The remains of the Circus Maximus can be seen in the man-made valley in the middle of the ancient city. The oval-shaped "track" provided the audience with a view of chariot races while the slopes provided stadium-like seating.
Along one side of the Circus Maximus was the emperor's palace, first built by Augustus and expanded by other emperors including Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius.
One of the seven aqueducts that provided millions of gallons of water to the people of ancient Rome.
Approaching the Arch of Constantine and the Coliseum.
Parts of the arch were removed to be used in the construction of Christian churches until Constantine's official conversion to Christianity which led to the preservation of the arch.
Portions of the building were destroyed with earthquakes and others with the systematic dismantling for the use in the construction of other buildings. This angle provides a cut away view of the layers of construction that included marble, limestone, and concrete.
The holes in the exterior are from the removal of the iron clips used to secure the building. They were removed during war so the iron could be used for weapons. The construction still holds without the iron clips which illustrates the accuracy of the measurements and craftsmanship of the construction.
The numbers over the arches at each entrance indicate the ticketing entrance for audience members in the ancient games.
The construction of the layers were completed in a similar manner as those in modern day stadiums. The vaulted breezeways and arches supported on columns that were stacked one atop the other.
Today, this walkway on the second level appears to be open to the sky. However, in ancient Rome, this layer would have looked like those in the above pictures.
The only remaining section of seating is currently covered as excavations take place on the interior sections. The entire bowl of the building would have looked like this small section in ancient Rome.
While the rope is new, the metal pieces of the pulley system below is original to the building. It was part of the elevator system to bring animals and gladiators to the surface of the fighting field.
The original flooring of the building was entirely marble. Most of the marble was removed for other construction, but a small section remains.
The Column of Marcus Aurelius stands in the Piazza Colonna. It was originally built by Commodus in memory of his father around 180 CE with representations carved of the emperor's military campaigns. It was originally erected near the Tiber River and suffered from many floods over the years that wore away some of the reliefs near the base of the column. During the Middle Ages, the column was moved to higher ground with a small portion left underground and the bronze statue was replaced with one of St. Paul and the column was given a new platform with Christian connections.
The Pantheon was originally an ancient Roman temple for the gods. It was converted into a Christian church and the bronze relief in the triangular-shaped entrance was removed and melted down to be made into the alter canopy in St. Peters's Basilica in the Vatican.
The open air dome provides a solar calendar along the ceiling of the dome.
The walls are covered in marble from the original Roman temple.
I finally got a clear picture of the holes in the floor that provide drainage for rainwater.
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