10 Facts About the Colosseum

10 facts you didn’t know about The Colosseum:

• The Colosseum was built by Emperor Vespasian, founder of the Flavian dynasty, for Titus, his successor.

• It has about 80 entrances and can accommodate 50,000 spectators.

• The Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as animal hunts, mock sea battles, re-enactments of famous battles, executions and dramas.

• It is estimated that the games played in the Colosseum for hundreds of years have taken the lives of about 500,000 people and over a million wild animals.

• More than 100,000 cubic meters of travertine stone were used for the outer wall of Colosseum which was set without mortar held together by 300 tons of iron clamps.

• Receiving millions of visitors every year, the Colosseum is the most famous tourist attraction of Rome.

• Construction of this huge structure started in 72 CE and was completed in 80 CE.

• In 847, the southern side of the Colosseum collapsed because of a devastating earthquake

• During the inaugural games of the Colosseum in 80 CE held by Titus, some 9,000 wild animals were slaughtered.

• The last gladiatorial fights occurred in 435 CE and the last animal hunts stopped in 523 CE. It was primarily due to the cost of procuring animals and gladiators and maintaining the expensive facility.