My book answers 36 frequently asked questions about the Ancient Greeks and Romans. Four of those questions deal with the Colosseum: How deadly was gladiatorial combat? How were animals captured for the Colosseum? How was the Colosseum built in less than a decade? What happened to the city of Rome after the fall of the Roman Empire? My answers cover (respectively) the nuances of gladiatorial combat, the mechanics of the beast hunts held in the Colosseum, the awesome scale of the Roman building industry, and the post-antique history of the Colosseum and other famous monuments. You can find additional details on this page: www.amazon.com/Naked-Statues-Fat-Gladiators-Elephants/dp/1633887022 Thanks for your interest!
@@SehlraC Thanks! In the meantime (if you're so inclined) you can read a few preview chapters on my website: toldinstone.com/naked-statues-fat-gladiators-and-war-elephants/
Look at Madison Square Garden for example. It’s one of the “oldest” and “most famous” stadiums in the world, and yet, it’s barely half a century old, and furthermore, the structure that stood in that spot before MSG was FAR SUPERIOR in architecture and importance (Original Penn Station).
@@AlexS-oj8qf It could be fixed. Unlike today's structures that need Hbeams, piping, and rebar, the Colosseum is just a big pile of stone. The lost stones just need to be replaced and it would be as good as new.
@@FRESHboosters not "in the world" in America. I regularly go to watch my football team, Dunfermline Athletic, in a Stadium that's over 110 years old, loadssss of teams are the same over here
Here in England we have a lot of roman roads and baths, the roads are all perfectly straight and the baths are so intricate in design, the fact they made structures like the colosseum without computers and large machinery is absolutely mind blowing
@@gracie3174 as a structural engineer, I can say that it's not that we haven't figured it out. People just don't want to pay for buildings and infrastructure that lasts. An unfortunate privilege of knowing and understanding structures more in the modern day is that people can ask for exactly what they need and cut every other corner.
@ThoughtCrime slaves weren’t used for skilled work like engineering in Rome. They mostly served as household servants and workers within labor intensive services. Why would someone have a hyper specific and precise as well as ridiculously expensive project put together by slaves?
Visited Rome recently in high tourist season. The crowds entering the Colosseum were huge. Walking up the stone staircases until finally you emerge out into the arena, I had the feeling this must be a taste of what it was like on a day of games 2000 years ago. Incredible to think this stadium still draws these crowds 2 millenia later.
Sure, inasmuch as you can trust medieval manuscripts to tell you about history 1,500 years before it was written down. None of these writings date from the first millennium but all come from the 1500s or later. if any old books exist be skeptical, because they simply could not stop the ravages of mold, insects and rival book burnings. Our history is largely made up fantasy. As for frescos, mosaics and buildings, none come with a stamp to say..."This is Roman"
I find it amazing that in such a relatively short period of time people could forget what the colosseum's purpose was. Thanks for the informative video.
@@Ursaminor31 And we think we are more advanced than previous eras. This just proves that, even though we have technology, our minds haven't advanced much in 10,000 years.
Keep in mind most of the men alive in Europe were totally illiterate and had no schooling whatsoever. Both before and after the Roman Empire (this began since the fall of the Roman republic really, well before the fall of the empire). Citizens were simply not part of politics or history. There did exist sources of the colosseum purpose. Within Rome at that, is some library. However if somebody literate did go bother looking, it was some monk nobody listened to. Popes were busy either making war or whoring. While most of aristocrats moved to the countryside of Latium, and would only return to the city of Rome generations after they left. Keep in mind, all of this begun before the fall of Rome, and the Middle Ages as we think of it begun in Rome centuries after the fall of Rome. It was gradual. Even the “barbarian” kind Odoacer (whine actually had Roman citizenship and was a Roman general), which deposed the last Roman emperor, didn’t destroy the empire. He did what was going on for generations. Deposed the ruler and named himself the new one. He just got rid of the formality, and made himself king of Italy, since that’s all that was left.
Worth noting that it wasn't called the Colosseum to the Romans (at least not until late antiquity), it was the Flavian Amphitheatre. It got the Colosseum name not because it's so big, but because of the colossal statue of Nero outside, long gone.
@@ReviewsChannel-e4r You're incorrect. According to Wiki The Colossus of Nero (Colossus Neronis) was a 30-metre (98 ft) bronze statue that the Emperor Nero (37-68 AD) created in the vestibule of his Domus Aurea, the imperial villa complex which spanned a large area from the north side of the Palatine Hill, across the Velian ridge to the Esquiline Hill. It was modified by Nero's successors into a statue of the sun god Sol. The statue was eventually moved to a spot outside the Flavian Amphitheatre, which (according to one of the more popular theories) became known, by its proximity to the Colossus, as the Colosseum.
Apparently in the area I that grew up in the town that used to be there 100 years before had a racecourse- long gone by my time. As the story goes at the end of one cold winter for the area years ago (don't know when) it was discovered most of the timber fence at the rear of the old race course had disappeared. Someone pinched it for firewood through the winter
The same thing happened to the pyramids. They used to be covered in better limestone slabs on the outside than the less quality sandstone interior blocks, and people started stealing the outside blocks to make buildings, since they had been already carved with a nice surface. That's why the great Giza pyramid has that different tip from the rest down. It was too hard for people to get the upper stones down from there, and that's why to this day only the top part is the one that looks a little like the original full exterior was.
isnt it amazing how the ancients were able to build these structures, and later peoples had to steal and scavenge from them instead of building their own
During Mao's time the government actually encouraged Chinese citizens to break apart the Great Wall to be used as building material. And scavenging prolly happened before that too
@@Blox117No it isn't amazing at all. The pyramids were mostly constructed by slave labor. Once unprotected it was free reign to steal whatever you could. Who wouldn't utilize materials readily available locally that were serving no useful purpose. I would argue the pyramids are evidence of how spiritual worship contorts human behaviors in irrational ways. The pyramids were horrendous waste of human capital. Imagine instead the buildings and cities had been constructed for wealth creation and the benefit of residents. Maybe Egyptian society would've survived much longer throughout history. They should've spent more time controlling the Nile river but no they needed to appease the Gods😂😂😂😂
@@Blox117 Didn't have to, it was just easeir to do it. Basiclly if you wanted to make a table and pulled apart a old shed for the boards instead of getting raw timber to make them
I was in the US Navy in the 1970s. We were in Naples and one day a guy came on with a big chunk of rock. I asked him what it was. He said it was a piece of the Colosseum. He got it by kicking at a column or something and broke it off. I asked him, "What if everyone did that?" He said, "Who cares?" He was Nick Vitullo from Providence, Rhode Island. There was no shortage of assholes in the navy.
I remember the first time I visited Rome. It was only at that point, seeing the scale of Roman engineering, that I truly understood how their Empire prevailed for so long. Photographs and film don't come close to relaying Roman might. If you were a slave, marched down the Via Triumphalis, surely the first thought you had would be "We never had a chance"
@Zanimations You sure? I know he unearthed many from obscurity, by demolishing surrounding slums. He also moved the Altar of Peace. I've not read that he actually built onto ancient ruins to make them whole again.
I've visited the Colosseum multiple times with my grandfather whenever I went to see my grandparents in Italy. The building's incredible history was never talked about in detail. This video has enlightened me greatly on the significance of the Colosseum. I still can't believe that humanity temporarily forgot what it was originally used for in such a short period of time.
I went to Persia not too long ago and in a similar fashion, many many generations had lived near and with the Persian ruins everyday and I had no idea what they were, who built them, or what they were used for. It's a fascinating study in something about human nature it seems.
I’m no Rome fanboy but the fact that we are left with this much coliseum after a thousand years of scavenging is a testament to the power of the Romans
This happened to my city's castle. It was, apparently, a huge fortress once possibly larger than the Tower of London, but over the centuries the cityfolk took it upon themselves to strip the stones from the castle bare. What was left of it was turned into a prison, but then they knocked down large parts of that and rebuilt a more modern prison there. Now all that remains is part of the outer wall and the castle gate.
@@lilianlepesme6935 indeed, our city was named after its castle as it was such a distinguishing feature. Gloucester in Old English meant 'Brightcastle,' but we never got around to updating the name into Modern English.
visiting the colosseum is number one on my bucket list. it's so insane to me that people so many years ago build something so beautiful, albeit for something horrible
@@smelltheglove2038 i really wanna see that too!! i'm just really interested in history (i even wanna become an archeologist lol) especially ancient rome. and my irl name literally means 'rome' so it was meant to be lmao
@@odetoclear to be fair, I’ve been all over italy from Sardinia to Venice to Sicily, and yes Rome. Some gypsies stole my sunglasses (I bought Versace sunglasses while I was in Milan) right off the top of my head while I was in Rome. Mofos are slick let me tell ya.
@@odetoclear I was wearing them on the top of my head, hahaha, not on my eyes. I think any tourist area in Europe is going to have an issue with pick pockets. Keep vigilant is all.
A similar thing happened to Hadrian's Wall in Britannia. It was gradually scavenged by locals, farmers, and the clergy to make farm walls, houses, churchs, roads, etc. Until the Hadrian's Wall was no more than waist height, as we see it today.
The Egyptian paramedics were scavenged for the outer coating to At the time they were in the mind that they were recycling blocks of stone Like salvaging bricks or copper from old houses
A very interesting story! The Colosseum must have been an incredibly spectacular building in it’s early days when covered with massive amounts of travertine and marble, enough to build many of Rome’s churches after being scavenged! The stories of squatters living in the halls and rooms for centuries was also an amazing story. Thanks for the education.
@@bobboscarato1313 That’s not exactly correct. The high infant mortality rate skews the average life expectancy. If you survived to adulthood you were likely to live a full human lifespan, about 60 to 70 years.
The fact that the original use of the coloseum was forgotten so quickly really makes you realise the importance of libraries and preserving information It also makes me incredibly grateful that our ways have changed and that we're preserving these great structuers and that we managed to recover their historical pasts These buildings have witnessed the rise and fall of many empires and countries, they've witnessed the fall of rome and how Latin slowly changed into italian and almost most impressive of all imo, they've witnessed a world before christianity was even a thing. Oh what I would pay to hear these walls talk
Yep - the tour guide at the Vatican said lots of travertine from the colosseum was used to build the Vatican. She said their are queries less than a hundred miles away but the materials at the colosseum were free.
I have always wondered why the Colosseum looks like this. This is brilliant and I thank you very much for posting. I had no idea that people lived there after the Roman era! Fab!!
I was at the Castel San Angelo recently in Rome, and was curious why there were a lot of holes all along the inner walls. Thanks for giving me the answer that scavengers were digging out iron in the walls.
The Popes also wanted to save the remnants of the Colosseum as a memorial to the early Christians that were said to have been sacrificed and martyred there.
Im in the minority here when I say that it would of been better torn down and rebuilt into a cathedral. I mean it's ugly as hell and was a crime against humanity.
What I loved about the Colosseum when I visited it many years ago is that in walking through the inner passageways and up the stairs I was stuck by how much was simply a football stadium. It all looked familiar!
In addition to ancient ruins, Rome is full of beautiful medieval and Renaissance period stonework in which one can see a noticeable percentage having been salvaged from other structures or ruins…a fair amount probably having come from the Colosseum. I do however think that the Pantheon is the greatest building still with us dating from Ancient Rome.
When I was in Rome it was explained that much of the Bronze in the Vatican was pillaged from the Colosseum. This was specifically mentioned with regard to St. Peter's Baldachin, but given that that was not constructed until the 17th century, I am a bit sceptical of the claim.
I have a thumbs up strictly for clicking on this, opening the video description, and seeing that he put the answer right there at the top as the “short answer”. I respect that and appreciate that he saved my time.
Rome is a time capsule .Such amazing buildings.When you walk on its stoned roads you can still feel the chariots and horses along with the bustling of old roman soldiers chasing down their enemies.Anyway thats what i felt after a few splifs in my ancestors place.Love Rome , Live in Rome ,will die in Rome.
@@johntruxal432 sorry but i did not feel that at all.Im sure your statement can be true in any place whether back in time or in the present.Isis was doing this stuff in the last 5 years but i bet you made no mention to anyone about that, did you john ?
@@muzzamoose Sure 500+ years the roman empire enslaved and murdered is very similar to isis for the past 15 years or so.... Obviously England and Spain had a few more years colonizing the world and doing the same atrocities(by the millions) as the romans but don't be delusional about them... Or be delusional...
@@johntruxal432 poor john you sound very bitter about what the Romans did in the past.Were your ancestors affected john ? Do you have nightmares about all this.I hope your not an american john, hell what that country has done globally over 100 years is worse than what was done in the past by any nation or army.What are you john as you know who i am and i aint delusionally?
Funny thing. I asked this to my history teacher around 20 years ago and he told me that it was a good question that he didn't know but if I wanted to bring a small presentation about it I would get additional points. I really didn't need the points since I had been good at history but did it anyways. Apparently because of this I had been the only or among the only students from this teacher and class that had not only gotten a perfect mark but a "110" mark.
Thank you for a very interesting and informative video. The same thing happened to the Roman Hadrian's wall, which runs across the width of the UK in Northumberland. Many stones have been taken over hundreds of years in the building of local villages and cottages etc.
Thanks Toldin, great to know it was locally recycled. What is left seems magical enough to grasp the scale. I find it hard to grasp a building so large was possible with man,oxen and horsepower. Romanus Invictus.
Excellent information. I now see it is more relevant to ask why a portion is amazingly still there rather than why is there a large part missing. Makes perfect sense.
I'd guessed it was stone scavengers, but hadn't thought about earthquakes, or the Pope's protection. Had the good fortune to visit the Colosseum years ago. Astonishing construction. Interesting video, thanks. Subbed.
We have all seen the colloseum in photos and videos all our lives, but when one stops and thinks about it, its absolutely amazing how far ahead of its time it actually was.
In 61 and 62, I walked the rim of the Colosseum several times, to the consternation of the police/guards. I was five and six at the time, "navy brat" stationed in Barcelona a couple years, then Naples. It was positively awe inspiring then, and again in 82, when I saw it, at a port of call in Naples, as a Marine, on my way to Beirut. None of it's majesty had left in those two decades. It's interesting to finally know why "it's half there", not at all as I expected. Thanks. Semper Fi
@@user-nj1zu2nf1x As best I remember, it was the whole of it, climbing the broken parts being the best part. I was five or so, and I've been back once, on my way to Beirut, in 82, saw it in passing, on my way for a steak at the Petty Officer's club, been at sea three months, ready for boots on the ground. Semper Fi, John
I think it would be interesting to explore also what were the legends and the alternative explanations for the Colosseum during the deep Middle Ages. There's one in "De Naturis Rerum" by Alexander Neckam which I love: it mentions that the Colosseum used to have brass statues each representing a region of the Roman Empire and holding a bell, and when trouble or revolts arose in those regions, to send a signal, the bell on the statue would start ringing. This was called the "Salvatio Romae", apparently.
Walks past the colosseum, doesn’t ask or wonder. Moves back to the states, clicks on video because I am now wondering why there is half of a colosseum.. 👀
When I was there I saw a sign detailing all that about the reuse and the earthquake. It also had the uses of it over the ages. Really cool to see if any of you ever get to.
I have been to Rome twice I have been in the coliseum it's incredible to look up at the sky and think that slaves and gladiators that was the last thing they saw it's so mystical historical and atmospheric very haunting a time capsule great will never forget it from David trevena
In Italy exist a famous quote in latin “Quod non fecerunt barbari, fecerunt Barberini” that means “what wasn’t made by barbarians, was made by Barberini” that was the family of Pope Urban VIII. He was responsible of destroying for re-use of lots material from ancient Rome buildings.
The stones couldn't take the load. Without concrete reinforcements, half of it would have fallen down years ago. The walls are not even strong enough to bear the weight of the cloth canopy that once covered it.
I'm just here to say that you are doing a great job and I'm gonna subscribe in hopes of you making more similar content. If I may suggest, make something about aquaducts.
I was really impressed when I got to go inside the Colosseum when I was 14 years old. It was amazing looking down where the floor of the building should have been and yet I could see all of the rooms and hallways down there. It really was a magnificent building and was very interesting to look at. I was there in 1968.
The Lateran Palace was built by the Laterani Family, who served as administrator to several emperors. Later, Constantine gave it to the Bishop of Rome. After some ups and downs, it was adopted as the Papal Apartments.
When I was in Rome we were told the Popes stripped most of the marble for their own buildings. Over the centuries, old buildings have always been a source of building materials for the locals.
The most impressive leaving a metro station in my life, was leaving the metro at collusium. You literally get out, and there it is, right in front of you. It's awe inspiring!
Kinda the same leaving the train station in Venice. You walk right outside the train station and BOOM....there's the famous Canal ! We had thought it might be some distance from the station. .
I visited Rome and the Colosseum in 99 or 2000 couldn't get over how spectacular it was even then.It must have been magnificent in its heyday. All designed without IT. One of its many impressive design features was its ability to exit its spectators.I believe as fast as or faster than many modern stadia.
@@anaussie213 i didn't pay enuf attention whilst i was there obviously. Apparently could seat 55000 in 15 minutes and empty in 5. Newlands Rugby Stadium in Cape Town wouldnt come anywhere close to that
Although a bit smaller, the arena in Nimes France is worth visiting. Nimes has a few of the best preserved Roman grand buildings ever constructed. It’s definitely worth the trip!
One big reason the Pontiffs kept the intact part of the Colosseum up was the fact it’s a memorial for the Christians killed during the Roman persecutions, the Pope actually still leads processions for Stations Of The Cross around it to this day
You have to see this amazing structure for yourself! DO NOT go to Italy in the summer!! I went thanksgiving week and there were minimal crowds and the weather was perfect. I was at Trajans forum and there was NOBODY there….nobody.
The assumption tends to be that almost any Renaissance structure built from travertine contains stone from the Colosseum. Frequently cited examples include the Ponte Sisto and Sant' Agostino.
They tried to do this with some of the pyramids too IIRC. There is one that's kind of fallen apart because Saladin needed materials for building fortifications. I am actually surprised it wasn't done more in Egypt.
📛🤬 Oh they did FAR too much damage to historical structures in Egypt as it was! Every time I see images of the pyramids, it takes about 1/2 second for me to think about what the pyramids looked like before they ripped off the exterior casing stones, destroying their original appearance. That's when the cringe feeling starts to wash over me....... ☹️
@@HighlanderNorth1 That is true, I was referring to one of the pyramids that's completely robbed. I think the larger pyramids were simply too big to be worth it to pillage for resources. It's worth noting that this was common at the time anywhere, take Hadrian's Wall, which was pillaged for resources after it lost it's purpose. It used to be a functional large wall, and what a sight it must've been at the time to hold off the Picts.
@@Exnem ❓Are you talking about pyramids being "robbed" of the treasures that were stored inside? I was talking about how the casing stones were removed from all 3 major pyramids, from top to bottom, with only 1 of the pyramids still having a little of the original casing stones intact at the top part. They used to be completely smooth and bright white. After building the pyramids main structure, they went back and added "casing stones", which were blocks of bright white limestone, to fill in all the rough appearance left over between the structural blocks. But between the late 1600s and the late 1800s, people dismantled the outer casing stones that made the pyramids smooth, and used those limestone casing blocks to build many of the buildings in Cairo. You can actually see the remnants of the casing stones on the top 50 feet or so of Khafre's pyramid, which is one of the 3 main pyramids.
@@HighlanderNorth1 Slight correction, it was Saladin's son and there are theories ranging from resources to idol destruction (I think its most plausible it was resource gathering justified by idol destruction), but I was talking about Pyramid of Menkaure which has a large gash on the side of it if you look it up. They failed in destroying it for resources and just left it with a huge cavity in the middle of it, and thats one of the few times this was done in Egypt. I think the pyramids are just so massive compared to other structures like Roman structures and buildings that the work to dislodge stuff from them just wasn't worth it. That just makes the pyramids more amazing IMO.
I’ve always wondered about why half was only left. Do you know what’s the story about the drum of the Florence duomo and why there’s that portion that doesn’t match?
the Florence duomo is just unfinished: "In 1515 Baccio d'Agnolo completed the south-east section, but his loggia/gallery attracted far from favourable criticism. Michelangelo, for instance, described it as "gabbia dei grilli" (a cage for crickets). The criticism offended Baccio to such an extent that he downed tools and left the project" www.picturesfromitaly.com/florence/unfinished-loggia-by-baccio-d-agnolo-cathedral-dome-florence
No video can capture what it is really like to visit the Colosseum. You look down and see the ruts from the chariots as you come in, and the sights and sounds flood imagination. Every time I entered through the great arch, I could swear I could still hear the cheering crowds. All imagination of course, but Colosseum is one of those places where the very stones seem to speak of all that happened there.
Whatever remains of the original its still a marvel. Just to think in my hometown 100 year old buildings are considered historic sites but what about a 2000 year old building. That is yah dropping. The whole forum is a marvel to see.
The thing is, that the iron clamps were not very rare things to dig out, but they were covered in lead, which was extracted. Even without it, Trajans column stands there today. As does the colosseum. Lucky we.
Let me try to translate: “Although the iron support pieces were only iron, which isn’t valuable, they were taken for the more valuable dipped lead plating. Fortunately, even without these support pieces, Trajan’s columns still stand to this day.
I was definitely afraid. Possibly even terrified to ask those questions. Thank you so much for your Channel. I don't know if I can learn this type of History without this type of support.
Saw a documentary once (think it was on History Channel?) wherein they talked about how the Colosseum had more uses than initially thought, and that the games wasn't actually AS bad as what Hollywood later on made it look like it was. For starters, they didn't fight to death (reportedly, that is) and they also had several different games including water sports because they had secret underground tunnels that transported water into the arena. Howbeit the documentary did also talk about how the romans at the time believed in Necromancy and had in fact not one but several shrines dedicated to just that deep down in the catacombs. But, again, all of this is really just what you make of it, I mean the documentary did show several of these places but to which extent they had been used will remain a mystery for all of eternity. *Edit:* It was on National Geographic, and the documentary is called 'Secrets of the Colosseum in Rome'. Further add, I was confusing the sketch with truTV with the reportings of the documentary; truTV proclaims that gladiators didn't actually fight to the death, whereas National Geographic insists upon (and isn't afraid of showing remains that proves that they did. The documentary is available on TH-cam, should anyone be interested.
It's insane to me that people living in the city of Rome FORGOT what the coliseum was used for and came up with conflicting theories. Like we don't know our own recent history to the point that something so seemingly obvious gets forgotten quickly.
I once taught early elementary grades in Black schools in the ghetto of a southern city. Outside the city I passed cotton fields standing with the cotton unpicked yet. I got out of the car and picked a few branches with the white bolls on them. I took them back to school and showed them to the kids. Not one knew what they were, despite the high likelihood that 200+ years of the ancestors of each of these kids, many generations, spent their lives in misery in the heat, picking cotton in these fields during slavery and later as share croppers. Gone with the wind....
People living in the city of Rome weren't necessarily the same ones as during the height of Rome. The city had many periods of growth, stagnation and decline. So many people were newcomers to Rome.
Thank you! And as it happens, you're in luck. I have an old video on the Obelisk of Theodosius and the Hippodrome: toldinstone.com/the-obelisk-of-theodosius/
If you've ever even remotely considered going to Rome, DO IT. Especially if you're from the USA since we don't have anything remotely close to being as old as Europe has. It was the best trip I've ever taken in my life bar none. I'll always have happy thoughts when I think back to that trip.
When you return, you definetly have to see Pompeii. Words can’t describe how mindblowing this city is. It’s larger than people think, you can’t see everything in a day. But since it’s been uncovered recently and new parts are still being uncovered to this day, the wall paint and frescos inside of people’s houses, adverts on the walls of houses along with contemporary “graffiti” in darker alleys, paintings and writings on the walls on local food establishments… very much of it is still very bright and colorful. It’s very mindblowing. As if life just stopped and it got all frozen in time.
When you born in Rome and you're used to seeing the Colosseum there you look at it without thinking how much historical value it has. then maybe you pass it in the evening and with the city and a little less crowded and you stop for a while to admire it maybe from the side where there is the arch of Trajan and you realize that. it has been there for more than 2000 years and despite having been looted of the statutes that in short some part has been lost for various reasons .. and when you look at it you are totally fascinated by one of the 7 wonders of the world and a UNESCO heritage site .. just think of one thing . thank you mom for making me born a Roman
Roman joke A Texas citizen asks a Roman taxi driver to drive him trough the monuments of Rome. They start their tour with the Vatican. Texan: “Wonderful, how long did you take to built?” Taxi driver: “About 150 years” Texan: “Ahah, in my place it would take a week!” Then they drive to the Pantheon. Texan: “Amazing, how long did you take to built?” Taxi driver: “About 200 years” Texan: “Ahah, in my country we would have it three days!” Then they get to the Colosseum. Texan: “Marvellous, how long did you take to built?” Taxi driver: “Yesterday it wasn’t here”.
Curious if you could share what your book says about the colosseum? Thanks for this video and keep it up!
My book answers 36 frequently asked questions about the Ancient Greeks and Romans. Four of those questions deal with the Colosseum:
How deadly was gladiatorial combat?
How were animals captured for the Colosseum?
How was the Colosseum built in less than a decade?
What happened to the city of Rome after the fall of the Roman Empire?
My answers cover (respectively) the nuances of gladiatorial combat, the mechanics of the beast hunts held in the Colosseum, the awesome scale of the Roman building industry, and the post-antique history of the Colosseum and other famous monuments. You can find additional details on this page:
www.amazon.com/Naked-Statues-Fat-Gladiators-Elephants/dp/1633887022
Thanks for your interest!
@@SehlraC Thanks! In the meantime (if you're so inclined) you can read a few preview chapters on my website:
toldinstone.com/naked-statues-fat-gladiators-and-war-elephants/
I'll wait for the movie! 😁
The staute or the flavin amphitheatre?
@@toldinstone Sounds fascinating. Loving your content, glad I found your channel
Ah yes. The 3am content I wasn’t looking for, but still decided to watch
4:32, for me, but yes, gotta know where that other half went
@@alban4220 3:25 over here
Haha same
Haha spot on
@@jamesmolinaro4461 nobody cares over here
A stadium today is lucky to be around for 50 years so I guess The Colosseum has done alright.
Look at Madison Square Garden for example. It’s one of the “oldest” and “most famous” stadiums in the world, and yet, it’s barely half a century old, and furthermore, the structure that stood in that spot before MSG was FAR SUPERIOR in architecture and importance (Original Penn Station).
@@FRESHboosters “One entered the city like a god. One scuttles in now like a rat.” - Vincent Scully (regarding demolition of Penn Station)
I mean Colosseum is just a ruin technically but okay
@@AlexS-oj8qf It could be fixed. Unlike today's structures that need Hbeams, piping, and rebar, the Colosseum is just a big pile of stone. The lost stones just need to be replaced and it would be as good as new.
@@FRESHboosters not "in the world" in America. I regularly go to watch my football team, Dunfermline Athletic, in a Stadium that's over 110 years old, loadssss of teams are the same over here
Here in England we have a lot of roman roads and baths, the roads are all perfectly straight and the baths are so intricate in design, the fact they made structures like the colosseum without computers and large machinery is absolutely mind blowing
Yes…mind blowing! We’ve never figured it out! Incredible?
@@gracie3174 as a structural engineer, I can say that it's not that we haven't figured it out. People just don't want to pay for buildings and infrastructure that lasts. An unfortunate privilege of knowing and understanding structures more in the modern day is that people can ask for exactly what they need and cut every other corner.
@ThoughtCrime slaves weren’t used for skilled work like engineering in Rome. They mostly served as household servants and workers within labor intensive services. Why would someone have a hyper specific and precise as well as ridiculously expensive project put together by slaves?
@@Constance_tinople Exactly. There's always victims waiting for their chance to whine and moan about the 'r' word.
@@cjay2 That's not even relevant to what he's relying to lol
Visited Rome recently in high tourist season. The crowds entering the Colosseum were huge. Walking up the stone staircases until finally you emerge out into the arena, I had the feeling this must be a taste of what it was like on a day of games 2000 years ago. Incredible to think this stadium still draws these crowds 2 millenia later.
They could empty the colloquium of people in 15 to 20 minutes because of the floor planning..that's amazing..stadiums today can't do it that fast
What’s more impressive is the thing is still standing two millennia later! Roman civic engineering unmatched two millennial later.
Sure, inasmuch as you can trust medieval manuscripts to tell you about history 1,500 years before it was written down. None of these writings date from the first millennium but all come from the 1500s or later. if any old books exist be skeptical, because they simply could not stop the ravages of mold, insects and rival book burnings. Our history is largely made up fantasy. As for frescos, mosaics and buildings, none come with a stamp to say..."This is Roman"
That’s strange. In 1994 I just walked in and no one was around. It was not as old then.
@nobilesnovushomo58 the Italians built all those skyscrapers in Manhattan. It's in their blood.
I find it amazing that in such a relatively short period of time people could forget what the colosseum's purpose was. Thanks for the informative video.
You're very welcome
It’s what’s going on now. Erase history, through trauma and cognitive dissonance. It’s happened many times before.
@@Ursaminor31 And we think we are more advanced than previous eras. This just proves that, even though we have technology, our minds haven't advanced much in 10,000 years.
Keep in mind most of the men alive in Europe were totally illiterate and had no schooling whatsoever. Both before and after the Roman Empire (this began since the fall of the Roman republic really, well before the fall of the empire).
Citizens were simply not part of politics or history.
There did exist sources of the colosseum purpose. Within Rome at that, is some library. However if somebody literate did go bother looking, it was some monk nobody listened to.
Popes were busy either making war or whoring. While most of aristocrats moved to the countryside of Latium, and would only return to the city of Rome generations after they left.
Keep in mind, all of this begun before the fall of Rome, and the Middle Ages as we think of it begun in Rome centuries after the fall of Rome. It was gradual.
Even the “barbarian” kind Odoacer (whine actually had Roman citizenship and was a Roman general), which deposed the last Roman emperor, didn’t destroy the empire. He did what was going on for generations. Deposed the ruler and named himself the new one. He just got rid of the formality, and made himself king of Italy, since that’s all that was left.
@@leonardodavid2842 I like what you conveyed. Thumbs Up !
Worth noting that it wasn't called the Colosseum to the Romans (at least not until late antiquity), it was the Flavian Amphitheatre. It got the Colosseum name not because it's so big, but because of the colossal statue of Nero outside, long gone.
Statue is of Colossus. Nero committed suicide. Colosseum was built over Nero's palace.
@@ReviewsChannel-e4r You're incorrect. According to Wiki The Colossus of Nero (Colossus Neronis) was a 30-metre (98 ft) bronze statue that the Emperor Nero (37-68 AD) created in the vestibule of his Domus Aurea, the imperial villa complex which spanned a large area from the north side of the Palatine Hill, across the Velian ridge to the Esquiline Hill. It was modified by Nero's successors into a statue of the sun god Sol. The statue was eventually moved to a spot outside the Flavian Amphitheatre, which (according to one of the more popular theories) became known, by its proximity to the Colossus, as the Colosseum.
Completely understandable. A stadium in your neighborhood has fallen into disrepair. You need stones. You take the stones.
Apparently in the area I that grew up in the town that used to be there 100 years before had a racecourse- long gone by my time. As the story goes at the end of one cold winter for the area years ago (don't know when) it was discovered most of the timber fence at the rear of the old race course had disappeared. Someone pinched it for firewood through the winter
My grand father had a cabin made of telephone poles; he didn’t have a phone and neither did anybody in that area...
Same thing happened / is happening to the great wall of china.
Ladies and gentlemen: I give you the rationalisations of an entity of pure evil.
@@ihavenomouthandimusttype9729 lol not even close
The same thing happened to the pyramids. They used to be covered in better limestone slabs on the outside than the less quality sandstone interior blocks, and people started stealing the outside blocks to make buildings, since they had been already carved with a nice surface. That's why the great Giza pyramid has that different tip from the rest down. It was too hard for people to get the upper stones down from there, and that's why to this day only the top part is the one that looks a little like the original full exterior was.
People will always be people
isnt it amazing how the ancients were able to build these structures, and later peoples had to steal and scavenge from them instead of building their own
During Mao's time the government actually encouraged Chinese citizens to break apart the Great Wall to be used as building material. And scavenging prolly happened before that too
@@Blox117No it isn't amazing at all. The pyramids were mostly constructed by slave labor. Once unprotected it was free reign to steal whatever you could. Who wouldn't utilize materials readily available locally that were serving no useful purpose. I would argue the pyramids are evidence of how spiritual worship contorts human behaviors in irrational ways. The pyramids were horrendous waste of human capital. Imagine instead the buildings and cities had been constructed for wealth creation and the benefit of residents. Maybe Egyptian society would've survived much longer throughout history. They should've spent more time controlling the Nile river but no they needed to appease the Gods😂😂😂😂
@@Blox117 Didn't have to, it was just easeir to do it. Basiclly if you wanted to make a table and pulled apart a old shed for the boards instead of getting raw timber to make them
I was in the US Navy in the 1970s. We were in Naples and one day a guy came on with a big chunk of rock. I asked him what it was. He said it was a piece of the Colosseum. He got it by kicking at a column or something and broke it off. I asked him, "What if everyone did that?" He said, "Who cares?" He was Nick Vitullo from Providence, Rhode Island. There was no shortage of assholes in the navy.
Damn, I believe they have really cracked down on pilferage and rightfully so
@@DingDangg I should hope so.
bitter about old concrete 50 years later, now thats commitment.
@@Mike-le6ed Concrete? I think it was made of sandstone.
@@lawrencelewis2592 I’m confused did he carry the rock from Rome to Naples?
The coliseum ruins were known as a vast arboretum full of rare plants since the burrs stuck in the fur of the animals that fought there took root.
That's fascinating
That is true. The pollen remained
Now that's some real information that's truly fascinating and enlightening. Thanks
@@victoriamarie35 there's a bit of a difference between Italy and Israel.
And the blood fertilized the soil?
I remember the first time I visited Rome. It was only at that point, seeing the scale of Roman engineering, that I truly understood how their Empire prevailed for so long. Photographs and film don't come close to relaying Roman might. If you were a slave, marched down the Via Triumphalis, surely the first thought you had would be "We never had a chance"
just play assassin's creed and you would see how great romans were
Exept the Scottish picts
@@perfectmazda3538 far from anything historical fact
@Zanimations You sure? I know he unearthed many from obscurity, by demolishing surrounding slums. He also moved the Altar of Peace. I've not read that he actually built onto ancient ruins to make them whole again.
Until you come to the Circo Massimo , which is nothing like the one in Ben Hur ; the real one is an unimpressive dirt track in a small strip of land
I've visited the Colosseum multiple times with my grandfather whenever I went to see my grandparents in Italy. The building's incredible history was never talked about in detail. This video has enlightened me greatly on the significance of the Colosseum. I still can't believe that humanity temporarily forgot what it was originally used for in such a short period of time.
You shoul visit ones again and pay for a guide tour you will learn much more, its worth all the money!
I went to Persia not too long ago and in a similar fashion, many many generations had lived near and with the Persian ruins everyday and I had no idea what they were, who built them, or what they were used for. It's a fascinating study in something about human nature it seems.
Visited Rome, there are plaques of people that had died, one said 'I am dead now, you will not get any more rent from me you thieving b d '
haha they had good humour then
Actual god
When I was in Rome I remember seeing that same plaque! Where was that at??
My dad was there during WW II. One of his pictures had a Latin phrase that I think translated to: "The rent is too damned high!"
Well, it's true!
I’m no Rome fanboy but the fact that we are left with this much coliseum after a thousand years of scavenging is a testament to the power of the Romans
The survival of the Pantheon as a building (the one with a hole in the middle of the dome roof) is the most astounding.
a thousand? Make it closer to two thousand.
TRIPLE FOR THE EGYPTIANS
@@khubza8999 Yeah but it’s also way harder to scavenge most of those.
@@khubza8999 if you talk about piramid, they are just stones on stones while colosseum is a building not a pile of rocks
This happened to my city's castle. It was, apparently, a huge fortress once possibly larger than the Tower of London, but over the centuries the cityfolk took it upon themselves to strip the stones from the castle bare. What was left of it was turned into a prison, but then they knocked down large parts of that and rebuilt a more modern prison there. Now all that remains is part of the outer wall and the castle gate.
Which city is that?
@@EskimoPagan Gloucester
@@keighlancoe5933 -cester as in castra? Ironic.
@@lilianlepesme6935 indeed, our city was named after its castle as it was such a distinguishing feature. Gloucester in Old English meant 'Brightcastle,' but we never got around to updating the name into Modern English.
@@keighlancoe5933 It's so goddamn depressing stuff like that has to happen
visiting the colosseum is number one on my bucket list. it's so insane to me that people so many years ago build something so beautiful, albeit for something horrible
I’d rather see a night of the Aurora Borealis. I think that would be so awesome.
@@smelltheglove2038 i really wanna see that too!! i'm just really interested in history (i even wanna become an archeologist lol) especially ancient rome. and my irl name literally means 'rome' so it was meant to be lmao
@@odetoclear to be fair, I’ve been all over italy from Sardinia to Venice to Sicily, and yes Rome. Some gypsies stole my sunglasses (I bought Versace sunglasses while I was in Milan) right off the top of my head while I was in Rome. Mofos are slick let me tell ya.
@@smelltheglove2038 oh damn, sorry to hear that,,, i'll make sure to walk around with my hand pressed against my face if i ever visit lol
@@odetoclear I was wearing them on the top of my head, hahaha, not on my eyes. I think any tourist area in Europe is going to have an issue with pick pockets. Keep vigilant is all.
A similar thing happened to Hadrian's Wall in Britannia. It was gradually scavenged by locals, farmers, and the clergy to make farm walls, houses, churchs, roads, etc. Until the Hadrian's Wall was no more than waist height, as we see it today.
The Egyptian paramedics were scavenged for the outer coating to At the time they were in the mind that they were recycling blocks of stone Like salvaging bricks or copper from old houses
Now that explains why it's that tall. Thank you sir.
yes...it's more like Hadrian's Hedge at this point.
Lot of its ungrounded too and some sections just aren't there
@@tmb1065 so it's cool if we eat all the voice actors after ai replaces them?
Can you imagine seeing the Colloseum for the first time, in its hay day? Incredible!
it could mean its your last day too lol like walking into hell
A very interesting story! The Colosseum must have been an incredibly spectacular building in it’s early days when covered with massive amounts of travertine and marble, enough to build many of Rome’s churches after being scavenged! The stories of squatters living in the halls and rooms for centuries was also an amazing story. Thanks for the education.
You're very welcome!
Their life expectancy mustve been high if even the homeless people lived for centuries
@@mpforeverunlimited Average life expectancy back then was 42 y/o; lucky if they weren't fed to the lions at the Coliseum!
Imagine what it must have looked like when it was painted
@@bobboscarato1313 That’s not exactly correct. The high infant mortality rate skews the average life expectancy. If you survived to adulthood you were likely to live a full human lifespan, about 60 to 70 years.
The fact that the original use of the coloseum was forgotten so quickly really makes you realise the importance of libraries and preserving information
It also makes me incredibly grateful that our ways have changed and that we're preserving these great structuers and that we managed to recover their historical pasts
These buildings have witnessed the rise and fall of many empires and countries, they've witnessed the fall of rome and how Latin slowly changed into italian and almost most impressive of all imo, they've witnessed a world before christianity was even a thing.
Oh what I would pay to hear these walls talk
If you go and visit St. Peter's you are going to look at quite a lot of stone that was removed from the Colosseum.
Yep - the tour guide at the Vatican said lots of travertine from the colosseum was used to build the Vatican. She said their are queries less than a hundred miles away but the materials at the colosseum were free.
And many villages used stones from their abandoned castles. Heck... they would use whatever they could find, including human bones to build walls.
@J J and catholicism brought paedophilia as a new sport
@@jtwood4925 quarries
@@positivelycurvedpikachu Ah yes... Definitely a "new" sport that wasn't there centuries before.
I have always wondered why the Colosseum looks like this. This is brilliant and I thank you very much for posting. I had no idea that people lived there after the Roman era! Fab!!
Glad you enjoyed the video!
My one last meme brain cell: “they took the other half to the eastern Rome capital, Constantinople”
😳😂😂😂😂 they what?
OMG UR SO FUNNY I GET IT 🦍😭😭😭😭😭😂😭😂😭😂😭😭😂😭😂😭😂😭😂😭😭😂😭😂😭😂😐
@@edzpaiva2695 goods shit post mate.
Well done. :)
@@UriahD85 ?
@@edzpaiva2695 if you don't get it. Then it wasn't for you
I was at the Castel San Angelo recently in Rome, and was curious why there were a lot of holes all along the inner walls. Thanks for giving me the answer that scavengers were digging out iron in the walls.
The Popes also wanted to save the remnants of the Colosseum as a memorial to the early Christians that were said to have been sacrificed and martyred there.
@@victoriamarie35 : so much wrong with your view its hard to know where to start, so I will not.
@@victoriamarie35 nice cherrypicking dude.
@@victoriamarie35 based
Im in the minority here when I say that it would of been better torn down and rebuilt into a cathedral. I mean it's ugly as hell and was a crime against humanity.
@@JohnSmith-dd8bf : you have a point, but there are plenty of empty cathedrals. They can at least have a concert or gathering here.
Surprisingly, I had never even considered the question before. great video
Glad you enjoyed it!
He reminds me of Mark Felton. Asnwering the questions you didn't even know you had lol.
What I loved about the Colosseum when I visited it many years ago is that in walking through the inner passageways and up the stairs I was stuck by how much was simply a football stadium. It all looked familiar!
What happened to the missing half of the Colosseum?
British museum: *sweats uncontrolably*
Sweat*
@@Nk-go7zx I was scratching my head about this one. Thanks!
@@Nk-go7zx haha thank you
@@hudzgh is that sarcasm is smell
@@Nk-go7zx I*
In addition to ancient ruins, Rome is full of beautiful medieval and Renaissance period stonework in which one can see a noticeable percentage having been salvaged from other structures or ruins…a fair amount probably having come from the Colosseum.
I do however think that the Pantheon is the greatest building still with us dating from Ancient Rome.
That’s the most I’ve ever learned about the Colosseum, thanks so much! Really interesting history.
When I was in Rome it was explained that much of the Bronze in the Vatican was pillaged from the Colosseum. This was specifically mentioned with regard to St. Peter's Baldachin, but given that that was not constructed until the 17th century, I am a bit sceptical of the claim.
I did hear that the copper on the Pantheon roof was brought to the Vatican to make the magnificent bronze Canopy over the High altar of St. Peter's.
Doesn’t have to be a flashy video to be perfectly informative! Appreciate the education 🙏🏾
This was very interesting for me. I had no idea the colosseum had churches etc inside of it.
Glad you enjoyed the video!
It's actually sacred for the church and Christian's because of the amount of Christian's killed and sacrificed in there by the Roman pagans.
@@ic.xc. based Nero and Diocletian
@@Dimitri88888888 Not ‘based’ lolz but persecutors who would’ve killed your family in a heartbeat 🤷🏻
@@ic.xc. ultra based
I have a thumbs up strictly for clicking on this, opening the video description, and seeing that he put the answer right there at the top as the “short answer”. I respect that and appreciate that he saved my time.
The nararrator is such a huge nerd I love it! Great video essay!
Rome is a time capsule .Such amazing buildings.When you walk on its stoned roads you can still feel the chariots and horses along with the bustling of old roman soldiers chasing down their enemies.Anyway thats what i felt after a few splifs in my ancestors place.Love Rome , Live in Rome ,will die in Rome.
Haha nice
Did you recreate the centuries of murdering women children and enslavement of virtually all of Europe and Africa...🤔
@@johntruxal432 sorry but i did not feel that at all.Im sure your statement can be true in any place whether back in time or in the present.Isis was doing this stuff in the last 5 years but i bet you made no mention to anyone about that, did you john ?
@@muzzamoose Sure 500+ years the roman empire enslaved and murdered is very similar to isis for the past 15 years or so.... Obviously England and Spain had a few more years colonizing the world and doing the same atrocities(by the millions) as the romans but don't be delusional about them...
Or be delusional...
@@johntruxal432 poor john you sound very bitter about what the Romans did in the past.Were your ancestors affected john ? Do you have nightmares about all this.I hope your not an american john, hell what that country has done globally over 100 years is worse than what was done in the past by any nation or army.What are you john as you know who i am and i aint delusionally?
Funny thing. I asked this to my history teacher around 20 years ago and he told me that it was a good question that he didn't know but if I wanted to bring a small presentation about it I would get additional points. I really didn't need the points since I had been good at history but did it anyways. Apparently because of this I had been the only or among the only students from this teacher and class that had not only gotten a perfect mark but a "110" mark.
Good on you!
Nerd
Don't stop there, tell us more. As a result you went on to become.....
More knowledgeable than me.
History what a great teacher!
You have no idea how long I've been looking for a channel like this. So happy you do this. You're work is great!
Thank you for a very interesting and informative video. The same thing happened to the Roman Hadrian's wall, which runs across the width of the UK in Northumberland. Many stones have been taken over hundreds of years in the building of local villages and cottages etc.
I ask questions like this all the time, only at school I was told to shut up and stop asking questions.
Fortunately, TH-cam is more understanding
“The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.” ―George Orwell
Sounds like school
No teacher does this and if they do you have to report it.
That didnt happen though
Thanks Toldin, great to know it was locally recycled. What is left seems magical enough to grasp the scale. I find it hard to grasp a building so large was possible with man,oxen and horsepower. Romanus Invictus.
Excellent information. I now see it is more relevant to ask why a portion is amazingly still there rather than why is there a large part missing. Makes perfect sense.
Glad you enjoyed the video!
Went to Rome. Touched the stones and centuries of history went through my fingertips . Forza Italia. !!!!!!
We’ve been to this building and the size of it amazes me. We are going back to Rome in March,and will be back to the colosseum.
I'd guessed it was stone scavengers, but hadn't thought about earthquakes, or the Pope's protection. Had the good fortune to visit the Colosseum years ago. Astonishing construction. Interesting video, thanks. Subbed.
Thank you. I have often wondered about the history of the Colosseum. Keep the videos coming.
We have all seen the colloseum in photos and videos all our lives, but when one stops and thinks about it, its absolutely amazing how far ahead of its time it actually was.
I appreciate the fact that the building still stands. Period
In 61 and 62, I walked the rim of the Colosseum several times, to the consternation of the police/guards. I was five and six at the time, "navy brat" stationed in Barcelona a couple years, then Naples. It was positively awe inspiring then, and again in 82, when I saw it, at a port of call in Naples, as a Marine, on my way to Beirut. None of it's majesty had left in those two decades. It's interesting to finally know why "it's half there", not at all as I expected. Thanks. Semper Fi
@@ezicarus8216 shut up
When you say walk the rim do you mean all the way on top?
@@ezicarus8216 shut up
@@user-nj1zu2nf1x As best I remember, it was the whole of it, climbing the broken parts being the best part. I was five or so, and I've been back once, on my way to Beirut, in 82, saw it in passing, on my way for a steak at the Petty Officer's club, been at sea three months, ready for boots on the ground. Semper Fi, John
That's cool and all...
But why did you end with Semper Fi?
I’ve never questioned this till now. I feel like this is something I’ve should of asked before!
I think it would be interesting to explore also what were the legends and the alternative explanations for the Colosseum during the deep Middle Ages.
There's one in "De Naturis Rerum" by Alexander Neckam which I love: it mentions that the Colosseum used to have brass statues each representing a region of the Roman Empire and holding a bell, and when trouble or revolts arose in those regions, to send a signal, the bell on the statue would start ringing. This was called the "Salvatio Romae", apparently.
Walks past the colosseum, doesn’t ask or wonder. Moves back to the states, clicks on video because I am now wondering why there is half of a colosseum.. 👀
Should have turned your phone off 🤔
Sounds like an American, alright. 🤦🏻♂️
There is no missing half, the way you see it now is exactly the way it was when it was first built.
@@joelombardi7283 I had three kids and one on the way. I was smart enough to carry a small purse with my phone inside
@@bradl8887 sounds like I was busy with three kids my feet hurt and I had a baby inside of me
When I was there I saw a sign detailing all that about the reuse and the earthquake. It also had the uses of it over the ages. Really cool to see if any of you ever get to.
I have been to Rome twice I have been in the coliseum it's incredible to look up at the sky and think that slaves and gladiators that was the last thing they saw it's so mystical historical and atmospheric very haunting a time capsule great will never forget it from David trevena
Rome is a amazing city. To many people trying to get in your way to sell you stuff though.
In Italy exist a famous quote in latin “Quod non fecerunt barbari, fecerunt Barberini” that means “what wasn’t made by barbarians, was made by Barberini” that was the family of Pope Urban VIII. He was responsible of destroying for re-use of lots material from ancient Rome buildings.
One documentary showed apparently having boats floating in centre, showing old sea battles.
Only in the first decade or so. This was before the Hypogaem (basement) was excavated and finished, after that, mock sea battles stopped.
@@barryallenporter8127 I was wandering how they filled it with water while having passages underneath
They should restore the whole thing the way it was when new, using a giant 3D printer.
In a way I think that would be really awesome.
It would cost more to build that printer that it would to restore it with methods already used
@@tyjomello lmao
The stones couldn't take the load. Without concrete reinforcements, half of it would have fallen down years ago. The walls are not even strong enough to bear the weight of the cloth canopy that once covered it.
I'm just here to say that you are doing a great job and I'm gonna subscribe in hopes of you making more similar content. If I may suggest, make something about aquaducts.
Thank you! I have another video coming out in a couple days, and I hope you won't be disappointed. And as for aqueducts, stay tuned...
I was really impressed when I got to go inside the Colosseum when I was 14 years old. It was amazing looking down where the floor of the building should have been and yet I could see all of the rooms and hallways down there. It really was a magnificent building and was very interesting to look at. I was there in 1968.
Always wondered why it looked as though it was sliced off at an angle.
That’s a more modern addition: there is a concrete reinforcing wall now to stabilize what was a crumbling edge.
The Lateran Palace was built by the Laterani Family, who served as administrator to several emperors. Later, Constantine gave it to the Bishop of Rome. After some ups and downs, it was adopted as the Papal Apartments.
When I was in Rome we were told the Popes stripped most of the marble for their own buildings. Over the centuries, old buildings have always been a source of building materials for the locals.
The most impressive leaving a metro station in my life, was leaving the metro at collusium. You literally get out, and there it is, right in front of you. It's awe inspiring!
Kinda the same leaving the train station in Venice. You walk right outside the train station and BOOM....there's the famous Canal ! We had thought it might be some distance from the station. .
@@deb7518 yes, the best thing to do at that point, is jump onto the passenger ferry and arrive in St Marks's Square....
I visited Rome and the Colosseum in 99 or 2000 couldn't get over how spectacular it was even then.It must have been magnificent in its heyday.
All designed without IT.
One of its many impressive design features was its ability to exit its spectators.I believe as fast as or faster than many modern stadia.
Built because they discovered concrete, but you are right in its day it must have been awesome.
You can say what those design features were called, go on, say it. Vomitorium, the root word for our modern English word vomit (to spew forth).
@@anaussie213 i didn't pay enuf attention whilst i was there obviously.
Apparently could seat 55000 in 15 minutes and empty in 5.
Newlands Rugby Stadium in Cape Town wouldnt come anywhere close to that
I'm a structural engineer. IT is not the term you are looking for
"As usual, I am Dr. Garrett Ryan." Hmm, are there some times when you are not Dr. Garrett Ryan?
The answer is in the question: “Unusual times.”
@@Blortoblorto I am going to need some evidence that he is ever not himself before I accept that.
@@GrislyAtoms12 He used to not be a doctor I guess 🤷♂️.
@@callidusvulpes5556 Good point.
he's "big daddy Ryan to his wife"
It was quite rare for Gladiators to actually fight to the death as they were so expensive to train and keep.
Although a bit smaller, the arena in Nimes France is worth visiting. Nimes has a few of the best preserved Roman grand buildings ever constructed. It’s definitely worth the trip!
One big reason the Pontiffs kept the intact part of the Colosseum up was the fact it’s a memorial for the Christians killed during the Roman persecutions, the Pope actually still leads processions for Stations Of The Cross around it to this day
Excellent video and presentation! Thank you for sharing the information :-)
You have to see this amazing structure for yourself! DO NOT go to Italy in the summer!! I went thanksgiving week and there were minimal crowds and the weather was perfect. I was at Trajans forum and there was NOBODY there….nobody.
Extremely interesting, and very clearly explained. Thanks!
It was used as a quarry for the marble to build many buildings around Rome.
Has anyone identified some of the specific buildings built from the removed stone?
The assumption tends to be that almost any Renaissance structure built from travertine contains stone from the Colosseum. Frequently cited examples include the Ponte Sisto and Sant' Agostino.
They used to teach this in school back in the 60s. They called it "World History". My favorite subject.
Cool vibe, Excellent narration, and very informative. Thanks!
They tried to do this with some of the pyramids too IIRC. There is one that's kind of fallen apart because Saladin needed materials for building fortifications. I am actually surprised it wasn't done more in Egypt.
📛🤬 Oh they did FAR too much damage to historical structures in Egypt as it was! Every time I see images of the pyramids, it takes about 1/2 second for me to think about what the pyramids looked like before they ripped off the exterior casing stones, destroying their original appearance. That's when the cringe feeling starts to wash over me....... ☹️
@@HighlanderNorth1 That is true, I was referring to one of the pyramids that's completely robbed. I think the larger pyramids were simply too big to be worth it to pillage for resources. It's worth noting that this was common at the time anywhere, take Hadrian's Wall, which was pillaged for resources after it lost it's purpose. It used to be a functional large wall, and what a sight it must've been at the time to hold off the Picts.
@@Exnem
❓Are you talking about pyramids being "robbed" of the treasures that were stored inside? I was talking about how the casing stones were removed from all 3 major pyramids, from top to bottom, with only 1 of the pyramids still having a little of the original casing stones intact at the top part. They used to be completely smooth and bright white. After building the pyramids main structure, they went back and added "casing stones", which were blocks of bright white limestone, to fill in all the rough appearance left over between the structural blocks.
But between the late 1600s and the late 1800s, people dismantled the outer casing stones that made the pyramids smooth, and used those limestone casing blocks to build many of the buildings in Cairo.
You can actually see the remnants of the casing stones on the top 50 feet or so of Khafre's pyramid, which is one of the 3 main pyramids.
@@HighlanderNorth1 Slight correction, it was Saladin's son and there are theories ranging from resources to idol destruction (I think its most plausible it was resource gathering justified by idol destruction), but I was talking about Pyramid of Menkaure which has a large gash on the side of it if you look it up. They failed in destroying it for resources and just left it with a huge cavity in the middle of it, and thats one of the few times this was done in Egypt. I think the pyramids are just so massive compared to other structures like Roman structures and buildings that the work to dislodge stuff from them just wasn't worth it. That just makes the pyramids more amazing IMO.
They destroyed egypt on purpose
I would absolutely love to see what it looked like when it was in its prime. I think it would have been amazing
I’ve always wondered about why half was only left. Do you know what’s the story about the drum of the Florence duomo and why there’s that portion that doesn’t match?
the Florence duomo is just unfinished:
"In 1515 Baccio d'Agnolo completed the south-east section, but his loggia/gallery attracted far from favourable criticism. Michelangelo, for instance, described it as "gabbia dei grilli" (a cage for crickets). The criticism offended Baccio to such an extent that he downed tools and left the project"
www.picturesfromitaly.com/florence/unfinished-loggia-by-baccio-d-agnolo-cathedral-dome-florence
Thank you, I found out something I was puzzled about. Would like to visit Rome before I die.
No video can capture what it is really like to visit the Colosseum. You look down and see the ruts from the chariots as you come in, and the sights and sounds flood imagination. Every time I entered through the great arch, I could swear I could still hear the cheering crowds. All imagination of course, but Colosseum is one of those places where the very stones seem to speak of all that happened there.
I LOVED being able to run around the Colosseum
and climb right up to the top in Assassin's Creed 2!!!
That's the way to see it!
*Brotherhood
You mean Brotherhood right?
@@ScheveSneeuwSchuifSchep no assassins creed II
@@SeanMacadelic the colosseum is in Rome, AC2 is not set in Rome right?
Fascinating and informative...
Glad to hear it!
Whatever remains of the original its still a marvel. Just to think in my hometown 100 year old buildings are considered historic sites but what about a 2000 year old building. That is yah dropping. The whole forum is a marvel to see.
I was just watching how it was built, and I wondered how it was partially destroyed, thank you.
The thing is, that the iron clamps were not very rare things to dig out, but they were covered in lead, which was extracted. Even without it, Trajans column stands there today. As does the colosseum. Lucky we.
What
Let me try to translate: “Although the iron support pieces were only iron, which isn’t valuable, they were taken for the more valuable dipped lead plating. Fortunately, even without these support pieces, Trajan’s columns still stand to this day.
I was definitely afraid. Possibly even terrified to ask those questions. Thank you so much for your Channel. I don't know if I can learn this type of History without this type of support.
I'm here for you, man. We'll get through this together.
I had a limited time at the colosseum but it was beautiful & grand you could feel the history the arena holds, even with 100s of other tourists.
very intersesting topic, nice vid!
Glad you enjoyed the video!
Saw a documentary once (think it was on History Channel?) wherein they talked about how the Colosseum had more uses than initially thought, and that the games wasn't actually AS bad as what Hollywood later on made it look like it was. For starters, they didn't fight to death (reportedly, that is) and they also had several different games including water sports because they had secret underground tunnels that transported water into the arena. Howbeit the documentary did also talk about how the romans at the time believed in Necromancy and had in fact not one but several shrines dedicated to just that deep down in the catacombs. But, again, all of this is really just what you make of it, I mean the documentary did show several of these places but to which extent they had been used will remain a mystery for all of eternity.
*Edit:* It was on National Geographic, and the documentary is called 'Secrets of the Colosseum in Rome'. Further add, I was confusing the sketch with truTV with the reportings of the documentary; truTV proclaims that gladiators didn't actually fight to the death, whereas National Geographic insists upon (and isn't afraid of showing remains that proves that they did. The documentary is available on TH-cam, should anyone be interested.
It's insane to me that people living in the city of Rome FORGOT what the coliseum was used for and came up with conflicting theories. Like we don't know our own recent history to the point that something so seemingly obvious gets forgotten quickly.
I once taught early elementary grades in Black schools in the ghetto of a southern city. Outside the city I passed cotton fields standing with the cotton unpicked yet. I got out of the car and picked a few branches with the white bolls on them. I took them back to school and showed them to the kids. Not one knew what they were, despite the high likelihood that 200+ years of the ancestors of each of these kids, many generations, spent their lives in misery in the heat, picking cotton in these fields during slavery and later as share croppers. Gone with the wind....
@@margaretlouise6200 Shows how little people communicate with even their families!
People living in the city of Rome weren't necessarily the same ones as during the height of Rome. The city had many periods of growth, stagnation and decline. So many people were newcomers to Rome.
wow, for some reason i was pondering this today and then it just came up in my youtube suggestions
Good job! Would love to see a video on the great hippodrome of Constantinople. Was even more impressive than the colosseum in my opinion
Thank you! And as it happens, you're in luck. I have an old video on the Obelisk of Theodosius and the Hippodrome:
toldinstone.com/the-obelisk-of-theodosius/
If you've ever even remotely considered going to Rome, DO IT. Especially if you're from the USA since we don't have anything remotely close to being as old as Europe has. It was the best trip I've ever taken in my life bar none. I'll always have happy thoughts when I think back to that trip.
When you return, you definetly have to see Pompeii. Words can’t describe how mindblowing this city is. It’s larger than people think, you can’t see everything in a day. But since it’s been uncovered recently and new parts are still being uncovered to this day, the wall paint and frescos inside of people’s houses, adverts on the walls of houses along with contemporary “graffiti” in darker alleys, paintings and writings on the walls on local food establishments… very much of it is still very bright and colorful. It’s very mindblowing. As if life just stopped and it got all frozen in time.
When you born in Rome and you're used to seeing the Colosseum there you look at it without thinking how much historical value it has. then maybe you pass it in the evening and with the city and a little less crowded and you stop for a while to admire it maybe from the side where there is the arch of Trajan and you realize that. it has been there for more than 2000 years and despite having been looted of the statutes that in short some part has been lost for various reasons .. and when you look at it you are totally fascinated by one of the 7 wonders of the world and a UNESCO heritage site .. just think of one thing . thank you mom for making me born a Roman
The tour guide told us all the answers of the collosum when we were in Rome, it was very freaking interesting
That's INCREDIBLE!!!!!
Which part did you not find credible?
I think they ment Awesome! 😏
@@Grovesie35
No shit, dumbass. It’s a joke.
@@TheAurelianProject as in the word awesome has been so over used it has lost all of its original meaning.... Dumb ass.
@@TheAurelianProject Who shat in your breakfast?
Roman joke
A Texas citizen asks a Roman taxi driver to drive him trough the monuments of Rome.
They start their tour with the Vatican.
Texan: “Wonderful, how long did you take to built?”
Taxi driver: “About 150 years”
Texan: “Ahah, in my place it would take a week!”
Then they drive to the Pantheon.
Texan: “Amazing, how long did you take to built?”
Taxi driver: “About 200 years”
Texan: “Ahah, in my country we would have it three days!”
Then they get to the Colosseum.
Texan: “Marvellous, how long did you take to built?”
Taxi driver: “Yesterday it wasn’t here”.
Skip to 5:38 your welcome
I was in Rome this year and I was wondering this! Thank you for the video.