The Old World Part V

The next stop on our tour of Rome was the Colosseum. There is nothing to prepare you for this ruin. All of the pictures and videos do not even compare to an in person visit to this relic from ancient Rome. Our bus parked about a quarter mile away and we walked up to the swell of tourist that were all waiting to see the famed site of Christian vs lion, Gladiator vs. Gladiator. It was a mixture of circus, freak show and flea market all wrapped into the ultimate spectator event; the once in a life time visit to the Roman Colosseum.

Our tour guide guided us to through the lines and led us to the elevator that took us to the second floor of the Colosseum. Yes there is a great glass elevator in that takes the tourists up to the spectator level. As we walked around soaking in the atmosphere, you could almost feel the excitement that was once the center of social life for the Roman citizen. In the picture below, you can see the ruins of what was the maze beneath the Colosseum floor. It is where the animals were kept before being released. The far left of the picture shows what the floor must have looked like. It was wood covered with sand. Sand soaked up the blood and could be easily removed and replaced.

The Colosseum has gone through a major drought of disrepair. The vandals that sacked Rome took anything of value from the arena. What wasn't taken by the conquerors was used by the Roman citizens as building material for any project that came up. An earthquake took down one side of the nose bleed seats. What you have is a structure that was built 2000 years ago that still stands today. Most of the fancy architecture has been removed or destroyed but the basic building blocks have endured for 20 centuries. That is quite the accomplishment for a culture that never heard of a crane or bulldozer. Of course, the Egyptians always one upped everyone else. Of course Rome will be continued.

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Cobb