Flooding the Colosseum for Naval Battles

Before the Colosseum became famous for gladiators, Rome turned it into something even more

shocking. In its earliest years, the arena may have been flooded for

water-based spectacles inspired by Roman naval battles, known as naumachiae. Using Rome’s advanced

aqueduct system, engineers could channel and control large volumes of water inside the

amphitheater. The wooden arena floor was removable at the time, allowing shallow

water to cover the space below. Prisoners or condemned men were then forced to fight in boats

while tens of thousands of spectators watched from the stone seating above. Many participants

drowned, turning the event into a deadly form of entertainment. When the underground