The Colosseum is one of the most famous architectural achievements of ancient Rome. The Colosseum is an elliptical building made to hold 50,000 spectators for sporting and theatrical events. It is four stories high with rings of arcades on the first three levels. On each level the arches connect to three-quarter columns. On the first level Doric columns, on the second Ionic, on the third Corinthian and the top story has Corinthian pilasters. One of the more mysterious parts to the Colosseum is that an awning could be stretched around the whole ampitheatre from the top story in case of bad weather. Architects today still wonder how the Romans constructed this feature. The Colosseum was constructed under three Flavian emperors, Vespasian, Titus, and Dominitan. More than any other single building, its construction details, engineering, and sense of power and authority speak to the Roman culture.
During performances people entered through the ground floor arches according to where they sat. Beneath the arena floor was a substructure. Almost forty feet deep, it contained a system of corridors for slaves, caged animals, and machinery for performances. To the right you are able to see the substructure because through time the arena floor has deteriorate. It also held the plumbing to flood the arena for water events. The tiers of seats were strictly divided by social strata. The emperor and his family and court sat in the first tier; patricians and gentry were in the second tier; ladies were in the third tier; and common people sat on the top. Barrel vaults were the main supports of the heavy tiers.