{"id":537,"date":"2023-03-28T09:18:27","date_gmt":"2023-03-28T08:18:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress-1074717-3818660.cloudwaysapps.com\/?page_id=537"},"modified":"2026-01-26T17:11:42","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T16:11:42","slug":"basements","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/colosseo-roma.it\/en\/explore\/coliseum\/basements\/","title":{"rendered":"Underground"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Underground of the Colosseum<\/h1>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Colosseum and Underground<\/h4>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The elliptical shape of the Colosseum was realised using a sophisticated 4-centred geometric procedure and was also taken up by the arena floor by adopting a masonry mixed with a wooden planking that was covered with sand. Under the arena's planking were spacious underground service rooms that were built after the Emperor Domitian.<\/p>

Previously, the arena could be flooded to host naumachiae or shows with swimmers, as reported by Martial in his book De spectaculis. A large part of the dungeon is still visible today from above and one can see a wide corridor along the major axis that divides the area into two lateral semicircles traversed by twelve curvilinear corridors. Along the perimeter wall are a series of vaulted service rooms that probably housed the animals used during the games, together with scenery.<\/p>

The corridor along the main axis of the ellipse ended with two galleries that open inside the concrete donut forming the foundations of the amphitheatre. Two other galleries along the minor axis of the ellipse, one in the direction of the Colle Oppio and one in the direction of the Caelian, have not yet been excavated. A fifth tunnel, located along wedge V below the imperial stage, was built in Domitian times and was probably an access route reserved exclusively for the emperor and directly connected to some imperial buildings in the area of the Temple of Claudius on the Caelian.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Colosseum and Underground<\/h4>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Underneath the four tunnels along the two axes are hydraulic conduits, which were indispensable for the disposal of rainwater and latrine drains. Speleo-subaque explorations have led to the discovery of other large conduits, which were found under the Colosseum and were probably part of the system of conduits that fed the lake built for Nero's residence.<\/p>

The hydraulic structure of the Colosseum is still very complex and not completely understood. Externally to the amphitheatre a tunnel was found at a depth of 8 metres from the ground level of the square that surrounds the whole amphitheatre at about 2-3 metres from its outer perimeter; it is a sewer conduit. Another, smaller, capuchin-vaulted tunnel, located inside the foundation donut at a depth of 2.8 metres, probably housed lead pipes carrying water held under pressure by tanks.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Underground of the Colosseum Colosseum and Underground The elliptical shape of the Colosseum was realised using a sophisticated four-centred geometric procedure, and was also taken up by the floor of the arena by adopting a masonry mixed with a wooden plank that was covered with sand. Under the floorboard of the arena there were spacious underground service rooms that were [...].<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":528,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"no-sidebar","site-content-layout":"page-builder","ast-site-content-layout":"full-width-container","site-content-style":"unboxed","site-sidebar-style":"unboxed","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"disabled","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"disabled","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"iawp_total_views":2160,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-537","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/colosseo-roma.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/colosseo-roma.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/colosseo-roma.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/colosseo-roma.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/colosseo-roma.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=537"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/colosseo-roma.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/537\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/colosseo-roma.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/colosseo-roma.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}