AWNING PULLEY

The Colosseum at night - Unlike earlier Greek theatres that were built into hillsides, the Colosseum is an entirely free-standing structure. It derives it's basic exterior and interior architecture from that of two Roman theatres back to back. It is elliptical in plan and is 189 meters (615 ft / 640 Roman feet) long, and 156 meters (510 ft / 528 Roman feet) wide, with a base area of 6 acres (24,000 m2). The height of the outer wall is 48 meters (157 ft / 165 Roman feet). The perimeter originally measured 545 meters (1,788 ft / 1,835 Roman feet). The central arena is an oval 87 m (287 ft) long and 55 m (180 ft) wide, surrounded by a wall 5 m (15 ft) high, above which rose tiers of seating.

The outer wall is estimated to have required over 100,000 cubic meters (131,000 cu yd) of travertine stone which were set without mortar held together by 300 tons of iron clamps. However, it has suffered extensive damage over the centuries, with large segments having collapsed following earthquakes. The north side of the perimeter wall is still standing; the distinctive triangular brick wedges at each end are modern additions, having been constructed in the early 19th century to shore up the wall. The remainder of the present-day exterior of the Colosseum is in fact the original interior wall.

The surviving part of the outer wall's monumental facade comprises three stories of superimposed arcades surmounted by a podium on which stands a tall attic, both of which are pierced by windows interspersed at regular intervals. The arcades are framed by half-columns of the Tuscan, Ionic, and Corinthian orders, while the attic is decorated with Corinthian pilasters. Each of the arches in the second and third-floor arcades framed statues, probably honoring divinities and other figures from Classical mythology.

Two hundred and forty mast corbels were positioned around the top of the attic. They originally supported a retractable awning, known as the velarium, that kept the sun and rain off spectators. This consisted of a canvas-covered, net-like structure made of ropes, with a hole in the center. It covered two-thirds of the arena, and sloped down towards the center to catch the wind and provide a breeze for the audience. Sailors, specially enlisted from the Roman naval headquarters at Misenum and housed in the nearby Castra Misenatium, were used to work the velarium.

The Colosseum's huge crowd capacity made it essential that the venue could be filled or evacuated quickly. It's architects adopted solutions very similar to those used in modern stadiums to deal with the same problem. The amphitheatre was ringed by eighty entrances at ground level, 76 of which were used by ordinary spectators. Each entrance and exit was numbered, as was each staircase. The northern main entrance was reserved for the Roman Emperor and his aides, whilst the other three axial entrances were most likely used by the elite. All four axial entrances were richly decorated with painted stucco reliefs, of which fragments survive. Many of the original outer entrances have disappeared with the collapse of the perimeter wall, but entrances XXIII to LIV still survive.

Spectators were given tickets in the form of numbered pottery shards, which directed them to the appropriate section and row. They accessed their seats via vomitoria (singular vomitorium), passageways that opened into a tier of seats from below or behind. These quickly dispersed people into their seats and, upon conclusion of the event or in an emergency evacuation, could permit their exit within only a few minutes. The name vomitoria derived from the Latin word for a rapid discharge, from which English derives the word vomit.

According to the Codex-Calendar of 354, the Colosseum could accommodate 87,000 people, although modern estimates put the figure at around 50,000. They were seated in a tiered arrangement that reflected the rigidly stratified nature of Roman society. Special boxes were provided at the north and south ends respectively for the Emperor and the Vestal Virgins, providing the best views of the arena. Flanking them at the same level was a broad platform or podium for the senatorial class, who were allowed to bring their own chairs. The names of some 5th century senators can still be seen carved into the stonework, presumably reserving areas for their use.

The tier above the senators, known as the maenianum primum, was occupied by the non-senatorial noble class or knights (equites). The next level up, the maenianum secundum, was originally reserved for ordinary Roman citizens (plebians) and was divided into two sections. The lower part (the immum) was for wealthy citizens, while the upper part (the summum) was for poor citizens. Specific sectors were provided for other social groups: for instance, boys with their tutors, soldiers on leave, foreign dignitaries, scribes, heralds, priests and so on. Stone (and later marble) seating was provided for the citizens and nobles, who presuma

Saturday September 27th 2008

Get on at Portobello King's Road, 2.37pm.
Before: concrete slabs have been taken up to expose a thin layer of dry earth beneath. Across the road cartoonish paint splashes on the windows of the old Scottish Power building, and a woman walks by with a labrador puppy, jumping and scratching. Board and there's two passengers already, an old man with a deerstalker. Down Portobello High Street, a strong wind on the green and white striped awning of a grocers. A girl's long hair being blown forward whilst she waits at a crossing. Under a pointed arch and past pink flowers and a lion-shaped door knocker polished to an extreme. People up front talk about the changing routes and one woman says "I haven't been to Princes Street for five months". The light beneath the distant clouds is wintery and suggests rain. And a refrigerator in someone's front garden, the door taped shut with brown packing tape. To Northfield, darkened council windows and satellite dishes pointing east. Two cold benches in a sad pub garden, overgrown grass and cars speeding by down Willowbrae Road. And then turn left climbing the side of Arthur's Seat. Houses with sea-views. More burning red leaves climbing the side of grey pebbledash. A pulley/flying fox in an Arthur's Seat park, but the actual wire no longer there, so just two wooden platforms, facing each other, twenty yards apart. A skylight in the bus ceiling, shows chimneys and lampposts flitting by in rhythm. And then a narrow road blocked by a parked pickup. The driver sounds his horn and a man comes out of a nearby house to move it. Return downhill. Stopped at lights a taxi driver makes a rollup from the tin of tobacco on his lap. A woman sprays weedkiller between the seams of her paved driveway. And then past a football match, a player in red and white hoops trying to lob the goalie but hits it too high. A billboard advertising ALCOHOL AWARENESS WEEK. And fast, skirting the traintracks. A railway yard with sleepers piled high, all rusted.
Inching back towards the roundabout.