16-20 Colosseum Facts
16. The North African elephant species was driven to extinction by the Ancient Romans who used them for public games in the Colosseum. – Source
17. In the 16th and 17th century, Church officials planned to turn the Colosseum into a wool factory to provide employment for Rome’s prostitutes. –Source
18. One of the reasons the Colosseum is in ruins today is because it was used as a quarry for several centuries for its stone. – Source
19. The hallways of the Colosseum were often called vomitoriums. They could spew the spectators out of the amphitheater and into the streets of Rome within a matter of minutes. – Source
20. During the inauguration of the Colosseum over 9,000 animals were slaughtered. – Source
21-23 Colosseum Facts
Image credit: archaeological-center.com
21. In BCE in the Colosseum, the naked wrestlers would cover themselves in oil to protect themselves from rough sand and then scrape it off with a curved iron device called a “Strigil” in place of soaps which they didn’t have yet. – Source
22. Luxury brands Tod’s, Fendi and Bulgari are paying for the restoration of the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps in Rome. – Source
23. The Colosseum was funded by the riches found in the Second Jewish Temple (site of Jesus’ final week in the New Testament). – Source
#21 doesn’t make sense, as construction on the Flavian Amphitheatre didn’t even start until 72 CE.
#13. The Colosseum was finished in 80 AD and Julius Caesar was assassinated almost 125 years before the first games even happened in 44 BC. So, he never set foot in the Colosseum and did not have a giraffe torn to shreds there. There were many “arena’s” in the history of Rome.