Complex Elevator and Trap Door System for Raising Wild Animals into the Colosseum Reconstructed

Many thousands of people suffered violent deaths in the gladiatorial contests of the Colosseum and other arenas of the ancient Roman empire. Innumerable animals killed and were killed in the blood-thirsty games, forced into the arena through an advanced system of tunnels, cages, lifts, and trap-doors. Now archaeologists have reconstructed this complex system in Rome’s Colosseum, bringing to life the ingenious equipment used in the gory games of the Roman Empire.

The slaughter of innocent beasts, including lions, tigers, giraffes, bulls, elephants, hippopotami, bears, wolves and jaguars, was so bad that populations of some animals dropped precipitously in some of their ranges. Experts have estimated that up to 1 million large carnivores and other beasts died in the Roman games at various venues over the years.