​THE COLOSSEUM

By looking at the Colosseum today, one would not know that it was covered by an awning. This awning was called a velarium which means a veil or shade. The Romans used the velarium to cover the arena and provide shade for its spectators so they could watch the games in comfort without being blinded by the sun. A wall painting from Pompeii showed how smaller arenas were covered by awnings which were draped on poles over part of the seating. The awning in the Colosseum was much more sophisticated than the one in the painting. There were 240 projecting brackets around the top part of the Colosseum and masts were inserted into square holes. The rigging that supported the awning was attached to these masts. It is thought that about a thousand sailors would have been needed to set up, maintain and operate the velarium. It is thought that the velarium was made of a lightweight but material such as linen because it had to cover such a wide area and if it was too heavy it would make it harder to pull and keep up.  There are two theories as to how this velarium covered the arena. The first way is that this velarium could have been one whole piece that was pulled across the arena from one side to the other using ropes attached to stones on the outside of the colosseum. The second way is that this velarium could have been made up by sections of fabric and these individual sections were attached to the outside of the arena and pulled into the centre of the arena, where they were then attached to a ring that was held in place by ropes. These ropes may have been connected to the stones outside. I think the second theory seems more likely because with the first theory the size and weight of the awning would have been very difficult to pull over the arena. It would take a lot of co-ordination and many people to achieve this theory.  It would seem an awning that size would be hard to get to the top of the arena. The second theory is more likely because smaller sections of awning would have been easier to carry and be moved into the arena. It would not take as much effort to pull these awnings out and cover the arena as each awning is much smaller, lighter and easier to operate.  Fewer people would have been needed for this. Once each section of awning was pulled out into the arena, poles could have been used to drag them and attach them to a ring hanging above the centre of the arena. Then the part of the velarium would stay up and that is how I think the velarium worked.