Amphitheatre of Narbonne
About
Seventy-two arcades and four gated entrances once ringed this amphitheatre, built on flat ground using vaulted ring-walls rather than a natural hillside slope — a genuine feat of engineering. Nothing rises above ground today; the arena's outline survives only as a curve traced by a modern street, pinpointed by land surveys in 1838. It had likely been hosting games for at least two decades by the time Trajan died in 117 CE.
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 →