Arena of Nimes - Wikimedia Commons

Amphitheatre of Nimes

Amphitheatrum Nemausense

AmphitheaterGallia Narbonensis · Nimes, FranceBuilt 90 CE

About

Built under the Flavian emperors in the closing decade of the 1st century CE, Nimes's amphitheater could seat around 24,000 spectators and remains one of the best-preserved Roman arenas anywhere, still hosting events today nearly two thousand years later. Its two tiers of arcades in dressed limestone reflect the wealth Nemausus drew from its position on the road linking Italy to Spain. Fully operational and hosting games in 117 CE, a generation or so after its completion.

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.

In ancient writing

CIL XII 3316, seating inscription c. 90 CE
A text on the podium wall reserves places for the guilds of Rhône and Saône boatmen, by decree of the town council of Nîmes.