Physical Description
With its original dimensions of 60.5 m × 43 m (198 ft × 140 ft), the arena of the Amphitheatre of Serdica is commonly cited as having been some 10 m (33 ft) smaller than the Colosseum in the imperial capital Rome. It ranked among the largest in the eastern part of the empire and was much larger than two other Roman amphitheatres in modern Bulgaria, at Diocletianopolis (Hisarya) and Marcianopolis (Devnya). In terms of architecture, the amphitheatre is comparable to the Arènes de Lutèce in modern Paris, France, and was designed for a maximum attendance of more than 20,000 or around 25,000. Like arenas in the Mediterranean region, the Amphitheatre of Serdica has an east–west orientation. It lay outside the city walls of Serdica.
The stand for high-ranking Roman officials lay in the southern section of the amphitheatre, near what is today the National Art Gallery. The amphitheatre featured two main gates, from the west and the east, linked by an underground water canal. The west gate, which reaches 3.5 m (11 ft) in width, is estimated to have been topped by an arch 5 m (16 ft) high. Among the excavated and preserved ruins are the main entrance, the underground level, part of the main section with at least seven spectator seats and gates with sliding doors to let animals into the arena. The opus mixtum construction technique was employed in the construction of at least a part of the amphitheatre. Items discovered during the amphitheatre excavations include bear and boar bones, hundreds of bronze coins and clay stones imprinted with the footprints of goats, dogs and cats.
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