Page 17 - BBC Focus Earth From Above - 2017 UK
P. 17
ITALY
IT A L Y
Colossal arena
The Colosseum in Rome was the largest amphitheatre in the
ancient world. This view shows the remains of the hypogeum
– a network of chambers beneath the central arena. It housed
slaves, stage props and wild animals, which were released into
the arena via trap doors, operated by a complex system of ITALY
pulleys and ramps. Until being excavated in the 1930s, the
hypogeum was buried beneath more than 12m of rubble and
soil that had built up since the collapse of the Roman Empire. Rome
PHOTO: GETTY/DIGITAL GLOBE
17
