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View of the central meeting point of the four underground passageways that led to the center of the arena. This complex housed the wild beasts before the combats. There were eight trap doors that led to the arena surface.
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.
