay magic keyboard till ipad pro 12 9 magic inside mlp magic with a kick