Early Amphitheatre of Thysdrus
About
Long before the massive amphitheater that made El Djem famous, Thysdrus already had a much smaller arena, an earthen structure excavated in 1973 with a capacity of around 6,000, dated by specialists to the 1st century CE. A second, intermediate amphitheater followed on the same site before the great stone amphitheater seen today rose around 238 CE, over a century after Trajan's death. In 117 CE it was this small first-generation arena serving Thysdrus, not the monumental one tourists visit now.
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
Nearby
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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 →