Ancient Romans liked practical jokes. I can imagine announcer announcing some mythical wild beast to get crowd excited, and up comes a single rabbit chained to the platform.
I can see them putting some random animal no one has ever seen, i shut my pants if I was a Roman and saw a platypus. Those things are freaky, can’t trust em
The Colosseum is fantastic, one of the most famous icons in history. But to admire the undergrounds you have to visit the amphitheater of Pozzuoli (Puteoli in ancient Rome, when it was its port) because here they are practically new and it is still possible to admire all the mechanisms that were used for the management of beasts and gladiators. In addition, there are also almost all the columns and capitals that worshiped the matroneum in the upper ring.
WOW with the naval pirate like battles in the colosseum, quite astonishing and I never knew they did that, as in the naval fighting, astonishing and very cool.
I visited the coliseum as a young man. I did not understand what I was seeing. I was disappointed as I wanted to imagine battling gladiators. After watching this video, I would like to see it again.
I came across your channel a few weeks ago but, I really enjoy your content and just wanted to say keep up the great work and hope you and anyone reading this is doing well!
Your channel is by far my favorite on RU-vid! I visited Italy & Greece in 2018 on a high school trip, and I wish I had watched your videos before I went! You have such an amazing way of immersing viewers in the topic, I can imagine myself standing back in Rome, Pompeii, Athens etc etc. Please be my Classics prof!!!!
I've never been able to understand how the flooded colosseum worked. How could that much water not flood the maze beneath the colosseum? And were the ships placed above ground before the water was? If not, how on Earth did they manoeuvre it onto the stage and not cause water to flood everything beneath?
When the Colosseum was first built, the Hypogeum was much simpler. After the passages we see today were completed, the naumachiae stopped. Some archaeologists think that the ships were launched from blocks under the arena, floating up as the water level rose.
When the coliseum was flooded, the maze beneath was almost certainly flooded as well. They stopped doing the water world stuff, and then came the complex underground chambers.
@@1watchall “sounds from like almost as terrifying as being up top” is a grammatical nightmare. its not that i cant make sense of it, its that its terrible english. You are pathetic if you want to defend it as good english
Aw man, hurry up September. I want to read this book now, I feel like I'm getting spoilers for the juicy information... but also don't want to miss a video.
I've had difficulty getting down there even with a guide. Apparently they have an annual quota that they allow down there. In ancient times (like in the 1960's), anyone could just go down there anytime they wanted.
I had visited this place in Rome,Italy. I couldn't imagine how these slaves & wild animals could have had been to battle between them & humans. To say that I have been here is just a dream. My family comes from north of Rome, near Tuscany. This is just another homecoming for me. My ancestors come from part of this area. Seeing all the backstreet of these ancient buildings. Wow! When our state borders reopen up again most overseas visitors will travel to Australia and to New Zealand.
I was there in 1980 & nobody was allowed down there. I actually snuck in by climbing those 4m iron gates that fill most of the archways...hey,i was 17,gimme a break
I work in entertainment production and have always loved getting lost in the back corridors of event venues, especially theaters which often have corridors and storage rooms underneath and elevating stages. But I don't think it would have been quite so fun at this venue.
I love how from some debris clogging the sewers archeologists could deduce what they ate and played in the colosseum. Other people might just think of it as dirt, but to scientists dirt can give hints to happenings millenia ago
If you did a video of the big and small, say the Colossus of Sol/Nero in life size, the the dimensions on coins and/or intaglio, and other comparisons that would be a different take. Also a video about how Romans of means used lavish art and decoration as a means to overwhelm the senses and intimidate, especially the life-size colored statues and busts of the deceased looking at every visitor. Spooksville lol
1 They weren't massive ships but smaller copies build for just being used in the Colosseum. 2 Rome had a lot of aquaducts for its water supply, it was just a matter of diverting one to the arena.
Hi Garrett. Love your videos. Your book is still showing up in the Apple book store as a pre-order, "Expected September 1, 2021". Any way to get that moved up?
4:47 - You wouldn't have been able to see the skylights from there because there'd be a ceiling about a foot over your head (that 2nd set of arches is a separate floor and it's that floor that would maybe have been exposed to the "skylights").
@@toldinstone Yeah, sry I know that one was a non-issue/didn't require actual "correction" but I just can't resist trying to add/contribute sometimes if I think I see an opportunity...
Dear Dr. Ryan: I LOVE the content of your presentations. Sadly, your speaking pattern, consisting of pauses separating rushes of hurried words is often difficult for me to understand. I don't wish to miss any part of your excellent programs. Would it be possible for you to slow down?
I just watched your “how did romans get their animals” and wondered and have always wondered.. “how did they organize under the Colosseum?” And “how did they keep the roof on with all that crazy stuff going on?”
Standing on a piece of history, how many eyes stared up at those ancient walls before their skulls gave way to a battle axe? Or their entrails skidded across the floor at the plunging of a steel blade? The most famous graveyard in the world.
It is difficult to believe the Colosseum was built upon Niro's lake and palace grounds. That probably explains the existence of the source of water to flood the colosseum for naval shows? On the other hand, there was a large aqueduct serving Palatine Hill in the vicinity. Cannot imagine how many millions of gallons of water was necessary to maintain a "Lake" inside the Colosseum. The water level must have been just enough to float ships (Shallow) and also messy for workers below in the Hypogeum? Wow.
We are used to things happening quickly but it must have taken a year or years to clear out the water from the passageways after flooding the arena. Then imagine the humidity and mold that formed down there afterwards. I hadn't considered the darkness either. It must have been like descending into hell to go down there.
You state that a few months ago the subterranean levels were open to the public for the 1st time. Were they closed for a time? I ask because I took a tour of the subterranean levels back in 2011.
@@toldinstone I see. Yeah, I couldn't tell you how much of the sub-levels we saw...seemed like a lot. But I doubt it was the entire thing. I know we paid extra $ to go below. Thanks for the reply!
