Roman Amphitheatre of Frejus
About
Forum Iulii raised its amphitheatre to hold roughly 10,000 spectators around an arena floor measuring 69 by 39 meters, ringing it with tiers of Esterel sandstone seating for gladiatorial bouts and public executions. By the time Trajan died in 117 CE the arena had already been staging games for a generation. Centuries later it became a stone quarry and even a rubbish tip before archaeologists finally cleared it in 1960.
What happened here
Doors open early and the programme runs all day. Morning is animal hunts, staged with scenery hauled up through trapdoors from the corridors below. Midday is executions, and it is the hour when the seats thin out and people go for lunch. The afternoon is the gladiators, matched by type and record like boxers, refereed, and stopped when a man raises a finger. Most fights are not to the death — a trained fighter is expensive — but a decision can go the other way and the crowd is consulted. Seating is strictly by rank: officials at the front, women at the top. Awnings are worked by sailors detailed for the job. Sand is spread thick and replaced between shows, and the whole building smells of it.
Sources
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Roman Maps shows the empire frozen at 11 August 117 CE, the day Trajan died — its moment of greatest territorial extent. Explore the full map →