In a traveller’s diary, November 24th 1874…

Stopped at the Coliseum and

went to the very topmost platform of this tremendous ruin

and looked into the far depths of the present excavations. Walked all

around among the arches and after coming down to what used to be

considered the arena we went boldly down an inclined plain in

among the recently found arches etc into two or three long passages

heading ever so far away, saw the bronze sockets in the large

flag stones in the middle of the passage where the gates are

supposed to have turned to admit the animals. Some columns

and capitols and fragments of statuary and slabs with figures engraved on them.

some of them representing fighting or chase. After a late lunch took

a walk through via Babuino, Condoti and Corso home. On the old

pavement below the arena are long pieces of charred wood

with smaller crossbars of the same – very curious.