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Live Science
  • 4/2/2025
Archaeologists in Switzerland have uncovered the ruins of a Roman-era amphitheater — possibly the youngest on record — where spectators likely watched gladiator fights and animal hunts with bated breath.

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00:00Archaeologists in Switzerland have uncovered the ruins of a Roman-era amphitheater,
00:05and it may be one of the youngest of its kind on record.
00:13Just like spectators at the famous Colosseum in Rome,
00:16spectators at this arena likely watch gladiator fights and animal hunts.
00:20Researchers discovered the amphitheater while monitoring construction work for a new boathouse
00:26for the Basel Rowing Group on the Rhine in December 2021.
00:29The site falls within the ancient Roman city of Augusta Rorica,
00:34and it already has two other known Roman-era amphitheaters.
00:38But this amphitheater was thought to be extraordinarily young, at least by Roman standards.
00:43Researchers think it was built in late antiquity or in the 4th century AD,
00:47possibly making it the youngest amphitheater of its kind.
00:51So, what are the clues pointing to its age?
00:54For starters, the amphitheater was built in a quarry
00:57that the Romans abandoned in late antiquity.
00:59This means that the structure was built after the quarry work stopped, or in the 4th century.
01:04Another clue is that the building materials and style in which they were used
01:09are reminiscent of a late antique fort wall.
01:12Also compelling is the discovery of a coin at the site, which dates to AD 337 to AD 341.
01:20Finally, let's dig into the history of Augusta Rorica.
01:23The ancient Roman city already had two other known amphitheaters, as we mentioned,
01:28that were in the upper part of the city.
01:30There was no reason to build one in the lower part of the city,
01:34said Jacob Balocer, an archaeologist at the site and head of excavations in Kaisergasse, Switzerland.
01:41Near the newfound amphitheater is a Roman fort known as the Castra Morisens,
01:46which was built in about AD 300.
01:48The fort was built to protect the northern border of the Roman Empire,
01:52as just across the Rhine River was Germania.
01:55In about 351 AD, Germanic tribes crossed that Rhine River and destroyed the fort,
02:01although it was later rebuilt.
02:04This fort had military personnel, but it was also an administrative center.
02:08So perhaps the better question is, why not build a Roman-era amphitheater there
02:13to entertain all the people in that area?
02:16The oval-shaped amphitheater was sizable.
02:19It was about 164 feet long and 131 feet wide, but it was small compared with the Colosseum.
02:26That marble, built in the AD 70s, held roughly 50,000 people,
02:31and its central arena was about 285 feet by 180 feet,
02:36or larger than the entire amphitheater just found in Switzerland.

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