El Djem Amphitheatre
Detail of Column on Amphitheatre
Three tiers, the bleachers are way up there...
Souvenir mosaic of El Djem
For anyone interested - a towel map of Tunisia
El Djem Street scene
Sousse, Tunisia, on the north coast of Africa, another cultural crossroad.Nearby town of El Djem has the third largest amphitheatre in the Roman Empire, the largest is the Colosseum in Rome, and the second largest the now ruined theatre at Capua. Built between 230 and 223 BC it seated approximately 30,000 spectators. Thirty six meters high, it was built in three tiers, the lowest and closest to the ring for the VIP's of the time, the next level up for the annual ticket holders, and the highest one for the drop in visitors. Each level was built with a steeper slope in order to maintain good acustics and unobstructed views of the action for every seat.
In the 'basement' under the floor of the stadium are the chambers for gladiators, who could get fabulously rich if they survived long enough to reach the upper echelon in their profession. 75% succumbed to mortal injuries sustained in battle against wild beasts and human foes before they ever got past slave status. Opposite the underground gladiator rooms are a row of chambers, which were occupied by the captured wild animals kept hungry to enjure a vicious fight.
Performances in the amphitheatre ranged from Gladiator fights (part of the movie The Gladiator was shot here), to ferocious battles between human and animals opponents, concerts, plays, sometimes open debates etc etc - 7 days non stop entertainment all year around.
Most Roman theatres are not free standing (too expensive to construct even in those years) like this one, but carved into the side of mountains or slopes or on summits of hills. The 'carved' ones were mostly semi circular, whereas the free standing ones are circular. The Emperor or whoever Ruler was in force had tow special balconiies on the premium level - one to keep the sun out of his eyes during morning performances, and one at the opposite end to keep the sun out of his eyes during afternoon shows. Rank comes with privileges - even then.
