THE COLOSSEUM.
[TO THE EDITOR OF THE SPECTATOR."]
Sur,—There has been a good deal of discussion here regarding- the substructures now being uncovered in the centre of the Colosseum, and as the explanation I ventured to give a short time ago before the Archteological Society has not been contro- verted by any kind of argument, it may seem to you, perhaps, of some interest, as probably throwing a light on the past history of this remarkable building. It may not be easy to make myself perfectly clear to those who have not seen these excavations, but I will be as brief as I can.
These substructures may be roughly described as follows :- There is a main passage, along the major axis, connecting the two principal entrances. On each side of this there are three or four parallel walls, and outside of these, three or four curved walls, conforming to the oval of the Amphitheatre. The space within these walls is partly free for passages, and partly occupied by chambers formed by intersecting walls. Looking down upon these substructures from the upper seats of the amphitheatre, the plan is seen to be quite symmetrical. This conformity in dimensions and contour to the amphitheatre surrounding them at once disposes of the view held by some that these buildings are mediaeval, of the time of the Frangipani, when the Colosseum was converted by them into a fortress. I must use the same argument to oppose the view held by a very eminent authority, whose opinions carry much weight, that at least a portion of them are of an early date, probably of the time of Julius Caesar. They are very roughly put together, the stone had previously been used for other purposes, and they would be a very bad specimen of Republican architecture. But as we see that they are the nucleus or kernel of a large amphitheatre, if they are of an early date they must have been surrounded by a shell of the same date. Now history and tradition are entirely silent regarding any Julian amphitheatre on this site. And would not any building of the Republican period on this site have been swept away by Nero to make room for his house? Does not Mr. Parker also tell us that a portion of Nero's house was swept away by Vespasian to make way for his amphitheatre ? We may there- fore, I think, consider it established that these substructures are neither of mediaeval origin nor older than the amphitheatre which surrounds them ; and as to the site, we had better perhaps accept Martian's account, that where the Flavian amphitheatre now • See Lord Aberdeen's letter to Lord John Russell, of February 28, 1854. (Extract.)
stands there was formerly a lake, below the golden house of Nero, where, no doubt, the spectacle of naval combats was frequently witnessed, and about which the amphitheatre for the spectators was probably constructed of wood, or formed out of the slopes descending to the lake.
Now, in order to answer the remaining question,—Were they built with the rest of the amphitheatre, or at some subsequent period? I must ask you, for the convenience of my argument, to suppose for a few moments that the whole of them have been swept away, and that we are standing on the open, brick-paved area in the centre of the building, at the time of its dedication by Titus. On looking about us, the only openings apparent are at the sides and ends. The perpendicular wall all round rises to a height of more than twenty feet, and then the seats commence. In this wall we see two ranges of arched cells, the lower on a level with the area. Projecting from the wall, on a level with the floors of the upper row of cells (about twelve feet above the area) .are large corbels, in pairs. There is this difference to be observed in the construction of these cells, that in the upper tier only is there any square opening at the back, communicating with a corridor. When, therefore, the amphitheatre was flooded for a naumachia, as it no doubt often was at its first construction, the water could fill the lower range of cells without finding any -outlet here, but only at the entrances, up which it might be allowed to flow a certain distance to assist in launching the galleys. In this open sea, on which, as Dion Cassius tells us, 3,000 men were sometimes engaged, the galleys would have free play for their oars, and for any manoeuvres that the mimic combat required. On other days, or even on the same day, when the spectacle was to be that of gladiatorial combats or fights with wild beasts, the stage was formed by wheeling in wooden structures for central supports (rather less than twelve feet in height, and therefore not formidable structures to wheel in), and by -carrying across, from the upper surface of the corbels, the plat- form (freely sanded) to be termed the arena. I have mentioned that the upper tier of cells have their floors on a level with the upper surface of the corbels, and are, therefore, now on a level with the arena. From these the wild beasts would be admitted upon the stage, whilst others would be introduced in cages below the arena, to ascend when required by inclined planes, and make their appearance through trap-doors.
This, I must remind you, would be the state of things before the substructures we now find were built. Some years later, after the time of Commodus, the taste for nautical combats must have declined, or it was found necessary to do away with them, to carry out improvements which were necessary to satisfy still stronger tastes for the combats of men and wild beasts. It was then that the passages and chambers which are now being un- covered were built. As the wooden contrivances for supporting the arena would now be superseded by walls, it was possible to raise the level of the arena, and we find, accordingly, that the walls upon which the planks and platforms now rested are all -of the same height as the perpendicular side of the amphitheatre. The corbels would be no longer required, and we find, therefore, that the wall (or arches) of the new work nearest to them is built aip in entire disregard of them, the piers in many places pressing upon them or incorporating them, and in short, rendering them henceforth useless. This alone seems to me to establish con- clusively that these substructures are later than the amphitheatre as originally constructed. Thus, from the terre-pleine of the amphi- theatre, over the tops of the walls, as I have said, a permanent wooden arena was now constructed, and where the stone coping is still in its place the grooves are to be seen in which the beams rested. A protection for the spectators of boarding or netting would now be required, and we see the large grooves between the corbels in which strong posts might be embedded for this purpose, and perhaps also to support the inner edge of the velarium.
I have now to explain how the beasts were admitted to these passages and chambers, and so passed on to the stage. Opposite to the ordinary entrance to the Colosseum a long gallery has been discovered, running into the country, under the arches of the amphitheatre. Standing under the exterior arch, and looking towards the interior of the building, we see on either hand a chamber with a circular socket, lined with bronze, in the floor, rather at the back, where the chambers have recesses. On passing under the second arch, we see a similar chamber on each hand, also with sockets in a similar position. On passing under the third arch, we find on each hand a passage turning off at right angles, and then again turning and descending to the level of the basement. Along the centre of these passages there are six sockets. On entering the basement and passing round the oval
corridors, or advancing up the straight passages, and even in the cross passages connecting these corridors, we find, in the centre of all these, at regular intervals, precisely similar bronze-lined sockets. Now, the eminent authority I have alluded to above is of opinion that these sockets in the basement were for capstans, by which lifts for the cages of the animals were raised. The number of the sockets, the want of space, and the mechanical difficulties in applying vertical capstans for such a purpose render this view quite untenable. A better suggestion has been made, —that they were for masts or posts on which the arena was sup- ported. But as they would be required for this purpose only before the substructures were built, it would be a remarkable coin- cidence if the proper position of these walls, when they came to be built, should have left these sockets occupying the centre of all the passages. Then we have seen that there are similar sockets in the corridors leading down into the basement, which could have been wanted neither for capstans nor for masts. But these corridors, it is urged, were boat-houses, and the sockets here had something to do with the cradles for the galleys. This is mere guess-work. They are almost certainly of the same age, and for the same purposes, as those in the basement, and I have shown that these must have been placed there after the area had ceased to be flooded. But let us step a few paces back, and we find them again in the chambers which we first entered, where it cannot be said that they could be wanted either for capstans, or for masts, or for the cradles of galleys. The most probable use for all these sockets was suggested to me from what I learnt on a visit not long ago to Cincinnati. The chief manufacture of this place is bacon, and thousands of pigs are, I believe, daily slaughtered there. They are controlled and handled with pre- cision and swiftness by being driven into a series of small pens, separated by doors revolving on a pivot, a kind of turnstile. As the contents of one pen are despatched the doors revolve, and a fresh batch of victims are induced to go forward. Now, revolvimie, doors could not have been unknown in Rome. They were pro- bably not first invented even by the Greeks, who certainly used them. Here, then, we have the most probable explanation of the numerous sockets in the substructures of the Colosseum. From the menagerie of the Cmlian, or brought in cages from the country, the wild beasts were introduced by the central passage into the chambers and passages leading out of it, and by means of the revolving doors, they were safely urged forward into the various passages and chambers in the basement until their presence was required on the stage. Or they were wheeled, still in their cages, up to the tramway, and along this they would be drawn, to be turned loose into the nearest spare chamber or pen. This tramway is one of the most interesting things brought into view. With a narrow, raised footpath on each side, it entirely fills the central passage, and is evidently intended for heavy weights, with sleepers and strong longitudinal ties or rails, like a modern work. The level of the arena would be reached in the centre by several permanent inclined planes, as we clearly see from what remains of them. As the animals were required upon the stage, the doors of the pens nearest to the inclined planes would be turned, and the beasts would at once spring upwards to the light coming through the trap-doors.—I am, Sir, &c., Rome, February 22. ALFRED PEARSON, Lieutenant-Colonel.
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