The Roman Amphitheatre

The Roman Amphitheatre. . The construction of amphitheatres ('double theatres') began in southern Italy and followed the spread of Roman rule. Chester's amphitheatre is the biggest known in Britain. It could seat around 7,000 spectators and would have been a powerful symbol of Roman supremacy on the edge of the empire., The first amphitheatre , Two amphitheatres have stood on this site. The first smaller amphitheatre was built soon after AD 80. It had stone walls and an earth seating bank. Timber seating later replaced the bank on the north side and a staircase was built against the outer wall., The second amphitheatre , By the early third century the amphitheatre had been rebuilt and enlarged. The old outer wall was demolished and a new higher one was built Stairways were inserted and the capacity increased to about 7,000., The arena had four entrances The main entrance was on the north side. A small room in the east entrance, with its gateway to the arena, may have held wild beasts. Above it there may have been a box for officials., A shrine to the goddess Nemesis (Destiny) was discovered beside the north entrance. It had an altar dedicated by the centurion Sextius Marcianus (the one you en see is a replica). A possible earlier shrine was attached to the wall of the first amphitheatre., The arena wall was plastered and painted a reddish brown to give a marbled effect. Yellow sand covered the area floor; this stopped combatants and and could be easily cleaned.