Exclusive lodges found in Turkey’s ‘Colosseum’

Private lodges built for the elite-class people to watch gladiator or wild animal fights shows have been unearthed in the 1800-year-old amphitheater in the ancient city of Bergama (Pergamon).

Archaeological studies at the Bergama Amphitheater, which attracts the attention of the archeology world as it is similar to the Colosseum, the world-famous symbol of Rome, the capital of Italy, have been continuing since 2018.

With the permission of the Culture and Tourism Ministry, new finds that shed light on history have been obtained during the works carried out as part of the "TransPergMikro" project by the German Archaeology Institute and the Berlin Technical University Architecture Institute's Department of Historical Building Research and Monument Conservation.

The seating areas, which were once dedicated to the elite class people at the time and look similar to today's private lodges, were the last finds in the amphitheater, which hosted gladiator and wild animal fights in the second century B.C., witnessed the execution of the first Christians from Pergamon and where sea battles were reenacted.

It is believed that the stone seats, on which the names of the elites were engraved, were purchased or rented for periodical use.

Latin names written in Greek letters

Speaking to the state-run Anadolu Agency, Professor Felix Pirson, the director of the German Archaeological Institute, said that the amphitheater, built during the Roman period, had a very large arena.

Stating that the amphitheater in Bergama was built to be one step ahead of the cities of Ephesus and Smyrna, which they competed against each other, Pirson said: "They wanted to build a replica of the Colosseum here, and the people of classes came...

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