Amphitheatre of Tarragone

View of the whole amphitheatre, the last huge Roman monument built in Tarraco. It is estimated that its construction goes back to the years 100 and 120 A.D. This location was used for entertainment purposes.
Many executions of people sentenced to death took place publicly. In the year 259 A.D., the city's bishop and two deacons were even burned to death.
The amphitheatre is now part of the Roman site of Tarraco, declared a UNESCO world heritage site. It has also been declared a historic-artistic monument since 1924.
Photo: Bing ©

The amphitheatre is located outside the walled enclosure. The inhabitants of Tarraco went there to attend fights between gladiators, named "munera" or fights including wild animals named "venationes".
Photo: Model of Tarraco's Forum in the Roman times.

The northern half of the stands was carved within the rock. You can still see this part, even though the stone has been eroded over the centuries.

As for the southern half, you can find an arched structure in concrete (concrete was invented by the ancient Romans). This part, including its stands, remains the best preserved.

In the 5th century, while the location had been abandoned for several years, the Visigothic basilica was built right in the middle of the amphitheatre, that in commemoration of three of the martyrs burned to death in the past, namely the bishop and the two deacons.
In the 12th century, a medieval Romanesque-Gothic church replaced it. You can now see a few cross-shaped stones, remnants of this church.