3.  An Amphitheatre is a vintage outdoor stadium where people watched different events.  The word Amphitheatre comes from the ancient Greek word amphi - meaning around and theatron meaning place for viewing.

4.  They had tiered seating in Amphitheatres just like stadiums or circuses today.  The stadiums we have today are based on Amphitheatres.  They were called amphitheatres because they were built like two theatres facing each other.

5.  They were built because they wanted a permanent structure so they did not have to keep putting up temporary amphhitheatres.  Before amphitheatres were built wooden or temporary structures were used put up by city councils or rich men and women.

6.  Slaves were mainly used to build amphitheatres.  Slaves would quarry stone from miles away and carry it to the building site.  Stone masons, artists, builders, engineers, painters and decorators did the skilful jobs that slaves couldn’t do.  They invented concrete which was made out of rubble, sand volcanic rock called pazzolona and a mix of mortar.  Arches were also used to hold the amphitheatres up.

7.  Amphitheatres were used to entertain people from all around.  Gladiators fought each other and wild animals like lions, bears, ostriches and lots of other animals people had never seen before.  There were also chariot races in amphitheatres and people would bet on which chariot would win.  Amphitheatres were also used for re-enacting sea battles.  Executions were also held in amphitheatres.  Much later famous people like Mussolini held rallies to show their wealth and power. 

8.  Gladiatorial fights started off when rich men and women made their slaves fight to the death in Campania and Etruria!  Gladiators were usually slaves or prisoners of war.  Gladiator schools were set up and the gladiator’s had to stick to a strict diet.  At the peak of the gladiatorial fights people that were in prison were forced to fight and if you completed a minor crime you were also forced to fight.

9.  Most of the chariot racing drivers were slaves but there were a few professional racing drivers too.  Each driver wore a coloured tunic so people could see what team they were on.  The chariot drivers usually had quite a short career before they injured themselves or died.  There were no lanes and pretty much no rules.  The races were usually seven laps around the stadium.  The top drivers were like celebrities today they were better known then the gladiators around the empire.

11.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiIXUtpfj wQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiIXUtpfj wQ

12.  The Colosseum is the most famous amphitheatre.  The oldest surviving amphitheatre was built around 70 A.D and could hold up to 20,000 people.  The remains of 230 amphitheatres have been found all over the Roman Empire.  The first and second biggest amphitheatres are in Italy.  It took roughly 9-11 years to build the Colosseum!

14.  El Jem was built around 238 AD. In Tunisia  It is the biggest Amphitheatre in North Africa.  It could hold up to 35,000 people.  El Jem has no foundation, and is completely freestanding.  El Jem is 138 metres long and 114 metres wide. That is at least 20 metres longer than a soccer pitch and twice as wide

15.  It has a circumference of 427 metres and is 36 metres high.  They got stone and brought it to El Jem from up to 50 kilometres away.  It was named a Unesco world heritage site in 1979.  It is the third biggest amphitheatre in the Roman Empire.

16.  The first wooden amphitheatre was put up around 59 B.C in Rome.  Early amphitheatres were made out of wood and were a circular shape.  Two semi circular wooden theatres were put together to make a circular theatre.

18.  Concerts have been taking place since 1981.  80,000- 100,000 people usually attend the concerts held there.  Slane concert takes place in county Meath.  Slane castle is just a couple of kilometres from Newgrange.  Jon Bon Jovi and eminem are due to play in Slane in August 2013. 

21.  Is Pompeii amphitheatre.  It was the first amphitheatre to be made out of stone and was built in 70 B.C.  In 62 A.D an earthquake struck Pompeii.  It’s not like other amphitheatre’s around the empire because it is a couple of feet below ground level.  Two local officials built it.

22.  The Caspian Tiger and the African Elephant were driven to extinction because so many were killed in different amphitheatres around the empire.  On the day the Colosseum opened 5,000 animals died.  The games played in the colosseum are thought to have taken the lives of about 500,000 people and 1,000,000 wild animals!

23.  Arles is in France  It was built in 90 AD  Arles can seat 20,000 spectators.  It is used today for bull fighting, concerts and plays.  After the fall of the Roman Empire it became shelter for many people with houses and churches contained inside it.

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