Amphitheater Exterior

View of the exterior of the Amphitheater at Pompeii.  It was built in 80 B.C. when Pompeii became a Roman Colony.  It is the oldest amphitheater in existence!  In contrast to later amphitheaters, note that the staircases to the upper levels of the structure are on the exterior, not in the interior of the amphitheater.

It measures 432 x 335 ft. and could hold 20,000 people!  It was used for sports and gladiator contests, hunts and battles with wild animals!  Wall advertisements for the spectacles have been found on the walls of buildings at Pompeii.