The excavations being carried out by the City Council of Cartagena (Murcia) in the Roman amphitheater have made it possible to locate the ‘bestial foundry’ of the monument. It is a space under the sand that served to keep the beasts that participated in the shows crouched. From there the gladiators also left to fight.
Archaeologists have unearthed a first section of this structure as part of the recovery work on the Roman site. It will be incorporated for the first time into tourist visits next summer, according to the mayor, Noelia Arroyo.
The “won cast” ran along the sand from end to end, widened in its central part and was hidden under boards on which the sand was deposited. The animals used in the shows were caged in that space and from there they went out to the arena. The gladiators also appeared from those underground areas, to increase the theatricality of their outings.
In the excavations, access stairs to the foundry and traces of the spaces on which the planks were placed have been located. Something that, according to municipal sources “allows us to know the type of show that was already carried out in ancient Carthago Nova, 2,000 years ago.”
The team working on the monument has indicated that the foundry section located will soon be covered, to protect it during excavation works. This new discovery adds to the total of 30 percent of the Roman Amphitheater that is excavated today. Which allows “to be able to make a first theoretical, hypothetical restitution of what the geometric development of the building was in its entirety.”
In addition, they have reported that “the team of archaeologists, restorers and architects is working so that next summer visitors can also enjoy the experience, while the work continues, so that they can enjoy what has already come out and what is already has recovered and has been consolidated.
Archaeologists are now working on recreating a section of the stand’s perimeter wall. The stands were protected by a wall between two and three meters high, topped by bars that prevented the animals from accessing the stands. The placement of new ashlars will allow visitors to better understand the dimensions of the monument in the section chosen for its recovery.