Amphitheater at Augusta Raurica (Illustration)

Illustration

by James Blake Wiener
published on 27 November 2018

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Amphitheater at Augusta Raurica — In Roman times, the amphitheater in Augusta Raurica was a place of horror. Up to 13,000 spectators gathered here to watch gory entertainment, which included animal hunts, gladiatorial combat and executions. The amphitheater was the result of meticulous planning. Built around 170 CE, it was constructed in a way that the spectators could get in and out quickly. It also contained dungeons where the gladiators waited before their performances. There were also three corridors, no longer visible today, which were wide enough for whole animal herds to be driven into the arena. The eastern entrance, the "gate of death" was used to carry dead gladiators out of the arena. Those who had survived, on the other hand, left the theater through the "gate of the living," passing by a small sanctuary.

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About the Author

James Blake Wiener

James is a writer and former Professor of History. He holds an MA in World History with a particular interest in cross-cultural exchange and world history. He is a co-founder of World History Encyclopedia and formerly was its Communications Director.

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Uploaded by James Blake Wiener, published on 27 November 2018. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.

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APA Style

Wiener, J. B. (2018, November 27). Amphitheater at Augusta Raurica. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/image/9589/amphitheater-at-augusta-raurica/

Chicago Style

Wiener, James Blake. "Amphitheater at Augusta Raurica." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified November 27, 2018. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/9589/amphitheater-at-augusta-raurica/.

MLA Style

Wiener, James Blake. "Amphitheater at Augusta Raurica." World History Encyclopedia. World History Encyclopedia, 27 Nov 2018. Web. 21 Feb 2025.