Author name: Andrea Pepe

Novavelarium

THE AWNING The following “lecture” can be found on the site http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/colosseum/, but I have copied the text here. The main subject of the conversation regards the experiments made in order to reproduce the system of  rigging up the awning of the Colosseum. It is full of interesting information. Owain Roberts and classicist Norma Goldman answer …

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Restoration

The recent restoration works on the Colosseum (from: https://www.todsgroup.com/en/sustainability/colosseum)(photographs by A. Pepe) Tod’s Group is supporting the restoration of the Colosseum, the renowned symbol of Italian history.The “intervention plan” for the restoration of the Flavian amphitheatre is a project requested by the government commissioner for Rome’s archaeological areas and Ancient Ostia in collaboration with the …

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Consular list

The Consular ListWho Was Consul Whenby ‘Andraeus Papadopolus Dacicus Maximus’ Note I: the Roman numerals behind the names indicate how many times the specific individual has been in office. Note II: consuls who at times have not been added on the list (example: T. Flavius Vespasianus in AD 51 or Domitian from his 3rd till his …

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Passion plays

The University of Sydney News – 24 February 2000Passion plays that inspired violence in Rome – By Anne Sarzin When Associate Professor Nerida Newbigin travels to Rome in September to meet the Pope at the Roman Church’s Jubilee – marking the 2,000th anniversary of the birth of Christ – she will also get a chance to …

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Materials

Several materialswere employed for the building of the Colosseum, all of them easily found or produced in the Roman area: first of all there is the travertino, a limestone, then tuff for the other pillars and radial walls, tiles for the floors of the upper storeys and the walls; finally, concrete (a.k.a. cement) for the …

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The Site

In the valley of the Colosseumthere is a layer of clay under many metres of sand and silt. In prehistoric times the ground level was about 10-15 metres lower than it is today. Rain and water from streams gathered in the valley, and, depending on the season, formed a marsh or a little lake in the depression. From …

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Lake

Once there was a lake…The site of the Colosseum is in fact a depression among the hills of Rome: the Palatine on its south-western side, the Velia on the western side, the last slopes of the Esquiline hill, also called Colle Oppio (now a park) on the northern side and the Celio on the Eastern side.  The Velia, …

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Foundations

The original sitewas deeply transformed in order to build the amphitheatre. First of all, some enormous drains were built in order to ensure an adequate drainage towards the Circus Maximus (a part of these drains was lost when the metro line was built). After the area was completely drained, the excavation started, and it lasted until it …

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