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Message: <blockquote data-quote="alsih2o" data-source="post: 1283878" data-attributes="member: 4790"><a href="http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/12/15/1071336895957.html" target="_blank">http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/12/15/1071336895957.html</a> Animal magic of Rome's Colosseum underworldBy Michael Leidig in MunichDecember 16, 2003The Colosseum in Rome was as sophisticated as a modern stage set, according to archaeologists who have calculated how an intricate system of gangplanks, trapdoors and levers was used to bring wild animals into the arena.Under the 55,000-seat Colosseum, pulleys and ropes were operated at split-second intervals to connect passages, open gates and hoist cages from the basement to the arena floor. The system was run by teams of slaves who faced being fed to the animals themselves if their timing went awry.A team from the German Archaeological Institute involved in an eight-year project to rebuild the arena - which was built about AD 70 - has been astonished by the ingenious designs. (Although the basement of the Colosseum was due to be excavated in 1812, the water-table was too high at the time and the area was covered over again. Until now, it has never been properly investigated.)By measuring the floor space and cavities in the walls where wooden lifts, levers and cages would have been constructed, and comparing their findings with contemporary accounts of how animals "magically appeared", the archaeologists have pieced together how the mechanisms worked. Beneath the arena's grandeur lay a netherworld of gladiatorial schools and storerooms, all linked by corridors filled with pulleys and levers, animal cages and gladiators. "We can tell that two or three different mechanical systems were installed," Heinz-Juergen Beste said. "We have found more than 28 lifts used to get animals into the Colosseum."With a pull of a lever they could send scenery, artificial forests or castles made of papier-mache into the arena. The animals were taken down into the basement where they were put into cages. "From there they were hauled up to a second level and the door to the cages opened. The beasts would then run up ramps and out into the arena."The highlight of a typical Colosseum performance was the afternoon gladiatorial contest, run to a tight timetable by slaves who worked in poor conditions. "The spectators would have had plenty of light, but below ground it was a very different story," Dr Beste said. "It would have been very dark, with just a few candles or an oil lamp."The first recorded fights between gladiators took place in 264BC and spread rapidly with the growth of the Roman empire. At the height of the empire, a network of at least 186 amphitheatres stretched from Westphalia, Germany, to the Euphrates.The Colosseum was the largest and most prestigious arena, where emperors consolidated their reputations by staging ever larger games. Rhinoceros and bulls were originally pitted against each other but their popularity led to more exotic creatures being sought. Camels, zebras, tigers, lions and leopards were shipped from across the world.Maltreatment was part of the Colosseum menagerie regime. "[Beasts] were starved, had salt poured into wounds, were taunted and thrown straw dummies of men to make them fighting mad - and then they were released," Dr Beste said.</blockquote>

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