Since then, the remains have been kept under lock and key while a major feat of engineering suspended them in situ between the floors of the Guildhall Art Gallery. The painstaking and lengthy restoration process - costing £1.3million - revealed an arena that was oval in shape and approximately 100m long by 80m wide.
It’s believed that the Amphitheatre was first built in 70AD and would have been the setting for gladiatorial fights, executions and a range of activities, many of them more bizarre, cruel and horrific than anything Hollywood has ever dreamt up. Animal bones, including those of a bear, have been found, as well as remains of a timber drainage system used to carry away both water and blood! Now, 1,600 years after it was abandoned in the fourth century, an exhibition has been opened on the site which centres on the ruins, but also includes 3D graphics of the arena in action. The space, and the tiers of seating which would have held up to 7,000 spectators, have been recreated by architects Branson Coates in wire frame drawings, projected in lines of green light on to black glass screens.
Branson Coates, in turn, called in David Atkinson Lighting Design to handle the lighting of the space. The dark entry corridor is illuminated by small ceiling-mounted light boxes fitted with dark blue filters. The Amphitheatre itself is set within a ‘black-box’ and is tightly lit by 150W CDM-T custom designed sources (fitted with barndoors and pebble convex lenses), as well as the digital reconstruction mentioned above which is set into a giant 22m light box wall. To add movement to the space, dappled light is projected onto the textured floor through CDM-T projectors fitted with animation disks.
AC Lighting supplied the kit and the installation was carried out by Lauren Lloyd Electrical.
