How Roman engineers could have flooded the Colosseum

2007/10/15 by Martin Crapper · 1 voice
Arts and Humanities · Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Maritime and Coastal Archaeology #Building materials and conservation #Conservation Techniques and Studies

paper · doi:10.1680/cien.2007.160.4.184

openalex publication_date 2007/10/15 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21

Abstract

It is known that the Romans staged mock sea battles as well as gladiator contests in some of its numerous amphitheatres. However, there is much speculation as to whether it would have been technically possible to flood the Empire's largest and best-known amphitheatre—the Colosseum in Rome itself—even though contemporary reports suggest it did happen. Using a modern engineering analysis, this paper concludes that while there are a considerable number of missing links in the archaeological evidence, the central 80 m long arena could have been filled in a time of 2–5 h and drained again in a similar timescale.

Discussions

• Crapper, Martin. “How Roman Engineers Could Have Flooded the Colosseum.” Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Civil Engineering 160, no. 4 (November 2007): 184–91. https://doi.org/10.16 [bsky, 1 points, 1 comments]

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