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ROME, ITALY—Wanted in Rome reports that the restorers who have been carefully removing dirt and smog residue from the surface of the Colosseum have found traces of painted red numbers on its arches. Similar to today’s stadium seating systems, the numbers are thought to have directed visitors to their seats, assigned according to social class. Rossella Rea, director of the monument, says that the paint is an “exceptional discovery,” since it had been thought that the painted numbers would not have survived. To read about the surprising uses of the Colosseum in the middle ages, go to “Colosseum Condos.”
