Latest News
26th March - 1973 newspaper article added to gallery on Senlis site visit page
14th March - List page updated again to 252 with the addition of Taranto.
26th February - List page updated to 251 in total with addition of Modena and Siponto.
20th February - Site visit pages for Nola and Nocera now live.
17th February - Information on the so-called ‘souvenir’ glass flasks depicting the Flavian Amphitheatre added to the Puteoli site visit page.
13th February - Site visit page for Avella now live.
12th February - Site visit page for Capua now live.
10th February - Site visit page for Amphitheatre of Formio now up and live.
7th February - Site visit pages for Amphitheatres of Cuma, Liturno and Minturno now up and live. Link buttons on the Site Visit Blogs page.
30th January - The site visit pages for two Amphitheatres at Pozzuoli and one at Naples are now up and live. Find the link buttons on the Site Visit Blogs page.
17th January and welcome to 2025. I’ve just finished a short trip to Campania, managing to visit a number of sites - some more spectacular than others. There is a roundup of where and what on the ‘Amphitheatre News and Updates’ page, and a number of new site visit pages will appear in the coming weeks.
29th December- Having looked in more detail at the Portus Site (Near Ostia 18 miles west of Rome) the existence of a small amphitheatre has been confirmed within the Imperial Palace complex on the north-west side of the octagonal Trajan Basin. You can see the curved all foundations in the photograph below. This is now added to the list as site number 249.
27th November - I recently became aware of a Wikidata map showing Roman amphitheatre sites. There is a link on the list page of this website (Now re-named ‘Map & List of all 249 Sites’) which you can get to via the eponymous button on the main page or clicking ‘Find an Amphitheatre Near Me’ on the right hand side of the banner at the top of any page of this site. I’ve started cross checking it against my own list and already seem to have found an unknown (to me) site in Turkey near a place called Hamamli on the peninsula Kapidagi Yarimadasi which extends northwards into the Sea of Marmara near Bandirma. The what3words location is caged.absolute.auctions Google streetview doesn’t get anywhere near it. More on this will follow.
26th October - I’ve been gifted a copy of L’amphithéâtre romain de Purpan-Ancely, no.2 in the Guides Archéolgiques do Musée Saint-Raymond of Toulouse. It tells the story of the rescue and restoration of the neglected amphitheatre from the 1980s to date. Definitely worth €7 and a bit of work with a dictionary or online translator, if your French is rusty. See the Facebook Page ‘200 Arenas’ for more details.
24th October - Slightly disappointing to learn that Gladiator 2 has relied on a film set built in Malta for its amphitheatre scenes, unlike the original which made much use of the El Djem site in Tunisia. Still going to go and see it ‘though.
17th October - Page for site visit No.31 now live. Charterhouse in Mendip. A little amphitheatre on a hillside in Somerset
23rd September - 30 site visits now complete and recorded. Pages for Chartres and Dorchester are now live
19th September - 2024 photos of Colosseum added. Thanks to Stu La Frenais
18th September - Site visit page for Poitiers added
16th September - Thanks to Mike Benns whose visit to France has not only provided photos of Toulouse (Site No.56) but also added a new discovery (Cahors No.247) for details see Facebook Group ‘200 Arenas’ (Link at top right of this page)
22nd August - Site visit page for Perigueux added
20th August - Site visit page for Montbuoy added
5th August - Site visit blog for Amiens added
3rd July- Simple Minds play at the Pula Arena Croatia
19th - 24th June Five sites in France explored. Amiens, Montbouy, Perigeux, Poitiers and Chartres. Individual blog pages coming soon.
14th May - Site visit blog no 24 Tours (Ceasarodunum) now added
7th May - Site visit blog for Palais Gallien Bordeaux added
5th May - Merseybeat meets the Roman Empire part II added to Saintes blog page. When a (nearly) Beatle visited a Roman Amphitheatre.
25th April - Site visit blogs for Petronell Carnuntum in Austria added. More news to come shortly on the Saintes/Rory Storm story.
17th April - 20. Senlis added to blogs. This one has a video link.
16th April - 17. 18. and 19. added, Empuries, Beziers & Nimes. Galleries revamped and photos of Simple Minds at Nimes and Verona added (Courtesy of Mr JM)
11th April - Blogs 14. 15. and 16. Chichester, Susa & Ivrea
9th April - Blog 13. Nice (Cimiez) added
4th April - First 12 Site Visit Blogs posted
1st April 2024 - Website and accompanying private Facebook Group ‘200 Arenas’ now live.