Caistor Roman Town (Venta Icenorum)
The amphitheatre & Roman entertainment
Summary
It is likely that there was an amphitheatre at Caistor Roman Town. If so, it would probably have been built to the typical oval shaped Roman pattern, been open to the air, and could have had enough seats for the whole town.
During the public holidays the people in the town would have gone to the amphitheatre for religious ceremonies, to watch plays or gladiator fights.
Further information
New kinds of entertainment
The Romans introduced new kinds of entertainment into Britain. They did not have weekends as we do today, but they had about 120 public holidays a year. On these days, people would have gone to the amphitheatre for religious ceremonies, to watch plays or gladiator fights.
Many Roman plays survive today, as well as translations of Greek comedies and tragedies. Roman actors wore big masks with larger that life expressions, because many of the people watching were too far away to see their faces. They wore sad masks for tragedies, and smiling ones for comedies.
Gladiator fights
Gladiator fights were probably not so common at the Caistor amphitheatre. Gladiators were slaves or criminals who were specially trained to fight and kill.
In gladiator school they learned how to use different weapons: the 'retiarius' fought with a net and trident (a spear with three sharp points), a 'secutor' would wear a helmet, and fight with a sword.
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