In the unbuilt space between the Imperial Palace and the Navalia, a small amphitheatre was built in the Severan Age 193-235 AD, of which two concentric foundations, cast in formwork and visible especially along the modern path, remain; a third foundation most likely created an exedra. Constructed in opus vittatum mixtum, the building was totally demolished between the 4th and 5th centuries AD to make room for a new façade of the Imperial Palace. Subsequently, the area where the amphitheatre rose was traversed by the Late Antique walls, of which a particularly well-preserved section, with buttresses, remains.
Photo from hot-air balloon of part of the amphitheatre
(Portus Project)
The amphitheatre upon the completion of the 2009 excavation
(Portus Project)
Reconstruction of the amphitheatre
(Portus Project/Artas Media)
The Amphitheatre during excavation
(photo: Portus Project)
Detail of Amphitheatre’s foundations
(photo: Portus Project)
Late Antique burial in brick box
(photo: Portus Project)
Late Antique burial in amphorae
(photo: Portus Project)