The amphitheatre of El Jem

[expedition_retirement]

Our visit to El Jem was an optional addition to our trip, but with a UNESCO World Heritage site, it wasn't difficult to decide to go on the excursion. The star attraction of the day was the Amphitheatre (or Coliseum) of El Jem. Built in the 3rd century CE, this was the third largest coliseum in the Roman world, and is one of the best preserved Roman rock structures in the world, and is unique in Africa. 

 

Our bus parked on the far side of the coliseum from the entrance, so our visit began with a walk around the outside of the site. The coliseum sits in the middle of the modern city of El Jem, but has a large enough buffer zone that the city doesn't feel crowded up against the ruins.

Once inside, our trip leader became our tour guide of the site. First he took us down to the underground spaces, where the gladiators and animals were housed until it was time for them to go up to the arena. There was an extensive network of chambers and corridors, and even the tunnel that brought the competitors into the coliseum still exists (although it is closed to visitors).

We then went up and stood on the arena floor while our trip leader talked about the history of the structure. In its day, the coliseum here is believed to have been able to seat more than 30,000 spectators. It was later used as a fortress during invasions by the Vandals and then by the Arabs. We then worked our way up into the stands, to the highest levels that are open to the public, where we got a sense of what the view of the spectators might have been.