Circular Corridor

Circular Corridor

View of the interior of a portion of the circular corridor (ambulacrum) that was located under the seating area of the amphitheater.  It had doorways both to the arena surface and to the street outside the amphitheater.  It was used by the elites to get to their seating area (tribunes) and as a service area.


The amphitheater was constructed in the second century AD when Roman troops were settled in this area—after the Bar Kochba Revolt (AD 132–135). It measures 233 x 185 ft. and could seat 3,500.  It was used for gladiatorial and animal fights, as a training ground and or as a parade area.  After the earthquake of AD 363, it was turned into a market place with stalls ringing the arena and in the Ambulacrum.  It was excavated by Amos Kloner in the 1990s.