A large stone block with an iron fitting fastened into the surface was discovered in the centre of the Chester Amphitheatre. Experts believe that it forms part of a row of anchor points to fasten victims in gladiatorial games. Credit: English Heritage
An artist's impression of Chester's Amphitheatre, the grandeur of which was seldom found north of the Alps. Credit: Julian Baum
Detail from a mosaic discovered at a Roman Villa at Bignor, West Sussex, showing two gladiators fighting across a stone block very similar to the one discovered. Credit: The Tupper FamilyGLADIATORS WERE HERE, NEW EVIDENCE IN CHESTER SHOWS
English Heritage and Chester City Council to Host International Symposium on Amphitheatres
Gladiatorial games actually took place in Chester Amphitheatre, the largest in Roman Britain, according to new evidence which experts believe provide the most conclusive proof to date that activities there went beyond ceremonial military displays.
Archaeologists from English Heritage and Chester City Council have unearthed an important piece of arena furniture in the centre of the amphitheatre in the form a large stone block, with an iron fitting fastened into the surface. Two similar blocks were found in the northern half of the arena in the 1960s. The discovery of the third at the centre is significant because it allows the conclusion that these are evenly spaced to form a row of anchor points, possibly five, along the long axis of the arena for chaining victims, whether animal or human, during spectacles.
A pair of gladiators fighting across a very similar block with an iron ring in the top was depicted on a mosaic from the Roman villa at Bignor, West Sussex. There was a special type of gladiator, the bestiarius, who was trained to handle and fight all sorts of animals.
Dan Garner, an archaeologist with Chester City Council, said: “Any thought that Chester’s amphitheatre was used purely for military purposes such as military tattoos or drill practice can now be firmly banished. Up to now, we have found human and animal remains to suggest that gladiatorial games may have taken place, but the discovery of the third chain block put that suggestion almost beyond doubt. I daresay that people met a rather brutal end in Chester’s arena some 1,900 years ago.”
Tony Wilmott, an archaeologist at English Heritage, said: “There are still a number of questions – whether humans or animals were chained, whether the chains were long or short, or whether the chains passed through the ring on the stone allowing a degree of free movement. It is possible that the blocks were also used for displaying exotic animals or for executing criminals who would be cast into the arena together with violent beasts.
“What is certain is the Romans’ flair for mass entertainment. By chaining victims to these blocks along the long axis, they are trying to make sure that spectators have the maximum view of whatever was happening and preventing victims from sheltering against the arena wall, where they could be seen by only half of the audience.”
New excavations also shed fresh light on the architecture of the amphitheatre. Evidence for eight vomitoria, or vaulted stairways serving as entrances to the auditorium, was found. These stairways open out directly towards the street and were evenly spaced around the amphitheatre with two in each quadrant.
This suggests that the outer wall was very high. But what is most stunning is the discovery of two foundation stones that formed the base for substantial half-columns. If there were one storey of such columns, laws of proportion would demand that there should be two with an entablature resting on top. Further analysis of the architectural scheme according to classical proportions has enabled English Heritage to reconstruct the height and grandeur of the amphitheatre. It shows that it had a highly elaborate two-storeyed stone decorative treatment on the exterior, which is extraordinary and seldom found north of the Alps. Its closest parallels are the Colosseum itself in Rome and the amphitheatre of El Djem, Tunisia.
These important discoveries are among the most recent findings made by English Heritage and Chester City Council as part of their collaborative excavation and landscape study at Chester’s Roman amphitheatre. They will be presented at an international symposium to be held in Chester on 17 and 18 February, 2007.
Tony Wilmott, chair of the symposium, said: “These findings will not only change the way historians think about Roman Chester, but will engender very interesting discussions on the social and cultural meaning of amphitheatres and arena spectacles across the whole of the Roman Empire.”
The symposium, entitled ‘Roman Amphitheatres and Spectacula: a 21st century perspective’, will cover all aspects of Roman amphitheatres and the spectacles that took place in them. Speakers who will discuss the discovery of new amphiheatre sites and recent excavation and survey work at amphitheatres both at the frontier and centre of the Roman Empire. They will also examine the architecture and planning of the buildings, functional, religious and social aspects, the organisation of the spectacles, and gladiatorial death and burial.
English Heritage and Chester City Council to Host International Symposium on Amphitheatres
Gladiatorial games actually took place in Chester Amphitheatre, the largest in Roman Britain, according to new evidence which experts believe provide the most conclusive proof to date that activities there went beyond ceremonial military displays.
Archaeologists from English Heritage and Chester City Council have unearthed an important piece of arena furniture in the centre of the amphitheatre in the form a large stone block, with an iron fitting fastened into the surface. Two similar blocks were found in the northern half of the arena in the 1960s. The discovery of the third at the centre is significant because it allows the conclusion that these are evenly spaced to form a row of anchor points, possibly five, along the long axis of the arena for chaining victims, whether animal or human, during spectacles.
A pair of gladiators fighting across a very similar block with an iron ring in the top was depicted on a mosaic from the Roman villa at Bignor, West Sussex. There was a special type of gladiator, the bestiarius, who was trained to handle and fight all sorts of animals.
Dan Garner, an archaeologist with Chester City Council, said: “Any thought that Chester’s amphitheatre was used purely for military purposes such as military tattoos or drill practice can now be firmly banished. Up to now, we have found human and animal remains to suggest that gladiatorial games may have taken place, but the discovery of the third chain block put that suggestion almost beyond doubt. I daresay that people met a rather brutal end in Chester’s arena some 1,900 years ago.”
Tony Wilmott, an archaeologist at English Heritage, said: “There are still a number of questions – whether humans or animals were chained, whether the chains were long or short, or whether the chains passed through the ring on the stone allowing a degree of free movement. It is possible that the blocks were also used for displaying exotic animals or for executing criminals who would be cast into the arena together with violent beasts.
“What is certain is the Romans’ flair for mass entertainment. By chaining victims to these blocks along the long axis, they are trying to make sure that spectators have the maximum view of whatever was happening and preventing victims from sheltering against the arena wall, where they could be seen by only half of the audience.”
New excavations also shed fresh light on the architecture of the amphitheatre. Evidence for eight vomitoria, or vaulted stairways serving as entrances to the auditorium, was found. These stairways open out directly towards the street and were evenly spaced around the amphitheatre with two in each quadrant.
This suggests that the outer wall was very high. But what is most stunning is the discovery of two foundation stones that formed the base for substantial half-columns. If there were one storey of such columns, laws of proportion would demand that there should be two with an entablature resting on top. Further analysis of the architectural scheme according to classical proportions has enabled English Heritage to reconstruct the height and grandeur of the amphitheatre. It shows that it had a highly elaborate two-storeyed stone decorative treatment on the exterior, which is extraordinary and seldom found north of the Alps. Its closest parallels are the Colosseum itself in Rome and the amphitheatre of El Djem, Tunisia.
These important discoveries are among the most recent findings made by English Heritage and Chester City Council as part of their collaborative excavation and landscape study at Chester’s Roman amphitheatre. They will be presented at an international symposium to be held in Chester on 17 and 18 February, 2007.
Tony Wilmott, chair of the symposium, said: “These findings will not only change the way historians think about Roman Chester, but will engender very interesting discussions on the social and cultural meaning of amphitheatres and arena spectacles across the whole of the Roman Empire.”
The symposium, entitled ‘Roman Amphitheatres and Spectacula: a 21st century perspective’, will cover all aspects of Roman amphitheatres and the spectacles that took place in them. Speakers who will discuss the discovery of new amphiheatre sites and recent excavation and survey work at amphitheatres both at the frontier and centre of the Roman Empire. They will also examine the architecture and planning of the buildings, functional, religious and social aspects, the organisation of the spectacles, and gladiatorial death and burial.
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