Cirencester Amphitheatre was a Roman

amphitheatre An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...

Cirencester Cirencester (, ; see below for more variations) is a market town in Gloucestershire, England, west of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswolds. It is the home of ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, England. Its remains are scheduled as an

ancient monument In British law, an ancient monument is an early historical structure or monument (e.g. an archaeological site) worthy of preservation and study due to archaeological or heritage interest. The ''Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 ...

. Archaeological digs have uncovered the earthworks, revealing the outline of the construction, which is still visible, with the banking reaching 25 feet from the bottom of the

arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

. The arena itself is approximately by . Roman artefacts including coins and pottery have been discovered on the site. It is estimated that it was constructed towards the beginning of the 2nd century. A thermogram of Cirencester Roman amphitheatre in darkness

A thermogram of Cirencester Roman amphitheatre in darkness

Roman Britain Roman Britain was the period in classical antiquity when large parts of the island of Great Britain were under occupation by the Roman Empire. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. During that time, the territory conquered wa ...

, Cirencester was known as

Corinium Dobunnorum Corinium Dobunnorum was the Romano-British settlement at Cirencester in the present-day English county of Gloucestershire. Its 2nd-century walls enclosed the second-largest area of a city in Roman Britain. It was the tribal capital of the Dobun ...

, and was the second biggest town in

Britannia Britannia () is the national personification of Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used in classical antiquity, the Latin ''Britannia'' was the name variously applied to the British Isles, Great ...

, after Londinium (London). This amphitheatre is also the second largest, which indicates the significance of the location in Roman times. Although only slightly larger in diameter than the amphitheatre in Silchester, it has much higher sides. The earthworks show evidence of tiered wooden seats for around 8000 people, placed upon terraces made of stone, although a timber-only structure may have existed before the 2nd century. There are two entrances, at the north-east and south-west ends of the stadium. During the 5th century, when the

Western Roman Empire The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period ...

was under attack and soldiers returned to Rome to defend it, the amphitheatre was fortified to defend against the invading

Saxons The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

. Wooden structures were erected within the arena, placed in

posthole In archaeology a posthole or post-hole is a cut feature used to hold a surface timber or stone. They are usually much deeper than they are wide; however, truncation may not make this apparent. Although the remains of the timber may survive, most ...

s, and the north-east entrance was partly blocked. Unlike other amphitheatres, it is aligned in parallel to the streets of the town. It has also been referred to as the 'Bull Ring', because the sport of

bull-baiting Bull-baiting is a blood sport involving pitting a bull against dogs. History England Crowds in London during the Royal Entry of James VI and I in March 1604 were entertained by bull-baiting. During the time of Queen Anne, bull-baiting was p ...

used to take place there. In 2012, plans were announced by the Cirencester Town Council to improve access and signage at the site. Further plans for a visitor centre and car park followed in 2014.

References

External links

English Heritage details of the amphitheatre
{{coord, 51.7115, -1.9722, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title

Amphitheatre An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...

Amphitheatres in Roman Britain Ruins in Gloucestershire Scheduled monuments in Gloucestershire

See also

References

External links