Amphitheatre of Serdica
Amphitheatrum Serdicense | |
Location | Sofia, Bulgaria. |
---|---|
Coordinates | 42°41′50″N 23°19′42″E / 42.69722°N 23.32833°E |
Type | Roman amphitheatre |
History | |
Founded | 3rd–4th century AD |
Periods | Roman Empire |
Site notes | |
Excavation dates | 2004 |
The Amphitheatre of Serdica (
The Amphitheatre of Serdica was among the biggest in the eastern part of the
History
The Amphitheatre of Serdica was built on top of an earlier Roman theatre, which was constructed in the 2nd or 3rd century CE. Its ruins were discovered 5 metres (16 ft) under the amphitheatre ruins.[1][2]
The theatre, 55 m (180 ft) wide, was perhaps built simultaneously with Serdica's defensive walls under Commodus (r. 177–192). It was active during the reigns of Septimius Severus (r. 193–211) and Caracalla (r. 198–217); the former may have visited the theatre with his family in 202 or 209. In the first half of 268, however, a Gothic raid ravaged and burned the theatre, forcing its permanent abandonment.[2]
As evidenced by
The amphitheatre itself was in use for less than a century, as it was abandoned by the 5th century, perhaps due to the anti-pagan policies of Theodosius I (r. 379–395). In the 5th and 6th centuries, barbarian invaders set up their homes within the former arena, and during the Ottoman period (late 14th–19th centuries), it was used as a source of building materials for new housing.[2]
Discovery
The existence of a
In 2004, the amphitheatre itself was accidentally discovered during the early construction of what came to be known as the Arena di Serdica Hotel.[1][4] In the modern cityscape of Sofia, the ruins lie south of Knyaz Aleksandar Dondukov Boulevard, between the Goethe-Institut headquarters and the embassy of the United Kingdom.[5]
In July 2006, digging of the foundations of a National Electric Company office building in the vicinity[5] came across further parts of the arena. The eastern entrance and the section of the amphitheatre within the hotel lot, which is about a sixth of the entire building, was preserved and incorporated into the hotel's ground floor. It is freely accessible for tourists during the day, except on Mondays,[1] and includes a small expositions of coins and ceramics unearthed on the site.[4]
In 2007, the western entrance and the adjacent part of the amphitheatre was excavated at the National Electric Company lot. A campaign began to prevent the construction of the planned building on the site.[2]
Physical description
With its original dimensions of 60.5 m × 43 m (198 ft × 141 ft), the central arena of the Amphitheatre of Serdica is commonly cited as having been some 10 m (33 ft) smaller than the Colosseum in the imperial capital Rome.[2][5] This is false, however, since the Colosseum measures 87 by 55 metres (285 ft × 180 ft), and many other amphitheatres are larger than Serdica's.[clarification needed][citation needed] Furthermore, the Colosseum's exterior dimensions were far larger (see List of Roman amphitheatres).[citation needed]
The Amphitheatre was much larger than two other Roman amphitheatres in modern Bulgaria, at
The
See also
- History of Sofia
- Hagia Sophia Church (Sofia)
- Dacia Aureliana
- List of Roman amphitheatres
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "The amphiteater of ancient Serdica (Amphiteatrum Serdicense)". Arena di Serdica Residence Hotel Sofia. Archived from the original on 2011-07-07. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
- ^ ISSN 0957-7718.
- ISSN 1312-7829.
- ^ ISBN 978-2-06-713911-4.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-84162-155-5.