Caerleon Amphitheatre - Caerleon, Wales
N 51° 36.501 W 002° 57.448
30U E 502945 N 5717480
The Caerleon Amphitheatre was built around 90 AD. It accommodated seating for 6,000 spectators.
Waymark Code: WMEPTT
Location: South Wales, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 06/24/2012
Views: 2
"The remains of some 75 amphitheatres have been located in widely scattered areas of the Roman Empire. The amphitheatre in Caerleon is the best preserved example in Britain.
Known probably since the Middle Ages as King Arthur's Round Table, until 1926 it was a circular earthwork enclosing a deep hollow.
The first excavations were carried out by locals who dug trenches into the structure to recover stone for building purposes. The huge volume of Roman stone used in buildings in the village is evidence of such quarrying. Recycling started centuries ago!
The Liverpool Committee for Excavation and Research in Wales and the Marches carried out the first formal excavations in 1909. They made some exciting discoveries and found that the remains were well preserved.
In 1926, thanks to the sponsorship of the Daily Mail, work began to uncover the amphitheatre by removing 30 000 tons of soil."
-- Source
"Facts and figures:
1. The arena is oval - longer axis 56m, shorter axis 41.5m. It was originally (as now) below the outside ground level.
2. The arena wall rose to just under 4m above the arena and was covered with a smooth cement rendering.
3. The external wall was just under 2m thick with buttresses every 3m or so.
4. A bank of earth between these inner and outer walls supported the wooden seating. When the excavations were complete the soil was left at the original Roman level.
5. There was seating for 6000 spectators. The entire legion plus visitors.
6. There were eight entrances. The two larger entrances served the arena and did not give access to the seating.
7. It is thought that the amphitheatre was built around 90 AD.
8. Considerable reconstruction work took place in 125AD and 212AD."
-- Source