Caerleon, UK - Roman Amphitheatre; Boston, MA - Fenway Park
Title
Caerleon, UK - Roman Amphitheatre; Boston, MA - Fenway Park
Catalog Entry
The amphitheatre at Caerleon in Wales is one of the best preserved amphitheatres in the United Kingdom. It was built around 75CE and was occupied until around 300CE by the Second Legion Augusta. There were around 6000 Roman men in Wales at the time of its occupation, and all of those men needed something to do in their free time. The amphitheatre was made as a place of entertainment for the Roman soldiers, a place they could go when they weren’t fighting or on guard at the Roman fortress nearby. The whole compound fell into disuse after the Romans left, with the Welsh later taking some of its building materials for reuse. The large oval amphitheatre soon became overgrown and ended up looking like an almost perfectly round dip in the ground, until it was fully excavated in 1926 by the Liverpool Committee for Excavation and Research in Wales and the Marches. Until then, people were calling it King Arthur’s Round Table, but it was found to be the Roman amphitheatre. It was shortly after the excavation that they saw that it was mostly used for entertainment purposes.
Most of the entertainment that went on in the amphitheatre at Caerleon were gladiatorial battles, but there was also a wide variety of Greek and Roman plays produced there. Soldiers could go and watch Greek tragedies and comedies performed by amateurs and professionals alike, booing when they wanted to and laughing or crying at other times. They could watch plays by Sophocles and Aristophanes, Euripides, and Aeschylus. It wasn’t just the soldier who could go, though; Welsh natives could find their way into the amphitheatre to watch the “best” of Roman entertainment along with the occupying armies. It was one of the few places that Romans and natives mingled, along with marketplaces. If the people wanted to watch, then the amphitheatre provided. The world of Roman sports and entertainment happened mostly in amphitheatres all over the empire, and it was where the people flocked.
A similar heritage site in New England is Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. The stadium was originally built in 1912 to be home to the Red Socks baseball team. It was and still is a place where people go to watch sporting events and concerts, though it is mostly used as a baseball field. The connection between Fenway Park in Boston and the Roman amphitheatre in Caerleon is that they were both constructed with entertainment in mind. Both structures were built to be the place where people went to watch fun shows and to relax a little. Going to a baseball game is a fun way to pass the time with the family and so was going to see a Roman play or two or more gladiators fight. While Fenway Park doesn’t put on plays like the amphitheatre in Caerleon did, and while the park wasn’t built to entertain a foreign army, they both hold a place in the hearts of those around them. Fenway Park is synonymous with fun, good times, and baseball. The amphitheatre was just the same for the Romans and Welsh natives. Well, except for the baseball.
Most of the entertainment that went on in the amphitheatre at Caerleon were gladiatorial battles, but there was also a wide variety of Greek and Roman plays produced there. Soldiers could go and watch Greek tragedies and comedies performed by amateurs and professionals alike, booing when they wanted to and laughing or crying at other times. They could watch plays by Sophocles and Aristophanes, Euripides, and Aeschylus. It wasn’t just the soldier who could go, though; Welsh natives could find their way into the amphitheatre to watch the “best” of Roman entertainment along with the occupying armies. It was one of the few places that Romans and natives mingled, along with marketplaces. If the people wanted to watch, then the amphitheatre provided. The world of Roman sports and entertainment happened mostly in amphitheatres all over the empire, and it was where the people flocked.
A similar heritage site in New England is Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. The stadium was originally built in 1912 to be home to the Red Socks baseball team. It was and still is a place where people go to watch sporting events and concerts, though it is mostly used as a baseball field. The connection between Fenway Park in Boston and the Roman amphitheatre in Caerleon is that they were both constructed with entertainment in mind. Both structures were built to be the place where people went to watch fun shows and to relax a little. Going to a baseball game is a fun way to pass the time with the family and so was going to see a Roman play or two or more gladiators fight. While Fenway Park doesn’t put on plays like the amphitheatre in Caerleon did, and while the park wasn’t built to entertain a foreign army, they both hold a place in the hearts of those around them. Fenway Park is synonymous with fun, good times, and baseball. The amphitheatre was just the same for the Romans and Welsh natives. Well, except for the baseball.
Bibliography
MLB Advanced Media. "Fenway Park." MLB.com. MLB, 10 Feb. 2001. Web. 01 May 2018.http://mlb.mlb.com/bos/fenway-park-living-museum/timeline/
Mynde. "History." Excavations of Caerleon Amphitheatre. Caerleon Net. Web. 01 May 2018. http://www.caerleon.net/history/amphexcav/index.html
Mynde. "History." The Roman Army in Caerleon, Isca, Wales. Caerleon Net. Web. 01 May 2018. http://www.caerleon.net/history/army/index.html
University Press. "Ancient Greek Theatre." Ancient Greece. Ancient Greece, 2003. Web. 01 May 2018. http://www.ancientgreece.com/s/Theatre/
Research Assistant(s)
Chris Gerardi, Student, Fitchburg State University
Alex O’Neil, Student, Fitchburg State University
Alex O’Neil, Student, Fitchburg State University
Photographer(s)
Kisha G. Tracy
Collection
Citation
“Caerleon, UK - Roman Amphitheatre; Boston, MA - Fenway Park,” Cultural Heritage through Image, accessed April 24, 2024, https://culturalheritagethroughimage.omeka.net/items/show/36.