Possible Gladiator’s Cell Uncovered at Richborough Amphitheater

RICHBOROUGH, ENGLAND—BBC News reports that excavations conducted by English Heritage archaeologists at the site of southeast England’s Richborough Roman Amphitheater have revealed a cell, or carcer, where gladiators, prisoners, and wild animals may have been held before performances and executions. As many as 5,000 spectators could be seated in the chalk and turf amphitheater, thought to have been built in the first century A.D. Traces of paint indicate the structure was painted red and blue. The remains of a cat, dubbed “Maxipus” by the researchers, was buried on the edge of a ditch outside the amphitheater. Animal bones, coins, and pottery in the area suggest the Roman town was inhabited until the end of the end of the Roman occupation of Britain in the fourth century. To read about a Roman amphitheater discovered at the ancient city of Mastaura in western Turkey, go to "In the Anatolian Arena."