caldrail Posted January 30, 2022 Report Share Posted January 30, 2022 Check this out. It popped up on my news feed... Archaeology breakthrough as stunning 1,700-year-old Roman gladiator arena found (msn.com) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guy Posted January 30, 2022 Report Share Posted January 30, 2022 (edited) Quote “A coin discovered that dates between 337 and 341AD, indicates that it could be the youngest amphitheatre in the Roman Empire. A few other clues point to a fourth-century AD date., archaeologist Jakob Baerlocher revealed.” This was certainly a fantastic find. There are now eight such amphitheaters found in Switzerland. I have some problem, however, calling this a “gladiator” arena. By the mid 4th century when this amphitheater was build, gladiator fights had become increasingly uncommon: By this late in the Empire’s history, there was no longer a seemingly endless supply of potential fighters for every arena in the region. At this time, there was also a declining appetite for gladiatorial fights. In fact, in 404 AD gladiatorial fights were officially banned in the Empire by Honorius after the monk Telemachus was stoned to death when he protested a gladiatorial fight. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Telemachus Modern sensationalist journalists feel the need to attach “gladiatorial fights” to every amphitheater found in the Empire. I believe that this venue was more likely used for plays, choral events, circuses, exhibitions, sports competitions, etc. Here’s a nice video on the find: Edited January 30, 2022 by guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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