Burning Questions

ROMAN amphitheatres were built all over Britain and the remains of at least a dozen can still be found. They are mostly elliptical in shape with entrances at either extreme. The amphitheatres were surrounded by embankments supported by timber and are faced with stone walls. The raked area held spectators who perched on wooden seating and who may have numbered around 6,000 or more.

Roman amphitheatres were of two main types, civilian and military. The military amphitheatres or ludis were generally larger and were often associated with legionary fortresses, rather than ordinary Roman forts or towns.

Most civilian amphitheatres are found near Roman towns, particularly administrative centres called civitas. Civilian amphitheatres were generally built just outside the settlements because of the threat of rioting, unruly behaviour and the danger of wild animals escaping.

Military amphitheatres were also used for military exercises, like training, drills and parades. Military amphitheatres have been found at the legionary fortresses at Caerleon in Gwent and at Chester in Cheshire. It is reasonable to assume that an amphitheatre would have existed at York as it was both a legionary fortress and the site of a colonia, a Roman town of very high status. Unfortunately, no amphitheatre has been found at York although a tomb depicting a gladiator has been discovered.

The remains of civilian amphitheatres can be found near many former Roman settlements like Dorchester, Carmarthen, Silchester, Chichester, Caerwent and Richborough. In the North there is some evidence to suggest that there were amphitheatres at Brough on Humber and at Aldborough near Boroughbridge, while artefacts featuring gladiators have been found at South Shields Roman fort.

Amphitheatres are usually associated with gladiators but it is likely that gladiators were not used quite as often in Britain as in Rome. Gladiators were expensive to employ and had to be hired from agents who trained them.

More often than not amphitheatre entertainment in Britain involved wild animals, though it is just as likely that the animals were set against each other rather than a human. Most of the animals used in the British amphitheatres would have been native to Europe so entertainment would include cock fighting and bear baiting.

Human sport included wrestling and boxing with metal studded gloves. Gladiators were more likely to appear at the end of a show and may have been pitched against wild boars, bulls and wolves. Amphitheatres were often used for executions, while other offenders may have been thrown into the arena with wild animals. Gladiators were themselves often prisoners of wars or petty criminals.

As for aqueducts, these were used to supply water to Roman forts and are quite common. Roman forts with aqueducts in the North include Lanchester, Chester-le-Street, South Shields and Great Chesters near Haltwhistle. The course of the six-mile long Roman aqueduct at Great Chesters can be traced in the neighbouring hills.

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