Gladiators in Carnuntum/Bad Deutsch-Altenburg (Lower Austria)

Gladiator Games, 23.6.2007

Amphitheatre of the ancient Roman Military town
today part of Bad Deutsch-Altenburg

HISTORY OF THE AMPHITHEATRE

About 100 meters east of the military camp, bedded in a hollow and surrounded by the houses of legionary city, lie the architectural remains of the canabae legionis.The amphitheatre is the sole building of the legionary city that can be seen and is accessible today. The Limes Road runs to the south of the structure, from the righthand camp gate (porta principalis dextra) through the grass to the east.
The original structure was a massive wooden building. Towards the end of the 2nd century a stone building was erected in its place. These buildings measures are presumably the work of councilor Caius Domitius Zmaragdus.His name is to be found on a building inscription that was brought into the camp and found there. C. Zmaragdus had the theatre "...built with his own money on public land...". This inscription resulted in a long discussion among experts. It could also have come to the camp from the civilian city's amphitheatre. This question has still not been resolved to this day.
Compared to the monumental gateways on the east and west sides, the northern gate is very simple and seems quite unremarkable. Inside the cavea wall there were many corridors like tunnels which led in a northerly direction towards the Danube as well as a small room which seems to have functioned as

a mortuary. This was where the corpses of the gladiators and dead animals were transported from the arena after the fighting was over.
Above were the podium and the tiered seats. No remarkable architecture - such as the governor's box in the south - can be seen here. However, it seems likely that seats were reserved for public figures here. At least the inscription above the gateway seems to indicate this. It says: IIII viri municipii Aelii Carnunti - the four mayors of the city of Carnuntum.