The Roman history of Amiens is a bit obscured by its more prominent roles in the two world wars of the last century and its stunning medieval cathedral. It was a main crossing point of the Somme on the route between the heart of the empire and the ports connecting it with the outlying conquered island of Britannia. The existence of a Roman Amphitheatre within the city remained undiscovered until the 20th Century. Ancient stonework was found during construction of the Hôtel de Ville in 1900 which was attributed to medieval fortifications. Remains were again exposed during reconstruction in 1945 at the end of the second world war. An overview of the findings revealed the plan of an amphitheatre of regular oval shape corresponding exactly with an insula (street block) of the Roman city at the western extreme of the forum. The amphitheatre measured about 113m by 99m, smaller than Saintes but larger than Senlis. On that basis the seating capacity is estimated at around 15,000.

The medieval history of Amiens had similarities with that of Tours. With depopulation and external threats after the 3rd century the citizens took refuge within a rectangular castrum of 20 Hectares (50 acres) protected by high walls and the river Somme to the north. Archaeological reconstructions suggest there was a curved section in the south west corner which became known as La Tour des Comptes (Tower of the Counts). This appears to have been the incorporation of the curved outer wall of the amphitheatre as part of the fortifications.

There is nothing at all visible for the amphitheatre seeker, no curves in the street pattern and no street names referring to Rome, arenas, pits or ditches. Such remains as there are lie below the streets and buildings of what is now a much later modern part of the city. However, like the Guildhall Square in the City of London, there are echoes of the ‘sense of place’ and civic importance of the location in its later choice as the site for a major civic building and a public square, now used by skateboarders rather than Gladiators.