Roamin' Colosseums Trivia Quiz

Answer: Arles

While all four of the cities listed are French locations containing Roman amphitheatres (past or present), Arles is one of France's largest and most picturesque. Originally built in 90AD (in the same century as the Colosseum in Rome), the site is used to this day for entertainment of various sorts from concerts to, with some degree of protest, bullfighting. Arles has a lot of Roman architecture, partly due to its spot on the Mediterranean coast, and all of them became UNESCO World Heritage sites in 1981.

Answer: Tunisia

Considered one of the best-preserved Roman amphitheatres in the world, the El Djem Colosseum in El Jem, Tunisia was built in the third century AD and is one of four that were built in the city over the centuries (three of which were built on the same site). Visitors to this UNESCO World Heritage Site would be unlikely to view any shows these days; the battlefield has long since been utilized for a variety of practical purposes and it's more of a tourist destination where visitors can roam the tunnels, seating sections, and alleys. Tunisia, of all Mediterranean African nations, has more amphitheatres than any other despite its size.

Answer: True

Although the time between the two was minuscule, Pula Arena's ground was broken in 22AD while Rome's Colosseum started construction in 70AD, two years after the Croatian landmark was completed. Holding somewhere between half and a third of the audience of the Flavian Amphitheatre, Pula Arena may look similar to its sister structure in Rome, but is noticeably smaller. Nowadays, the building is used as a rare concert venue, but back in the day it was a site for gladiatorial combat.

It's found in Pula, Croatia on the Istria Peninsula in the Adriatic, meaning it's about the same distance between Italy (specifically Venice) and its own capital, Zagreb.

Answer: The Netherlands

It's a bit of a testament to the distance the Roman Empire stretched in the first century AD. Xanten sits quite close to the border of the Netherlands, northwest of Essen, nearly one thousand kilometers away from Italy. Unlike a number of the amphitheatres seen around Europe, the one in Xanten was not only preserved as part of a larger archaeological site (the site around it is actually a near-complete Ancient Roman town). Overlooking the Rhine, this site has become the big draw for the region, pulling in historical tourists since the 1980s.

Answer: Leptis Magna

More heavily built during the reign of Severus in the third century, the Roman cities in Libya expanded the African reach of the Roman Empire, and while opposing forces inevitably won out in this far-away land, these regions still bear the influences of their earlier settlers, notably in theatres such as the amphitheatre at Leptis Magna which, over a short time, became one of the most well-known cities on the continent.

The ruins found there are extremely well-preserved, likely due in part to the expansion built there back in the days of antiquity.

The amphitheatre was actually built before Severus' reign-- by Nero nearly two hundred years earlier.

Answer: West

Found in the Catalonia region of Spain, this amphitheatre was built in the city of Tarraco which, nowadays, is known by the name Tarragona. Settled by the Romans in around 200BC, the lands around it were actually part of the Iberians' territory; their alliance during the Second Punic War led to its expansion which, in turn, resulted in the construction of this arena overlooking the Balearic Sea.

In the centuries to follow, the region, and much of Northern and Eastern Spain (and Northern Portugal) would comprise Hispania Tarraconensis.

The City of Tarragona would become UNESCO protected in 2000.

Answer: In the basement of an art gallery

Many date the Roman founding of Londinium to the mid-first century AD, and the construction of an amphitheatre goes back to about the same time period, though it was never as elaborately constructed as those on the Mediterranean. Used for gladiatorial combat and as an execution site, the amphitheatre only had a heyday for a few hundred years before the Romans moved on.

It wouldn't be excavated until the 1980s when clean-up was done in the area (it had been bombed during the London Blitz in World War II) and, when it was found, the Guildhall Art Gallery was built atop it.

The ruins can be visited in an exhibit in its basement.

Answer: They were destroyed by ISIS

While this site, formerly occupied by various factions over the centuries (including the Romans), was a major Mesopotamian administrative city, the years wore it down, and by the time the Syrian Civil War broke out in the 2010s, maintenance of its ruins was already lacking. Ultimately, ISIS insurgents would loot and destroy the amphitheatre and surrounding structures making excavation of the region a questionable effort. Nonetheless, for many years the city of Dura-Europos was up for nomination as a UNESCO site. Situated on the edge of the Euphrates, it's near the Iraqi border.

Answer: Budapest

Certainly one of the further reaches of the Roman Empire, Aquincum was part of Pannonia Province in what is now Hungary. Sitting on the Danube, the two amphitheatres built there were constructed in what is now Budapest between the first and third century AD. Like other amphitheatres throughout the empire, these ones were used for gladiatorial matches and fights with larger beasts for peoples' entertainment. Both can now be found in the historical Óbuda District, home to some of the oldest structures in the city.

Answer: Verona Arena

Built in the first century AD in Piazza Bra, Italy's largest piazza, Verona Arena is known as an opera venue nowadays, but way back when it played host to some of the biggest battles in Northern Italy. Although this massive structure was nearly destroyed during an earthquake in the twelfth century AD, it became a major project for Renaissance builders and has since become one of the best-preserved structures of its kind. To this day, visitors and concert-goers can sit on the stone steps (which now seat half the building's original audience size) and take in some of the world's best in music and performing arts.