Original subtitles

[narrator] Roman coliseums, Home of the gladiator,

Theaters of spectacle And death.

[valerie] There was no mercy Shown to them at all.

They were not just executed,

They were executed In the most horrible ways.

[narrator] Many roman cities Are long gone,

But more than 200 of these Megastructures survive

And can unlock The secrets of the empire.

Can a coliseum In distant north africa,

500 miles from rome,

Be the pinnacle Of roman engineering?

It's absolutely enormous And completely magnificent.

[narrator] In capua, italy, Can a lost coliseum reveal

The secret roots Of these brutal monuments?

And how do these Magnificent amphitheaters

Help the romans control Their sprawling empire?

[nejib] For the roman authorities,

Gladiators would represent What rome was doing

To keep the peace In the empire.

[narrator] Now investigators Examine

The remains Of these stone titans

To uncover Their engineering secrets,

And discover What they can reveal

About life and death In the roman world.

To solve these mysteries,

We digitally rebuild These awe-inspiring monuments,

We unearth a labyrinth Of blood-spattered tunnels

And come face to face With ancient warriors

To reveal the origins Of rome's lost coliseums.

The romans build One of the greatest empires In history.

Their legacy is evident In the giant coliseums

That survive to this day.

These megastructures

Hold the secrets Of their extraordinary rule.

They build More than 230 of these icons

Across their entire 2 million square-mile empire,

From britain to africa.

They are constructed to host Extraordinary spectacles.

At the center of a coliseum

Lies a huge open arena Of sand and gravel.

Giant doorways

And walls covered in Shining white marble

Enclose this giant oval space.

This is the domain Of the gladiators,

Highly trained warriors

Pitted against each other In brutal fights,

Sometimes to the death.

It's the most popular Spectacle in ancient rome.

Millions of people Flock to colossal stadiums To see it.

Why does this obsession begin?

Valerie higgins Hunts for clues

In capua, southern italy.

Here, a giant Imperial coliseum

Stands in the center Of this historic city.

This immense monument Is over 550 feet long

And is one of the biggest The romans ever construct.

This is the amphitheater Of capua.

And this was built

In the first century Of the common era,

And it was built at about The same time

As the colosseum in rome.

[narrator] Valerie believes that

Just a stone's throw From this amphitheater

Are even more Intriguing ruins.

She identifies a structure Buried in the earth.

These longitudinal structures Here are part of, uh,

An elliptical building That was, uh, in this area,

And that was here

Before this big imperial Amphitheater was built.

[narrator] The ruins Reveal that

This is once a grand structure Supported by barrel arches.

This 300-foot long oval Is a second smaller coliseum.

The remains Date to the second century bc,

Meaning this could be The world's first ever Roman coliseum.

[valerie] It was definitely One of the earliest

And it might even be The earliest.

[narrator] In roman times,

Capua has not one, But two coliseums,

Only a few hundred yards From each other.

The small one is built first, And the giant one follows.

It shows how you get This development of scale

Within a period of A couple of hundred years.

[narrator] Why do the romans Construct

This first coliseum?

Buried in the ground,

Valerie discovers A surprising clue

That could hold the answer,

Intriguing traces Of a third arena.

The presence of these remains

Just outside The imperial amphitheater

Raises some interesting Possibilities.

[narrator] Hidden beneath The large coliseum's piazza,

This third arena is much Smaller than its neighbors.

It's roughly The size of five tennis courts

And houses Fewer than 2,000 spectators.

It dates to the same period As capua's first coliseum.

What can it reveal about The origin of the stadium?

Archaeologists discover that

The dimensions are similar To a structure Discovered in rome,

Alongside The famous colosseum.

Beneath the grand arena,

A tunnel leads To the ludus magnus,

A gladiator training center Built in 96 ad.

It's A state-of-the-art facility

With training grounds, A viewing arena

And living quarters For the gladiators.

It's a well-oiled machine That produces the fighters

For rome's most popular Form of entertainment.

But ludus magnus Is not the first of its kind.

Ancient records suggest capua Has a gladiator school

Before rome does,

Though its location Has never been confirmed.

Capua's gladiator school Is even rumored

To be where famous Gladiator slave spartacus

Trained and fought Over 2,000 years ago.

Valerie believes it's possible These ruins could be it.

Might they be the gladiatorial Training school,

Which is something That we would love to find

Because it is so famous.

[narrator] Finding the remains Of a gladiator school

Next to the roman empire's First ever coliseum

Would be significant.

It would be evidence that

The gladiator fights Are as old

As the first coliseums

And even the reason For building them.

But could the origin Of gladiatorial combat

Be even older Than the coliseums?

A clue may lie in tombs 60 miles from capua

That belonged To a non-roman local tribe

Known as the lucanians.

These tombs are covered In fresco paintings

That date back To the fourth century bc,

More than 100 years

Before the romans build The first coliseums.

Valerie analyzes The paintings on the tombs

And notices a connection To roman gladiator combat.

[valerie] Here we have a depiction

Of two men fighting.

It's clearly been Quite a bloody battle

Because both men Have got terrible leg wounds,

And the man on the left Has also got a chest wound.

[narrator] These paintings Reveal that

Gladiator-style fights Take place

Long before any coliseums Are built.

So why does This form of combat start?

[valerie] If we go on To the next picture,

We can see that in fact,

This is part of A whole funerary scene.

We have the two Gladiatorial men fighting,

And then we have Going off to the right,

The mourners who will be The mourners of this family.

[narrator] The frescoes Reveal that

Gladiatorial combat Begins as a funerary rite

Of ancient tribes Long before the romans.

In 264 bc, The spectacle reaches rome

When two bereaved sons Stage a combat

In honor of their late father.

Three pairs of gladiators Fight simultaneously.

It's an armed combat

And the defeated Meet a bloody end.

As the spectacle's Popularity grows,

The romans build Larger combat spaces,

First amphitheaters of wood

And then of stone and brick.

[valerie] The romans didn't invent

The idea Of gladiatorial games,

But they did industrialize it.

They made it Into mass entertainment,

Which it had not been before.

[narrator] The romans engineer Ever larger coliseums

To accommodate The surge in popularity

Of the gladiatorial games.

Some are even big enough

To hold the population Of an entire city.

Can a remarkably Well-preserved

Coliseum in tunisia

Reveal how the romans build Such large megastructures?

And why are they so useful To those in power?

[narrator] Coliseums play host To the roman empire's

Most bloodthirsty ex-sport, Gladiatorial combat.

The romans industrialize This spectacle

To entertain the masses

Inside colossal Megastructures.

But how do Roman engineers construct

These ambitious venues?

In el jem, tunisia,

Nejib ben lazreg Hunts for clues.

This giant coliseum

Is one of the best preserved In the world.

[nejib] The amphitheater Of el jem

Didn't really suffer From much damage

Compared to the one in rome,

Which was heavily restored.

[narrator] Today, El jem is a small city,

But 2,000 years ago, It has a different name...

Thysdrus,

And is part of The roman province of africa.

Here, in 238 ad,

In the far reaches Of the empire,

The romans build one of their Biggest ever coliseums.

The unique el jem coliseum Is the greatest amphitheater

And building In all roman africa.

Sandstone walls And towering pillars

Separate 64 arched entrances.

Three huge stacked oval tiers Surround a central arena.

On each floor, Vaulted arches and pillars

Accommodate The flow of visitors.

This 100-foot high behemoth

Can hold Over 35,000 spectators.

This is one of The last coliseums

The romans build.

How do they achieve This feat of construction?

Nejib investigates The masonry.

It is a miracle Of engineering.

It is entirely freestanding,

Built only using Large sandstone blocks

Without any foundations.

All this weight In such a large structure

Should make the exterior walls Unstable.

[nejib] One of the big problems The architects faced

Was the risks of collapse.

Because when you have 30,000 spectators,

The vibrations That could cause

Make the amphitheater Collapse.

[narrator] On the coliseum's Ground floor,

Nejib discovers an ingenious Engineering technique

To prevent the monument From toppling over.

Giant vaults and arches Connect the inside arena

To the outside walls.

Each vault also connects Side to side

With its neighbor For extra added strength.

This is called cross vaulting,

And it pulls the structure Tightly together.

Such structures helped To support upper floors.

Without these, The romans wouldn't be

Able to build coliseums.

[narrator] The development Of vaults and arches

Allow the romans To build monuments

On a scale never seen before.

[nejib] The amphitheater Here in el jem

Collects all the improvements In construction techniques

Known in that time.

[narrator] These engineering Advances make el jem coliseum

The pinnacle of Roman architectural genius.

Why are the romans So determined

To build These impressive arenas?

Nejib believes There's more to the story

Than just building big.

A clue lies In the building materials

Used inside the arena.

Embedded in the walls,

He finds ancient blocks Of luxurious marble.

This marble is not local.

It was imported And they had to have the money To pay for it.

[narrator] In ancient times,

Marble is one of the most Expensive building materials In the world.

It is used extensively In the colosseum in rome, too.

In this iconic building,

The romans use marble For the inner arena wall,

The seating and the columns That crown the colonnade...

While on the building's Exterior,

Statues of Gold and bronze tower

In the perfect marble Archways.

Despite being built 150 years And almost 500 miles apart,

These two coliseums Are strikingly similar.

The scale of these buildings

And the lavish splendor Of the construction materials

Trumpet the glory of rome Far and wide.

Nejib believes this reveals Evidence for the uniformity

That the romans achieve Across the empire.

It was a way to unite The roman way of life

In all these provinces.

[narrator] From mighty monuments Like coliseums,

To engineering marvels Like aqueducts,

Wherever the romans go, They rebuild rome.

This was, of course, To entertain the public,

To show the power of rome.

And all these monuments, Wherever you go,

They are nearly the same.

[narrator] It's not just The amphitheaters

That are built To unify the empire,

It's also the entertainment That they host.

Tony wilmott is an expert In gladiatorial games.

He believes the fights Across the empire

Show strict standardization,

Which makes them So successful.

They are clearly Extremely popular,

All over the roman empire.

You can see the popularity Of the spectacle

Simply by the size Of the amphitheaters,

The huge seating capacities Of many of them.

[narrator] Tony works With a pair of combat experts

To investigate The common elements

Of all gladiator battles.

The team uses an image found On a 2,000-year-old roman vase

To recreate the exact armor And weaponry of the warriors.

[tony] The vase shows A classic pairing Of gladiators,

A secutor Against a retiarius.

Secutor is a fairly heavily Armed gladiator,

He carries a shield, He carries a sword,

And he wears a very, very Close-fitting helmet.

That is actually important

When he's facing a retiarius,

Who is very lightly clad.

He doesn't have a helmet,

He doesn't have Much protection.

What he does have Are his weapons,

Which are his trident, And a net.

[narrator] The combat experts Begin the spectacle.

Whenever roman citizens Watch gladiators in action,

They will see The same drama played out.

The characters' armor And weapons are universal

Throughout the empire,

And their carefully Designed vulnerabilities

Add to the thrill Of the fight.

A secutor's metal helmet Protects his head and neck,

But it also puts him In grave danger.

The helmet is... Is... Is very much A two-edged weapon.

On the one hand, It protects his head,

On the other hand, It restricts his vision,

And also, it tires him out

Because it restricts His breathing.

He will have to lift his head

In order to be Able to breathe,

And that will Expose his throat.

[narrator] Tony believes That the built-in weaknesses

Of both characters Is evidence that

The romans engineer All their fights To last longer.

It makes For dramatic entertainment

Known and loved by all romans.

[tony] It's a good, entertaining, Fair fight.

The way in which The equipment is designed

Is specifically To create balance.

It will be appreciated By the crowd.

[narrator] Different styles Of fighters

Face each other To spice up combat,

And there are even Female gladiators.

When a fighter accepts defeat,

They raise their two fingers,

Asking the crowd To decide their fate.

The crowd waves handkerchiefs

If they want a gladiator To live.

But a jab to the neck With their thumbs means death.

The final decision Rests with the game's master

Or the emperor,

Who decides The gladiator's fate.

These bloody battles draw Huge crowds

Everywhere across the empire,

From britain to north africa.

The romans host the games To draw the citizens together

And to remind them

They are all part of One mighty empire.

Roman rulers know Their importance.

The power of An entertaining spectacle

Was clearly Completely understood

By the higher echelons Of the empire.

A lot of games were put on By emperors to

Create popularity.

[narrator] Coliseums And gladiators ensure

The diverse people Of the roman empire

All share one unified culture.

How did the romans choose

Where to build Their coliseums?

And how does A small city in africa

Get the third Biggest coliseum

In the roman world?

[narrator] The el jem coliseum In tunisia, north africa,

An engineering masterpiece

Built on the pattern of The magnificent colosseum In rome.

Why do the romans Choose to build it here?

Clues may lie in the remains Of the lost city.

[nejib] El jem rests On a roman city.

If you dig, automatically, You will find roman layers.

[narrator] 1,800 years ago,

This massive coliseum

Sits at the heart Of the ancient city Of thysdrus.

At the beginning Of the third century ad,

Thysdrus Is a bustling metropolis,

Home to 30,000 people.

At the edge of the city lies The spectacular coliseum.

Arched walkways Run around each level

To rapidly funnel the crowds In and out.

At the very top Is the velarium,

A vast linen cover To shield the audience

From sun and rain.

Thirty-five thousand people Can fill this coliseum,

More than the entire Population of the city.

Why do roman officials build Such a large coliseum

For the people Here in the middle of nowhere?

Nejib ben lazreg investigates.

He believes clues can be found Less than a half-a-mile

From el jem coliseum.

These are the foundations

Of a series Of ancient roman houses.

[nejib] The house now Is 3,000 square meters,

So it's a real mansion

With beautiful floors Of mosaics.

[narrator] In ancient rome,

Mosaic floors are a popular Symbol of wealth and status.

Nejib believes the scale Of the mosaic artwork

Sheds light On the type of people

Living in ancient thysdrus.

[nejib] From the size of These mansions,

We understand that these were Really wealthy people.

They are, you know, From the elite.

[narrator] Thysdrus, Though only small,

Is one of the empire's Richest cities.

Nejib believes the source Of this immense wealth

Can reveal the motivation

For el jem's Oversized coliseum.

Satellite maps of tunisia Show that

Thysdrus is located In the very middle

Of a network Of ancient trade routes.

The name thysdrus Is of berber origin

And means "Crossroad".

In the roman era,

It connects the country's Fertile rural hinterland

With the trade-heavy harbors On the east coast.

It is this position

As the roman empire's gateway To africa

That makes thysdrus Crucial for the roman rulers.

Thysdrus is a site on the edge Of roman territory.

The roman's Vast shipping network

Means people can arrive here

From all over the empire.

The fertile lands around Thysdrus yield plentiful crops

That sustain Its ever-growing population.

It's a booming, wealthy city With bustling markets,

Where merchants from All corners of the roman world

Come to sell their wares.

It's the perfect place For the romans

To build a huge coliseum

And project their power.

The glory and power of rome Is conveyed

To el jem's many visitors,

Who carry the message To their own distant lands.

[nejib] We may imagine that el jem,

Of course, Was made of the natives,

But it was a melting pot of Different types of visitors,

Whether they came from abroad Or from the hinterland.

[narrator] The massive coliseum In thysdrus

Is a powerful propaganda tool.

It pushes rome's Message of greatness

Across the vast plains Of ancient north africa

To the corners of the empire And beyond.

But is this message only used To promote the glory of rome?

Or are coliseums Part of a darker plan

To keep the people in check?

[narrator] El jem, once thysdrus

In the roman province Of north africa,

Home to the most impressive Imperial coliseum

Outside of italy.

The roman emperors build

Hundreds of these Megastructures

From the same blueprint,

To entertain the public

And promote the glory of rome.

But could the spectacles The rulers host here

Have a hidden motive?

Beneath the huge amphitheater,

Archaeologists discover A complex series of tunnels.

Four ramps from the piazza

Lead down to A central underground passage

That stretches for 200 feet.

On either side of it Are galleries of chambers,

Fitted with iron gates.

A tunnel wide enough For chariots

Cuts across The central passage.

On the floor Lie mysterious stone blocks,

Directly above them, An opening to the arena.

What is this hidden Underground warren for?

Is it evidence of a sinister Use for the coliseum?

Nejib investigates From inside the arena.

[nejib] This is an underground tunnel

Which was used As a service hall.

Like in any, uh, Modern building,

You have a service entrance And an official entrance.

[narrator] What do the romans Bring into the arena

From this service entrance

That requires such a large Underground complex?

Nejib believes the huge height Of the spectator gallery

May offer an insight.

[nejib] Surrounded by a wall Called the podium wall,

She's more than Three meters high.

[narrator] This elevated position

Is required to protect The spectators

From more than Just battling gladiators.

We have this wall To prevent beasts

To jump and reach The spectators.

[narrator] Nejib thinks The spectacle here

Involves wild animals, too.

Down in the tunnels,

He examines The roman engineering

Used to bring the animals up Onto the arena floor.

As you can see Here in this room,

You have these slots

Which were used to insert The wheels of the cage

And bring the animals in.

We have to imagine This was a very sad space.

Animals roaring, Plus 30,000 spectators

Screaming and yelling And thumping their feet.

[narrator] The romans Build platforms

Operated With ropes and pulleys,

To lift animal cages From the tunnels

To the arena.

They release the animals From the cage

Into an enclosure

That opens Onto the arena floor.

The gladiators fight all types Of exotic animals,

Including leopards, Lions, elephants, And even crocodiles.

[nejib] Animal shows were very popular In africa, in el jem,

Much like in rome And the rest Of the roman empire.

[narrator] But nejib Suspects that

Wild animals play A darker role in these events.

He examines a set of Wall-mounted mosaics

Recovered from the homes

Of the ancient citizens Of thysdrus.

The mosaics show Macabre scenes of animals

Violently attacking humans.

Combat-hardened gladiators Have a fighting chance

Against vicious animals,

But clues in the depiction Here reveal that

These people Are not trained warriors.

They were not armored.

Some of them even died, Sometimes exposed on a cross

And pushed towards the beasts,

Which means These were prisoners.

[narrator] It is shocking Evidence that

Executions are part of The roman entertainment.

They serve up this brutal Punishment as spectacle

For all to see.

[nejib] The romans Had no jails.

They didn't spend Their money on jails.

So either you pay a fine, Or you're condemned to death.

Christians or slaves Who killed their masters,

Hijackers were offered To the beasts,

And they were not even Given the chance

To defend themselves.

[narrator] The romans Used coliseums

To warn the population Against rebellion And disobedience.

And to make sure that

Everyone witnesses The gruesome spectacle,

All these events Are free to attend.

Millions of roman citizens

Enjoy the thrill Of these blood sports.

What can clues unearthed In a coliseum in britain

Reveal about roman society?

Can they shed light On the surprising realities

Of everyday life In the roman world?

[narrator] Coliseums Are iconic megastructures.

The games they host

Are a reminder Of the power of rome.

What more can coliseums Reveal about roman society?

An amphitheater unearthed In chester in the uk

May hold clues.

Though this 8,000-person arena Is far smaller

Than the giants of capua, El jem and rome,

It hosts the same exciting And bloody spectacles.

Tony wilmott examines The ancient site

To understand more about

The coliseum's pivotal part In roman life.

[tony] For the first time In the roman empire,

We actually have Archaeological evidence

For what was going on During amphitheater events.

[narrator] Scattered throughout The ruins of the amphitheater,

Archaeologists recover objects

That date back To the late first century ad.

Among them, The bone-handle of a gladius,

A dagger wielded By gladiators.

Nearby are high value coins,

Some minted With the head of vespasian,

The roman emperor Between 69 to 79 ad.

And beneath the seating

Are fragments Of a polished red clay bowl

That show gladiators Fighting to the death.

What do these Scattered objects

Reveal about the lost world Of the ancient romans?

[narrator] Today, The artifacts are stored

At the grosvenor museum In chester.

Curator liz montgomery Analyzes the items

To look for clues About how they are used.

[liz] This is a small bowl That was found

At the amphitheater In chester.

It shows two gladiators on,

So it's quite An unusual decoration.

It's not particularly Well-made,

And the top of the decoration Has been smudged away

By the fingers of the potter

And the little characters Themselves

Aren't very clear at all.

[narrator] This poor workmanship Suggests that

The bowl is likely made By an apprentice potter

And is a cheap, Mass-produced object.

[liz] The spectators wouldn't have Come from home

With their drinking vessels,

So they could have bought This sort of cup

At the amphitheater

And then they could have been Thrown away afterwards.

[narrator] This object Is evidence

Of a flourishing trade Going on at the coliseum.

Vendors sell drinks, Souvenirs and memorabilia,

Like at any modern sports Arena today.

Liz suspects Some of the artifacts

Reveal even more intriguing Similarities

With modern day sports fans.

She inspects the broken pieces Of a large vessel.

They're made of ceramic, They're heavy duty,

They're great big pieces,

And you can see On many of them that

There are actual Roman finger marks.

[narrator] She believes that

Rather than being Parts of souvenirs,

These items have A more practical use.

[liz] If you put them All together,

They form portable ovens

And there were at least Three found

At the chester Amphitheater site.

[narrator] What are the vendors Cooking in these ovens?

She examined some unusual Bone fragments for clues.

This little bone here Is a chicken bone.

There were absolutely Loads of these

Recovered From the amphitheater.

And it suggests to us that

The people who were there, The spectators,

Were purchasing roast chicken.

It's very much like us going To a football match nowadays

And buying some fried chicken

And eating it While we're enjoying the game.

[narrator] Traders in the piazza Outside the coliseum

Do a roaring trade, Selling food, drink

And gladiator souvenirs To the spectators.

The most avid fans Even get small lead tablets

Inscribed with curses,

Hoping to help Their favorite gladiator win.

The artifacts reveal that

The coliseum is an important Commercial center.

The rulers encourage This bustling trade.

But tony wilmott believes

The games have A special meaning

For some roman citizens,

Especially if the coliseum

Is located On the edge of the empire.

Less than a mile From the chester amphitheater,

He examines A section of the city wall.

[tony] The wall behind me is... Is medieval.

It's part of the medieval Walls of chester.

It's an extension Down to the river

Of the walls of the original Roman fortress.

[narrator] Chester Is a vital stronghold

As the invading romans Push their conquest

Into northern britain.

Roman legions are sent here

To protect This frontier settlement

From attack by local tribes.

Excavations in the 1930s Reveal

A huge roman barracks

Built here to station This formidable force.

The legionary fortress Here at chester

Was built around the 1870s.

It's a huge fortress.

In fact, It's one of the biggest Legionary fortresses

In the roman empire.

It is built to house A roman legion,

Basically 5,000 soldiers.

[narrator] The amphitheater In chester

Is a legionary coliseum.

Unlike coliseums in capua, El jem and rome,

It is built primarily For soldiers, their families,

And the remote roman community That lives here.

[tony] At chester, For the legionaries,

The entertainment Will be the same

As it is in any amphitheater,

That's what amphitheaters Are for.

There will be Gladiator fights, Wild beasts hunts.

[narrator] As well as providing Spectacle,

The gladiators are delivering A key message

To the roman soldiers

Who see them fight.

They are warriors in battle.

[tony] If the decision Is death,

Then the gladiator Has to face it

With courage, with dignity,

He's sworn to do that At the end of his life.

He'll kneel, head upraised,

Looking the audience In the face,

Take the blade, Through the neck,

Down slantwise Into the vital regions.

[narrator] A good death redeems

The gladiators From the dishonor of defeat.

It provides a noble example

To the watching Roman soldiers.

[tony] The gladiators Are slave.

They're the lowest of the low.

If a mere slave can show Courage in facing his death,

Then, our audience, The roman army

Must also show greater courage Than a mere slave can.

[narrator] This is A crucial lesson

To roman soldiers posted In the remote

And dangerous corners Of the empire.

From chester in britain, To el jem in north africa,

The roman soldiers In the audience

Must always remember

That they are expected to die Courageously for the empire,

Just like the gladiators.

But what more Can coliseums reveal about

Everyday roman life?

How do megastructures Like el jem ensure that

Everyone across the empire Knows their place?

[narrator] Coliseums are built To entertain

And subdue the public

And remind soldiers from Every corner of the empire

How to die with honor.

What else can These megastructures reveal About life

For the citizens Of the roman empire?

In capua, southern italy,

Valerie higgins examines

The piazza Of the giant coliseum For clues.

In roman times, this is where The crowds gather

Before the gladiatorial Games begin.

She identifies An intriguing feature

Built into the fabric Of the monument.

[valerie] Coming into the amphitheater,

What we see above the archway

Is the head of a roman god,

And each archway Has a different one.

[narrator] Valerie believes Each carved statuette

Has an important Practical purpose.

[valerie] You would know From what head there was,

Which arch to go through,

And this would direct you To your seating.

You went into A sector of the seating

Which was organized According to social class.

[narrator] This strange Signposting reveals

A deep roman obsession With class and social status.

[valerie] You could look around you And you know exactly

Who is the same status as you,

Who is considered to be A higher status than you,

Who is considered to be A lower status than you.

It is an exercise In knowing your place.

[narrator] In tunisia, Nejib ben lazreg

Wants to understand

How the segregation Of roman society

Plays out Inside the el jem coliseum.

The shows were free For the public,

But there was A strict separation

Between the social classes.

[narrator] He examines the arena's Seating to look for clues

To where different parts Of society sit.

We have to imagine All around this wall

There was a big slope Made of concrete

And this reached the very top.

The best vision you have is

When you are close To the arena.

Okay? It's much like in, uh...

The theater nowadays.

[narrator] The first-floor level Is called the podium.

Two thousand years ago,

This section is lined with Slabs of luxurious marble.

Nejib believes This is reserved

For the highest echelons Of roman society.

The closest to the arena Were the senators.

It's because it's them Who sponsored the show.

[narrator] The higher up You sit,

The lower your status, With segregation

Based on class And even gender.

Stone barriers Called balustrades

Enforce a physical separation Between each section

To ensure No mixing takes place.

Nejib believes this Class separation In the coliseum

Holds up a mirror To roman society as a whole.

[nejib] The rich people were Five percent of the society.

The rest of the people were

Either middle class Or even poor.

It's these rich people Who decide what to do.

[narrator] El jem, Like the many coliseums

Across the roman empire,

Entertains vast audiences

And reminds the people Of their duty to rome

And their place In the social order.

It is both an icon Of roman civilization

And a powerful Propaganda tool.

But mighty el jem Also marks a turning point

In the history Of the roman empire.

It is one of the last great Coliseums the romans build

Before their decline and fall

Starting In the fourth century ad.

Roman coliseums Are incredible feats

Of ancient engineering.

They showcase The empire's most popular

And deadly spectacle, Gladiator fights.

As powerful Propaganda machines,

They unify the far corners Of the empire,

Repress rebellion

And remind soldiers How to die with honor.

These lost coliseums reveal

The inner workings Of roman society

And expose The brutal tactics at play,

That make this one of the most Formidable empires in history.