page_title: Tours Amphitheatre
section_title: Expansion
hierarchical_section_title: Tours Amphitheatre / History / Expansion
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Vomitoire secondaire
context_page_description: The Tours amphitheater is a Roman amphitheatre located in the historic city center of Tours, France, immediately behind the well known Tours cathedral. It was built in the 1st century when the city was called Caesarodunum. It was built atop a small hill on the outskirts of the ancient urban area, making it safe from floods, convenient for crowds and visitors, and demonstrating the power of the city from a distance. The structure was an enormous, elliptical structure approximately 122 meters by 94 meters. According to its design it is classified as a "primitive" amphitheatre. Unlike the famous Colosseum that was made mostly of masonry and built above-ground, the Tours amphitheatre was made mostly of earth and created by moving soil and rock into a bowl shape. Spectators likely sat directly on the grassy slopes, while the masonry was primarily used for the vomitoria and retaining walls.
  When it was expanded in the 2nd century, it became one of the largest structures in the Roman Empire. It is not clear why the amphitheater was expanded given the population and slow growth of the city at the time.
context_section_description: The characteristics of the masonry (e.g. wall thickness was only 1.4 meters) indicate that the amphitheatre was expanded in the second half of the second century. While the overall dimensions of the amphitheater exceeded 156 × 134 meters, the size of the arena itself did not change. The capacity, however, more than doubled, having increased to allow for about 34,000 spectators. In this configuration, the amphitheater was extended in its southwestern part, beyond the existing retaining wall of the Général-Meusnier Street, thought to be the outer wall of the structure. The height of the amphitheater was estimated to be about 25 to 28 meters in the 1970s. More recent discoveries, however suggest this values is closer to between 15 and 18 meters.
  There are numerous hints that show that the expansion was a renovation project. For example, the width and height of the main vomitoria vary significantly at the junction of two phases of work; two half-diameter reinforcements were built on either side of the entrances to increase the load bearing capacity (see Fig. 1), given the increased height (and weight) along the edge where the mass backfill rose sharply.
  These construction features have been identified, in several points of the amphitheater and it is not yet possible to say if this same pattern occurred to the entire monument.
  During the expansion, the external staircases of the original amphitheater were found embedded in the new embankment. Without being abandoned, they may have been vaulted and connected to the main vomitoria, becoming intermediate steps. Secondary vomitoria do not appear to have been extended to the new facade by corridors, but they may have been connected to a circular gallery on the ground floor. There is no direct evidence that new outside stairs were placed against the front wall, however there is indirect evidence to suggest that there were once stairs. For example, the cutaway front is attributed to towers made at the time of construction of the castrum. Also, the front wall seems devoid of any decorative element, based on the few remains available for observation.
caption: Southwest secondary vomitorium. In the background, the vomitorium of the first century (the staircase is medieval); right, a decorated pier adorning its entrance. The extension of the second century, is visible in the foreground.
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