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00:03Roman Colosseums, home of the gladiator, theatres of spectacle and death.
00:10There was no mercy shown to them at all.
00:13They were not just executed, they were executed in the most horrible ways.
00:19Many Roman cities are long gone, but more than 200 of these megastructures survive
00:24and can unlock the secrets of the Empire.
00:29Can a Colosseum in distant North Africa, 500 miles from Rome, be the pinnacle of Roman engineering?
00:39It's absolutely enormous and completely magnificent.
00:44In Capua, Italy, can a lost Colosseum reveal the secret roots of these brutal monuments?
00:52And how do these magnificent amphitheaters help the Romans control their sprawling Empire?
00:59For the Roman authorities, gladiators would represent what Rome was doing to keep the peace in the Empire.
01:07Now, investigators examine the remains of these stone titans to uncover their engineering secrets
01:14and discover what they can reveal about life and death in the Roman world.
01:21To solve these mysteries, we digitally rebuild these awe-inspiring monuments.
01:26We unearth a labyrinth of blood-spattered tunnels and come face to face with ancient warriors
01:35to reveal the origins of Rome's lost Colosseums.
01:50The Romans build one of the greatest empires in history.
01:55Their legacy is evident in the giant Colosseums that survive to this day.
02:01These megastructures hold the secrets of their extraordinary rule.
02:08They build more than 230 of these icons across their entire 2 million square mile empire,
02:16from Britain to Africa.
02:19They are constructed to host extraordinary spectacles.
02:27At the center of a Colosseum lies a huge open arena of sand and gravel.
02:34Giant doorways and walls covered in shining white marble enclose this giant oval space.
02:45This is the domain of the gladiators.
02:48Highly trained warriors pitted against each other in brutal fights.
02:52Sometimes, sometimes to the death.
02:55It's the most popular spectacle in ancient Rome.
03:00Millions of people flock to colossal stadiums to see it.
03:04Why does this obsession begin?
03:11Valerie Higgins hunts for clues in Capua, southern Italy.
03:16Here, a giant imperial Colosseum stands in the center of this historic city.
03:23This immense monument is over 550 feet long and is one of the biggest the Romans ever construct.
03:32This is the amphitheater at Capua and this was built in the first century of the Common Era.
03:39And it was built at about the same time as the Colosseum in Rome.
03:45Valerie believes that just a stone's throw from this amphitheater are even more intriguing ruins.
03:53She identifies a structure buried in the earth.
03:56These longitudinal structures here are part of an elliptical building that was in this area.
04:03And that was here before this big imperial amphitheater was built.
04:10The ruins reveal that this is once a grand structure supported by barrel arches.
04:17This 300 foot long oval is a second smaller Colosseum.
04:24The remains date to the second century BC, meaning this could be the world's first ever Roman Colosseum.
04:36It was definitely one of the earliest and it might even be the earliest.
04:41In Roman times Capua has not one but two Colosseums, only a few hundred yards from each other.
04:49The small one is built first and the giant one follows.
04:53It shows how you get this development of scale within a period of a couple of hundred years.
05:03Why do the Romans construct this first Colosseum?
05:09Buried in the ground, Valerie discovers a surprising clue that could hold the answer.
05:18The presence of these remains just outside the imperial amphitheater raises some interesting possibilities.
05:26Hidden beneath the large Colosseum's piazza, this third arena is much smaller than its neighbors.
05:33It's roughly the size of five tennis courts and houses fewer than 2,000 spectators.
05:39It dates to the same period as Capua's first Colosseum.
05:44What can it reveal about the origin of these stadia?
05:50Archaeologists discover that the dimensions are similar to a structure discovered in Rome, alongside the famous Colosseum.
06:01Beneath the grand arena, a tunnel leads to the Ludus Magnus, a gladiator training center built in 96 AD.
06:10It's a state-of-the-art facility with training grounds, a viewing arena, and living quarters for the gladiators.
06:18It's a well-oiled machine that produces the fighters for Rome's most popular form of entertainment.
06:24But Ludus Magnus is not the first of its kind.
06:30Ancient records suggest Capua has a gladiator school before Rome does, though its location has never been confirmed.
06:39Capua's gladiator school is even rumored to be where famous gladiator slave Spartacus trained and fought over 2,000 years
06:47ago.
06:49Valery believes it's possible these ruins could be it.
06:53Might they be the gladiatorial training school, which is something that we would love to find because it is so
07:00famous.
07:02Finding the remains of a gladiator school next to the Roman Empire's first ever Colosseum would be significant.
07:09It would be evidence that the gladiator fights are as old as the first Colosseums, and even the reason for
07:16building them.
07:17But could the origin of gladiatorial combat be even older than the Colosseums?
07:23A clue may lie in tombs 60 miles from Capua that belong to a non-Roman local tribe known as
07:30the Lucanians.
07:32These tombs are covered in fresco paintings that date back to the 4th century BC,
07:37more than 100 years before the Romans built the first Colosseums.
07:42Valery analyzes the paintings on the tombs and notices a connection to Roman gladiator combat.
07:49Here we have a depiction of two men fighting.
07:53It's clearly been quite a bloody battle because both men have got terrible leg wounds,
07:59and the man on the left has also got a chest wound.
08:03These paintings reveal that gladiator-style fights take place long before any Colosseums are built.
08:09So why does this form of combat start?
08:11If we go on to the next picture, we can see that in fact this is part of a whole
08:18funerary scene.
08:19We have the two gladiatorial men fighting, and then we have going off to the right the mourners,
08:26who will be the mourners of this family.
08:28The frescoes reveal that gladiatorial combat begins as a funerary rite of ancient tribes long before the Romans.
08:39In 264 BC, the spectacle reaches Rome when two bereaved sons stage a combat in honor of their late father.
08:50Three pairs of gladiators fight simultaneously.
08:54It's an armed combat, and the defeated meet a bloody end.
09:01As the spectacle's popularity grows, the Romans build larger combat spaces,
09:06first amphitheaters of wood, and then of stone and brick.
09:13The Romans didn't invent the idea of gladiatorial games, but they did industrialize it.
09:21They made it into mass entertainment, which it had not been before.
09:27The Romans engineer ever larger coliseums to accommodate the surge in popularity of the gladiatorial games.
09:35Some are even big enough to hold the population of an entire city.
09:41Can a remarkably well-preserved coliseum in Tunisia reveal how the Romans build such large megastructures?
09:50And why are they so useful to those in power?
10:06Coliseums play host to the Roman Empire's most bloodthirsty export, gladiatorial combat.
10:14The Romans industrialized this spectacle to entertain the masses inside colossal megastructures.
10:22But how do Roman engineers construct these ambitious venues?
10:28In El Jem, Tunisia, Nejib Ben-Lazreg hunts for clues.
10:35This giant coliseum is one of the best preserved in the world.
10:39The empathy of El Jem didn't really suffer from much damage compared to the one in Rome, which was heavily
10:48restored.
10:50Today, El Jem is a small city.
10:54But 2,000 years ago, it has a different name, Thistrus, and is part of the Roman province of Africa.
11:03Here in 238 AD, in the far reaches of the empire, the Romans build one of their biggest ever coliseums.
11:13The unique El Jem Coliseum is the greatest amphitheater and building in all Roman Africa.
11:21Sandstone walls and towering pillars separate 64 arched entrances.
11:29Three huge stacked oval tiers surround a central arena.
11:34On each floor, vaulted arches and pillars accommodate the flow of visitors.
11:42This 100-foot-high behemoth can hold over 35,000 spectators.
11:49This is one of the last coliseums the Romans build.
11:53How do they achieve this feat of construction?
12:00Najib investigates the masonry.
12:04It is a miracle of engineering.
12:08It is entirely freestanding.
12:10Built only using large sandstone blocks without any foundations.
12:17All this weight in such a large structure should make the exterior walls unstable.
12:24One of the big problems the architects faced was the risks of collapse.
12:30Because when you have 30,000 spectators, the vibrations that could cause made the amphitheater collapse.
12:38On the coliseum's ground floor, Najib discovers an ingenious engineering technique to prevent the monument from toppling over.
12:48Giant vaults and arches connect the inside arena to the outside walls.
12:54Each vault also connects side to side with its neighbor for extra added strength.
13:01This is called cross-vaulting, and it pulls the structure tightly together.
13:06Such structures helped to support upper floors.
13:12Without these, the Romans wouldn't be able to build coliseums.
13:17The development of vaults and arches allow the Romans to build monuments on a scale never seen before.
13:24The amphitheater here in Elgem collects all the improvements in construction techniques known in that time.
13:32These engineering advances make Elgem Coliseum the pinnacle of Roman architectural genius.
13:39Why are the Romans so determined to build these impressive arenas?
13:45Najib believes there's more to the story than just building big.
13:49A clue lies in the building materials used inside the arena.
13:54Embedded in the walls, he finds ancient blocks of luxurious marble.
13:59This marble is not local.
14:01It was imported, and they had to have the money to pay for it.
14:05In ancient times, marble is one of the most expensive building materials in the world.
14:11It is used extensively in the Colosseum in Rome, too.
14:17In this iconic building, the Romans used marble for the inner arena wall,
14:23the seating, and the columns that crown the colonnade.
14:27While on the building's exterior, statues of gold and bronze tower in the perfect marble archways.
14:37Despite being built 150 years and almost 500 miles apart, these two Colosseums are strikingly similar.
14:45The scale of these buildings and the lavish splendor of the construction materials trumpet the glory of Rome far and
14:52wide.
14:54Nezib believes this reveals evidence for the uniformity that the Romans achieve across the empire.
15:01It was a way to unite the Roman way of life in all these provinces.
15:07From mighty monuments like Colosseums to engineering marvels like aqueducts.
15:13Wherever the Romans go, they rebuild Rome.
15:18This was, of course, to entertain the public, to show the power of Rome.
15:23And all these monuments, wherever you go, they are nearly the same.
15:30It's not just the amphitheaters that are built to unify the empire.
15:34It's also the entertainment that they host.
15:40Tony Wilmot is an expert in gladiatorial games.
15:45He believes the fights across the empire show strict standardization, which makes them so successful.
15:52They are clearly extremely popular all over the Roman Empire.
15:56You can see the popularity of spectacles simply by the size of the amphitheaters, the huge seating capacities of many
16:02of them.
16:03Tony works with a pair of combat experts to investigate the common elements of all gladiator battles.
16:09The team uses an image found on a 2,000-year-old Roman vase to recreate the exact armor and
16:16weaponry of the warriors.
16:18The vase shows a classic pairing of gladiators, a Secutor against a Retiarius.
16:24The Secutor is a fairly heavily armed gladiator.
16:27He carries a shield, he carries a sword, and he wears a very, very close fitting helmet.
16:33That is actually important.
16:34When he's facing a Retiarius, who is very lightly clad, he doesn't have a helmet, he doesn't have much protection.
16:42What he does have are his weapons, which are his trident and a net.
16:47The combat experts begin the spectacle.
16:51Whenever Roman citizens watch gladiators in action, they will see the same drama played out.
16:57The characters' armor and weapons are universal throughout the empire.
17:02And their carefully designed vulnerabilities add to the thrill of the fight.
17:06The Secutor's metal helmet protects his head and neck, but it also puts him in grave danger.
17:12The helmet is very much a two-edged weapon.
17:15On the one hand, it protects his head. On the other hand, it restricts his vision.
17:18And also, it tires him out because it restricts his breathing.
17:22He will have to lift his head in order to be able to breathe, and that will expose his throat.
17:28Tony believes that the built-in weaknesses of both characters is evidence that the Romans engineer all their fights to
17:35last longer.
17:36It makes for dramatic entertainment, known and loved by all Romans.
17:40It's a good, entertaining, fair fight. The way in which the equipment is designed is specifically to create balance.
17:47It will be appreciated by the crowd.
17:54Different styles of fighters face each other to spice up combat, and there are even female gladiators.
18:04When a fighter accepts defeat, they raise their two fingers, asking the crowd to decide their fate.
18:15The crowd waves handkerchiefs if they want a gladiator to live.
18:20But a jab to the neck with their thumbs means death.
18:25The final decision rests with the game's master or the emperor, who decides the gladiator's fate.
18:35These bloody battles draw huge crowds everywhere across the empire, from Britain to North Africa.
18:43The Romans host the games to draw the citizens together, and to remind them they are all part of one
18:50mighty empire.
18:52Roman rulers know their importance.
18:55The power of an entertaining spectacle was clearly completely understood by the higher echelons of the empire.
19:02A lot of games were put on by emperors to create popularity.
19:08Colosseums and gladiators ensure the diverse people of the Roman Empire all share one unified culture.
19:18How did the Romans choose where to build their colosseums?
19:23And how does a small city in Africa get the third biggest colosseum in the Roman world?
19:38The El Jem Colosseum in Tunisia, North Africa.
19:42An engineering masterpiece built on the pattern of the magnificent colosseum in Rome.
19:51Why do the Romans choose to build it here?
19:55Clues may lie in the remains of the lost city.
19:59El Jem rests on a Roman city.
20:03If you dig, automatically you will find Roman layers.
20:091,800 years ago, this massive colosseum sits at the heart of the ancient city of Thistrus.
20:19At the beginning of the 3rd century AD, Thistrus is a bustling metropolis, home to 30,000 people.
20:29At the edge of the city lies the spectacular colosseum.
20:33Arched walkways run around each level to rapidly funnel the crowds in and out.
20:41At the very top is the Valerium, a vast linen cover to shield the audience from sun and rain.
20:5035,000 people can fill this colosseum, more than the entire population of the city.
20:56Why do Roman officials build such a large colosseum for the people here in the middle of nowhere?
21:05Nejib Ben-Lazreg investigates.
21:08He believes clues can be found less than a half a mile from El Jem Colosseum.
21:14These are the foundations of a series of ancient Roman houses.
21:19The house now is 3,000 square meters, so it's a real mansion with beautiful floors of mosaics.
21:27In ancient Rome, mosaic floors are a popular symbol of wealth and status.
21:34Nejib believes the scale of the mosaic artwork sheds light on the type of people living in ancient Thistrus.
21:42From the size of these mansions, we understand that these were really wealthy people.
21:47They are, you know, from the elite.
21:50Thistrus, though only small, is one of the empire's richest cities.
21:56Nejib believes the source of this immense wealth can reveal the motivation for El Jem's oversized colosseum.
22:04Satellite maps of Tunisia show that Thistrus is located in the very middle of a network of ancient trade routes.
22:11The name, Thistrus, is of Berber origin and means crossroad.
22:17In the Roman era, it connects the country's fertile rural hinterland with the trade-heavy harbors on the east coast.
22:27It is this position as the Roman Empire's gateway to Africa that makes Thistrus crucial for the Roman rulers.
22:37Thistrus is a site on the edge of Roman territory.
22:41The Romans' vast shipping network means people can arrive here from all over the empire.
22:50The fertile lands around Thistrus yield plentiful crops that sustain its ever-growing population.
23:00It's a booming, wealthy city with bustling markets, where merchants from all corners of the Roman world come to sell
23:08their wares.
23:12It's the perfect place for the Romans to build a huge colosseum and project their power.
23:24The glory and power of Rome is conveyed to El Jem's many visitors, who carry the message to their own
23:31distant lands.
23:33We may imagine that El Jem, of course, was made of the natives, but it was a melting pot of
23:39different types of visitors, whether they came from abroad or from the hinterland.
23:44The massive Colosseum in Thistrus is a powerful propaganda tool.
23:49It pushes Rome's message of greatness across the vast plains of ancient North Africa to the corners of the empire
23:56and beyond.
23:57But is this message only used to promote the glory of Rome?
24:01Or are Colosseums part of a darker plan to keep the people in check?
24:15El Jem, once Thidrus in the Roman province of North Africa.
24:21Home to the most impressive Imperial Colosseum outside of Italy.
24:25The Roman emperors build hundreds of these megastructures from the same blueprint to entertain the public and promote the glory
24:35of Rome.
24:37But could the spectacles the rulers host here have a hidden motive?
24:47Beneath the huge amphitheater, archaeologists discover a complex series of tunnels.
24:53Four ramps from the piazza lead down to a central underground passage that stretches for 200 feet.
25:01On either side of it are galleries of chambers fitted with iron gates.
25:08A tunnel, wide enough for chariots, cuts across the central passage.
25:14On the floor lie mysterious stone blocks.
25:17Directly above them, an opening to the arena.
25:22What is this hidden underground warren for?
25:25Is it evidence of a sinister use for the Colosseum?
25:33Nezib investigates from inside the arena.
25:38This is an underground tunnel which was used as a service hall.
25:42Like in any modern building, you have a service entrance and an official entrance.
25:48What do the Romans bring into the arena from this service entrance that requires such a large underground complex?
25:56Nezib believes the huge height of the spectator gallery may offer an insight.
26:01Surrounded by a wall called the Padium Wall, which is more than three meters high.
26:06This elevated position is required to protect the spectators from more than just battling gladiators.
26:13We have this wall to prevent beasts to jump and reach the spectators.
26:19Nezib thinks the spectacle here involves wild animals too.
26:23Down in the tunnels, he examines the Roman engineering used to bring the animals up onto the arena floor.
26:32As you can see here in this room, you have these slots which were used to insert the wheels of
26:39the cage and bring the animals in.
26:42We have to imagine this was a very sad space.
26:46Animals roaring, plus 30,000 spectators screaming and yelling and stomping their feet.
26:56The Romans build platforms operated with ropes and pulleys to lift animal cages from the tunnels to the arena.
27:08They release the animals from the cage into an enclosure that opens onto the arena floor.
27:17The gladiators fight all types of exotic animals, including leopards, lions, elephants, and even crocodiles.
27:28Animal shows were very popular in Africa, in Aljam, much like in Rome and the rest of the Roman Empire.
27:37But Nezib suspects that wild animals play a darker role in these events.
27:44He examines a set of wall-mounted mosaics recovered from the homes of the ancient citizens of Thistrus.
27:51The mosaics show macabre scenes of animals violently attacking humans.
27:57Combat-hardened gladiators have a fighting chance against vicious animals.
28:02But clues in the depiction here reveal that these people are not trained warriors.
28:08They were not armed, some of them even tied, sometimes exposed on a cross, and pushed towards the beasts, which
28:18means they were prisoners.
28:21It is shocking evidence that executions are part of the Roman entertainment.
28:27They serve up this brutal punishment as spectacle for all to see.
28:33The Romans had no jails. They didn't spend their money on jails.
28:37So either you pay a fine or you are condemned to death.
28:42Christians, slaves who killed their masters, hijackers, were offered to the beasts and they were not even given the chance
28:50to defend themselves.
28:53The Romans used Colosseums to warn the population against rebellion and disobedience.
29:00And to make sure that everyone witnesses the gruesome spectacle, all these events are free to attend.
29:09Millions of Roman citizens enjoy the thrill of these blood sports.
29:14What can clues unearthed in a Colosseum in Britain reveal about Roman society?
29:20Can they shed light on the surprising realities of everyday life in the Roman world?
29:34Colosseums are iconic megastructures.
29:37The games they host are a reminder of the power of Rome.
29:41What more can Colosseums reveal about Roman society?
29:46An amphitheatre unearthed in Chester in the UK may hold clues.
29:52Though this 8,000 person arena is far smaller than the giants of Capua, El Gem and Rome,
29:59it hosts the same exciting and bloody spectacles.
30:05Tony Wilmot examines the ancient site to understand more about the Colosseum's pivotal part in Roman life.
30:16For the first time in the Roman Empire, we actually have archaeological evidence for what was going on during amphitheatre
30:25events.
30:28Scattered throughout the ruins of the amphitheatre, archaeologists recover objects that date back to the late 1st century AD.
30:37Among them, the bone handle of a gladius, a dagger wielded by gladiators.
30:44Nearby are high-value coins, some minted with the head of Vespasium, the Roman emperor between 69 to 79 AD.
30:55And beneath the seating are fragments of a polished red clay bowl that show gladiators fighting to the death.
31:03What do these scattered objects reveal about the lost world of the ancient Romans?
31:13Today, the artifacts are stored at the Grosvenor Museum in Chester.
31:19Curator Liz Montgomery analyzes the items to look for clues about how they are used.
31:25This is a small bowl that was found at the amphitheatre in Chester.
31:29It shows two gladiators on, so it's quite an unusual decoration.
31:34It's not particularly well made.
31:36The top of the decoration has been smudged away by the fingers of the potter,
31:40and the little characters themselves aren't very clear at all.
31:44This poor workmanship suggests that the bowl is likely made by an apprentice potter,
31:50and is a cheap, mass-produced object.
31:53The spectators wouldn't have come from home with their drinking vessels,
31:57so they could have bought this sort of cup at the amphitheatre,
32:00and then they could have been thrown away afterwards.
32:03This object is evidence of a flourishing trade going on at the Coliseum.
32:09Vendors sell drinks, souvenirs, and memorabilia, like at any modern sports arena today.
32:15Liz suspects some of the artifacts reveal even more intriguing similarities with modern-day sports fans.
32:23She inspects the broken pieces of a large vessel.
32:26They're made of ceramic, they're heavy-duty, they're great big pieces,
32:31and you can see on many of them that they're actual Roman finger marks.
32:36She believes that rather than being parts of souvenirs, these items have a more practical use.
32:42If you put them all together, they form portable ovens,
32:45and there are at least three found at the Chester Amphitheatre site.
32:50What are the vendors cooking in these ovens?
32:53She examines some unusual bone fragments for clues.
32:57This little bone here is a chicken bone.
33:00There were absolutely loads of these recovered from the amphitheatre,
33:04and it suggests to us that the people who were there, the spectators,
33:08were purchasing roast chicken.
33:10It's very much like us going to a football match nowadays
33:13and buying some fried chicken and eating it while we were enjoying the game.
33:22Traders in the piazza outside the Colosseum do a roaring trade,
33:26selling food, drink, and gladiator souvenirs to the spectators.
33:32The most avid fans even get small lead tablets inscribed with curses,
33:38hoping to help their favorite gladiator win.
33:44The artifacts reveal that the Colosseum is an important commercial center.
33:50The rulers encourage this bustling trade.
33:55But Tony Wilmot believes the games have a special meaning for some Roman citizens,
34:00especially if the Colosseum is located on the edge of the Empire.
34:05Less than a mile from the Chester amphitheatre, he examines a section of the city wall.
34:11The wall behind me is medieval. It's part of the medieval walls of Chester.
34:15It's an extension down to the river of the walls of the original Roman fortress.
34:20Chester is a vital stronghold as the invading Romans push their conquest into northern Britain.
34:27Roman legions are sent here to protect this frontier settlement from attack by local tribes.
34:34Excavations in the 1930s reveal a huge Roman barracks built here to station this formidable force.
34:40The legionary fortress here at Chester was built around the AD 70s.
34:45It's a huge fortress. In fact, it's one of the biggest legionary fortresses in the Roman Empire.
34:49It is built to house a Roman legion, basically 5,000 soldiers.
34:55The amphitheatre in Chester is a legionary colosseum.
35:00Unlike colosseums in Capua, El Gem and Rome, it is built primarily for soldiers, their families, and the remote Roman
35:09community that lives here.
35:11At Chester, for the legionaries, the entertainment will be the same as it is in any amphitheatre.
35:17That's what amphitheaters are for. There'll be gladiator fights, wild beast humps.
35:23As well as providing spectacle, the gladiators are delivering a key message to the Roman soldiers who see them fight.
35:30They are warriors in battle.
35:33If the decision is death, then the gladiator has to face it with courage, with dignity.
35:38He's sworn to do that at the end of his life.
35:40He'll kneel, head up raised, looking the audience in the face, take the blade through the neck, down slantwise into
35:51the vital regions.
35:53A good death redeems the gladiators from the dishonor of defeat.
35:59It provides a noble example to the watching Roman soldiers.
36:04The gladiators are slaves. They're the lowest of the low.
36:07If a mere slave can show courage in facing his death, then our audience, the Roman army, must also show
36:16greater courage than a mere slave can.
36:20This is a crucial lesson to Roman soldiers posted in the remote and dangerous corners of the Empire.
36:27From Chester in Britain to El Jem in North Africa, the Roman soldiers in the audience must always remember that
36:35they are expected to die courageously for the Empire, just like the gladiators.
36:40But what more can Colosseums reveal about everyday Roman life?
36:46How do megastructures like El Jem ensure that everyone across the Empire knows their place?
37:04Colosseums are built to entertain and subdue the public, and remind soldiers from every corner of the Empire how to
37:12die with honor.
37:14What else can these megastructures reveal about life for the citizens of the Roman Empire?
37:23In Capua, southern Italy, Valerie Higgins examines the piazza of the giant Colosseum for clues.
37:32In Roman times, this is where the crowds gather before the gladiatorial games begin.
37:37She identifies an intriguing feature built into the fabric of the monument.
37:43Coming into the amphitheater, what we see above the archway is the head of a Roman god.
37:52And each archway has a different one.
37:55Valerie believes each carved statuette has an important practical purpose.
38:00You would know from what head there was which arch to go through, and this would direct you to your
38:08seating.
38:08You went into a sector of the seating which was organized according to social class.
38:14This strange signposting reveals a deep Roman obsession with class and social status.
38:21You can look around you, and you know exactly who is the same status as you, who is considered to
38:28be a higher status than you, who is considered to be a lower status than you.
38:33It is an exercise in knowing your place.
38:37In Tunisia, Nejib Ben-Lazrik wants to understand how the segregation of Roman society plays out inside the El Jem
38:46Colosseum.
38:46The shows were free for the public, but there was a strict separation between the social classes.
38:53He examines the arena seating to look for clues to where different parts of society sit.
38:59You have to imagine, all around this wall there was a big slope made of concrete, and this reached the
39:05very top.
39:06The best vision you have is when you are close to the arena, okay?
39:11It's much like in the theater nowadays.
39:15The first floor level is called the podium.
39:192,000 years ago, this section is lined with slabs of luxurious marble.
39:25Nejib believes this is reserved for the highest echelons of Roman society.
39:30The closest to the arena were the senators.
39:34It's because it's them who sponsored the show.
39:39The higher up you sit, the lower your status, with segregation based on class and even gender.
39:47Stone barriers called balustrades enforce a physical separation between each section to ensure no mixing takes place.
39:58Nejib believes this class separation in the Colosseum holds up a mirror to Roman society as a whole.
40:05The rich people were 5% of the society.
40:09The rest of the people were either middle class or even poor.
40:13It's these rich people who decide what to do.
40:19Elgem, like the many Colosseums across the Roman Empire, entertains vast audiences and reminds the people of their duty to
40:28Rome and their place in the social order.
40:32It is both an icon of Roman civilization and a powerful propaganda tool.
40:38But mighty Elgem also marks a turning point in the history of the Roman Empire.
40:44It is one of the last great Colosseums the Romans build before their decline and fall starting in the 4th
40:51century AD.
40:55Roman Colosseums are incredible feats of ancient engineering.
41:00They showcase the empire's most popular and deadly spectacle, gladiator fights.
41:07As powerful propaganda machines, they unify the far corners of the empire, repress rebellion and remind soldiers how to die
41:16with honor.
41:18These lost Colosseums reveal the inner workings of Roman society and expose the brutal tactics at play that make this
41:26one of the most formidable empires in history.
41:31These are the victims
41:34Lots of important things to do again.
41:35Next slide you have a collection, over a corner of theびsades.
41:35Everything that truly has been brought out of the 고 אר provocation, the planet ak sunglasses.
41:35We'll beười for���se � discordness of the world's lucky that...
41:59Transcription by CastingWords
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