Maruf Zakaria :
Architecture is one of the most challenging professions in the world. It is a very important topic for our society and civilisation. Architecture is known as the mixture of art and science. It is introduced with the artistic looks of built form. In ancient era people used to make buildings for god’s place, prayer hall, temple, market place, residential buildings, theatre etc. Roman civilisation is one of the rich and ancient civilisations. Roman and Greek were the first civilisations practicing Architecture and Engineering in a large scale. The buildings which were built in Roman era is also significant for Architecture learners even now-a-days.
Colosseum is one of the great architectural pieces in Roman civilisation. It contains significance. It is situated in the center of the city of Rome, Italy. It is basically an amphitheatre. The Colosseum is situated just east of Roman Forum. Construction began under the emperor Vespasian in 72 AD and was completed in 80 AD under his successor and heir Titus. Further modification was made during the reign of Domitian. These three emperors are of the Flavian dynasty. Among Romans there were great engineers and calculating organisers. They excelled technical achievement and were skilled engineers and good city builders. They knew about construction process to build their buildings properly.
Colosseum was roughly elliptical in shape with a long axis. Oriented west-south west and east-north east which measures 188 meters and the short one 156. The building stands on a base of two steps, above it there are three floors of arches and a fourth storey without arches but with small rectangular windows. There were eighty arches on every floor, divided by pillars with a half column. It was the first permanent amphitheatre built in Rome. Its monumental size and grandeur as well its practical and efficient organisation for producing spectacles and controlling the large crowd make it one of the great architectural monuments achieved by the ancient Romans. Below the wooden arena floor, there was a complex set of rooms and passages for wild beasts and other provisions for staging the spectacles. Eighty walls radiate from the arena and support vaults for passage ways, stairways and the tier of scats. At the outer edge circumferential arcades link each level and the stairways between levels. Colosseum was designed for 50,000 spectators and it had approximately eighty entrance gates doors; so crowd could arrive and leave easily and quickly. Entrances at ground level were used just like modern day safety escapes that people could easily get out from the place without any mess. The base of this building covers about 6 acres. The façade of three tiers of arches and an attic story is about 48.5 meter tall – roughly equivalent to a 12-15 story building.
Colosseum was one of pride of Roman Empire. It was built out of mostly concrete and stone and considered to be one of the greatest works of Roman engineering. Colosseum has its own unique qualities. It is an entirely free standing structure. The structural system is great feat in the eyes of an architect even to this day. The Colosseum was built so well that it still stands today; however not the entire outer wall is still intact after the many earthquakes and other natural disasters it has been through. One of the most interesting parts of Colosseum is Hypogeum. It is the Arena itself which is 83 meters by 48 meters and floor made from wood covered by sand. And thus Hypogeum is under the field of Colosseum. The floor was used to cover the Hypogeum which was the underground level of the arena where animals and gladiators were kept. The gladiators used to fight with animals to save their lives. The punishment was like that if anyone caught to any type of serious crimes like murder, loot, robbery etc. the ruler would sentence him to death. And on other hand the ruler also used to give the criminal a chance to save his life through fighting with animals. The gladiators used to fight with lion. It was considered as entertainment -the gladiators fighting to save their lives.
Some interesting facts about Colosseum:
1. The Colosseum remained in use for nearly 500 years. The last record games were held in the 6th century.
2. The overall deaths the Colosseum caused over its run is about 500000 people and over a million animals.
3. The stones in outer wall were set without mortar and instead were held together by 300 tons of iron clamps.
4. It was in the medieval era that the amphitheatre ceased to be used for entertainment purpose. Theatre, it was used for housing, workshops, quarters for a religious order a fortress a quarry and a Christian shrine.
5. The amphitheatre has been depicted on the Italian version of the five-cent euro coin. n
(Writer is a student of Department of Architecture at Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology, Dhaka)
Architecture is one of the most challenging professions in the world. It is a very important topic for our society and civilisation. Architecture is known as the mixture of art and science. It is introduced with the artistic looks of built form. In ancient era people used to make buildings for god’s place, prayer hall, temple, market place, residential buildings, theatre etc. Roman civilisation is one of the rich and ancient civilisations. Roman and Greek were the first civilisations practicing Architecture and Engineering in a large scale. The buildings which were built in Roman era is also significant for Architecture learners even now-a-days.
Colosseum is one of the great architectural pieces in Roman civilisation. It contains significance. It is situated in the center of the city of Rome, Italy. It is basically an amphitheatre. The Colosseum is situated just east of Roman Forum. Construction began under the emperor Vespasian in 72 AD and was completed in 80 AD under his successor and heir Titus. Further modification was made during the reign of Domitian. These three emperors are of the Flavian dynasty. Among Romans there were great engineers and calculating organisers. They excelled technical achievement and were skilled engineers and good city builders. They knew about construction process to build their buildings properly.
Colosseum was roughly elliptical in shape with a long axis. Oriented west-south west and east-north east which measures 188 meters and the short one 156. The building stands on a base of two steps, above it there are three floors of arches and a fourth storey without arches but with small rectangular windows. There were eighty arches on every floor, divided by pillars with a half column. It was the first permanent amphitheatre built in Rome. Its monumental size and grandeur as well its practical and efficient organisation for producing spectacles and controlling the large crowd make it one of the great architectural monuments achieved by the ancient Romans. Below the wooden arena floor, there was a complex set of rooms and passages for wild beasts and other provisions for staging the spectacles. Eighty walls radiate from the arena and support vaults for passage ways, stairways and the tier of scats. At the outer edge circumferential arcades link each level and the stairways between levels. Colosseum was designed for 50,000 spectators and it had approximately eighty entrance gates doors; so crowd could arrive and leave easily and quickly. Entrances at ground level were used just like modern day safety escapes that people could easily get out from the place without any mess. The base of this building covers about 6 acres. The façade of three tiers of arches and an attic story is about 48.5 meter tall – roughly equivalent to a 12-15 story building.
Colosseum was one of pride of Roman Empire. It was built out of mostly concrete and stone and considered to be one of the greatest works of Roman engineering. Colosseum has its own unique qualities. It is an entirely free standing structure. The structural system is great feat in the eyes of an architect even to this day. The Colosseum was built so well that it still stands today; however not the entire outer wall is still intact after the many earthquakes and other natural disasters it has been through. One of the most interesting parts of Colosseum is Hypogeum. It is the Arena itself which is 83 meters by 48 meters and floor made from wood covered by sand. And thus Hypogeum is under the field of Colosseum. The floor was used to cover the Hypogeum which was the underground level of the arena where animals and gladiators were kept. The gladiators used to fight with animals to save their lives. The punishment was like that if anyone caught to any type of serious crimes like murder, loot, robbery etc. the ruler would sentence him to death. And on other hand the ruler also used to give the criminal a chance to save his life through fighting with animals. The gladiators used to fight with lion. It was considered as entertainment -the gladiators fighting to save their lives.
Some interesting facts about Colosseum:
1. The Colosseum remained in use for nearly 500 years. The last record games were held in the 6th century.
2. The overall deaths the Colosseum caused over its run is about 500000 people and over a million animals.
3. The stones in outer wall were set without mortar and instead were held together by 300 tons of iron clamps.
4. It was in the medieval era that the amphitheatre ceased to be used for entertainment purpose. Theatre, it was used for housing, workshops, quarters for a religious order a fortress a quarry and a Christian shrine.
5. The amphitheatre has been depicted on the Italian version of the five-cent euro coin. n
(Writer is a student of Department of Architecture at Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology, Dhaka)
