Colosseum: Roman Death Trap | Full Documentary | NOVA | PBS

[@mascadadelpantion8018]

I'll always love you pbs

[@brodyllc]

😂 pds 😭💀💀

[@retsubanires]

​@@brodyllc 🤣🤣

[@Hunter_Nebid]

Grüümer network.

[@Cheka__]

This episode is about the Colosseum.

[@carywest9256]

@@Cheka__ Ya thunk?

[@arkady714]

An entire hour documentary about history without even one use of the word "iconic." For that reason alone, I think I'll watch it again!

[@delsakelly3510]

How did the Romans build the coliseum without modern lift? Even challenging with the use of engineering mechanism. It’s beyond belief. Amazing and incredible geniuses of the past. Thank you Nova/PBS.

[@DonariaRegia]

The same way the Greeks did, with human-powered "treadmill" cranes with a crew of four inside providing the lifting effort, while others maneuver the blocks into position. There are a few period image examples of these cranes, one is a stone relief and there are painted images. Stones weighing multiple tons could be lifted fifty feet in two minutes.

[@joshwood241]

Aliens. They went there after they finished sinking Atlantis... Obviously 🙄

[@seanleaf3165]

Give thanks to Africans! We showed them math and engineering and everything

[@ADSUPINTHIS]

​@@seanleaf3165lol

[@swallowedinthesea11]

The Romans received help from the Yautja. That is why Romans held their fights as a sign of gratitude. The Yautja also helped the Egyptians and Aztecs to construct their pyramids.

[@mackpines]

PBS documentaries are probably the best ones on TV nowadays. History, Animal Planet, and Discovery Channel used to have informative programs all the time. Now, it’s all reality crap. PBS reigns supreme! Thanks for still putting out high quality content.

[@Peg__]

"History Time" is my favorite on KZbin. Pete Kelly is outstanding. I've learned so much.

[@trevorstine8647]

Thank you for this wonderful documentary PBS/NOVA! I teach a World Regional Geography class for the college level and a virtual world exploration class for elementary through high school ages. My college students are mostly adults studying to become architects. I always highlight the incredible architecture of the Colosseum during the European lectures. The lift that the engineer and the colisium worker reverse designed (and the segment about the flooding and draining system ny the city worker) is spectacular and helps to promote a very logical theory about how the Colosseum functioned. This documentary also demonstrates how humans haven't necesarily developed more intelligence, but have accumulated more knowledge in which to engage our intelligence in order to keep innovating.

[@danielroque8504]

I was fortunate to have lived in Italy. Such an amazing beautiful country, and the food, mama mia!

[@maryschipani1224]

Grazie

[@tiffsaver]

One of the most phenomenal documentaries I've ever seen... period.

[@jessiec4128]

That lift is Amazing. It provides how the animals got into the stadium. I am wheelchair bound, but would love to visit that place, and hopefully see that lift in place. I Love watching history videos, and science, and Nature.

[@fokkerd3red618]

I've seen this wonderful documentary before, but the second time was even better. It's absolutely astonishing that they were able to build such a complex structure such as this thousands of years ago. Very, very impressive. It makes you wonder how much knowledge has been lost to time from this period in world history.

[@Dynamike504]

Ff

[@Dynamike504]

Ff

[@Dynamike504]

$$$

[@Dynamike504]

$f

[@Dynamike504]

😊f$$

[@Eazy-ERyder]

I love Roman History. Viva Vespasian!

[@jjgreek1]

The Greeks were appalled at the barbarism of Roman “entertainment”. The Greeks used their auditoriums only for theatre : drama and comedy . Not for slaughter

[@Lorne.Morrell]

I know the narraters not Leonard Nimoy but damn, when he speaks. there are some words that totally sounds like Nimoy.

[@tammycox9789]

When I lived in France I was in a real actual colosseum. They hold a yearly event in it. I was also in a real abandoned castle from midevil times that is now a museum. To say I had a wow moment going on is understated.

[@cindyharriman3753]

If you’re

[@ssherrierable]

I’d love to enter the seraphim in Egypt and to walk inside the pyramids at Giza, the sphinx too they just amaze me. One thing is for sure and that’s that they don’t build things like that anymore and they probably never will…

[@Andy_Babb]

Finally a nova episode about history again! We need some new ancient humans, human and other hominid migration(s) from Africa, our evolution episodes… and could really go for some shows on the European migrations/invasions into Britain after the fall of Rome. Ok. That’s my wishlist PBS & NOVA. Please plan and produce your future episodes accordingly 😬🙄🤭

[@edwardpincus]

This film begins with the most lurid presumptions about the goings-on in the Roman Colosseum. Wouldn’t honor it by watching it.

[@Bubbles99718]

Can't remember the exact year it happened, going from "Oh my God this is so cool, gladiators, the show, everything" to, "Oh my God, this is absolutely horrific. We actually did this?" Think I was mid 20's. Interesting shift.

[@roselightinstorms727]

When they let out the wolf it was taken in by where it was and everything🎉

[@rickskeptical]

I enjoy seeing the views of various experts put together into a tapestry of historical possibilities. We may never know absolutely what happened in detail and how, but this far outways the History Channel Ancient Alien approach that seems so popular today. Love PBS documentaries.

[@Voyeurrrr]

Well said

[@Christopher-iq9yj]

Fascinating documentary. 1500 years in between the original and the recreation from markings on a wall. Humans are billant creatures indeed. I always thought trackers who could look at tracks in the dirt and could tell how long ago they were made were amazing as well.

[@swallowedinthesea11]

The Romans received help from the Yautja. That is why Romans held their fights as a sign of gratitude. The Yautja also helped the Egyptians and Aztecs to construct their pyramids.

[@Lilmisshotrod1]

Shine On ☝️🕊😀

[@lisathuban8969]

Wolf is hoisted into the colosseum. "What the.....? Humans are crazy."

[@filmsage007]

We need a NOVA episode on pandemics in Ancient Rome

[@Hunter_Nebid]

Yeah, because we haven't heard enough about pandemics lately! 😎

[@julianwilkins1669]

There are several videos of plague in Rome on you tube. Blessings to all

[@Isawwhatyoudid]

@@nooneinpart Yeah I bet they would have worn a mask then. The mask or a Centurions sword. What gets me is those *same* people would have worn a diaper on their head after 9/11 if Bush had asked them to.

[@Cheka__]

Gladiators sometimes fought to the death.

[@matthewschiffer4649]

😂😂😂

[@daveygivens735]

I do not doubt the veracity of the producers of this show but I've spoken to other archeologists in Italy who do not believe the Colosseum was flood able, at least not to the depth that would float even mock ships. That instead, there may have been enough water introduced, say-a foot or so, that created the impression of a mass of water but the 'ships' were actually pulled and/or rolled around with ropes and wheels.

[@AsTheWheelsTurn]

this seems much more likely to me!

[@rsr789]

I asked this exact question when I went on the tour at the Colosseum and the guide could not give me a straight answer. As there was no aqueduct going into the Colosseum, there was no way the Romans could have moved the amount of water needed into the Colosseum in order to flood it for naval battles. And even though the Tiber isn't that far away from it, to move that much water by hand (i.e. using buckets, etc..), even using ALL of the slaves in Rome would have been impossible.

[@serengeti4023]

@@rsr789 I totally agree with your statement.

[@genev7855]

In the scope of time, we have changed so little.

[@annanardo2358]

What the Collisseum stood for was awful. Blood thirsty heathens. Spoiled brat emperors. It should never have been built for such an evil purpose.

[@malloryknox1637]

Amazing. What a great entrance well done construction crew and wolf volenteer.

[@Trump20-24years]

Thank you PBS for presenting evidence-based research.

[@gino007able]

I was there, and it's an amazing structure.

[@1994CPK]

If the colosseum games were held today the exact way they were 2000 years ago I bet over 60percent of the population of the USA would watch it no problem. Fights to the death are much cooler than football or basketball.

[@seniorcajun1]

They watch "Professional Wrestling " and some of those peaple don't know it's 1/2 fake , yes you might have a point there

[@holeymattress8128]

We just watch the nightly news for the bloodshed.

[@markbarnes2041]

PBS is always awesome

[@PGar58]

And if they built the Coloseeum now they’d be asking for $1 billion to build a new one across the street. And if they didn’t get it move to Naples.

[@robertsmith6408]

What a great documentary! Had no idea they had sea battles in the Coliseum. Going to Rome in 24, cant wait to see the Coliseum, i hear its full of cats!

[@morganthomas4670]

They got me at civilized culture.

[@MTknitter22]

I know! I think many are a little stunned at that!

[@Jamestele1]

I feel like I have watched the Romans working on the Colosseum now! That was amazing!

[@linetsers]

Romanticizing people getting butchered to death always amazes me.

[@MTknitter22]

Yes. When one visits, it’s a difficult experience knowing how much suffering, death, agony and heartbreak happened --

[@davidriggenbach6672]

We are one of the worse things that happened to this beautiful planet.

[@MTknitter22]

No, THAT Roman spectacle was one of the most unspeakably evil things to ever happen.

[@lastcommodore2071]

Such spectacles would actually be quite popular in some parts of today's world.

[@IrishAnnie]

“Would”? They are probably doing it!!

[@laurapope3685]

This video was awesome! I really appreciated the time and effort it took to make it and learned a lot from watching alone!

[@___beyondhorizon4664]

History is fascinating

[@macktumacder5740]

No cable! Thanks PBS HAWAII👍

[@martihetrick609]

Brought me to tears for history thank you

[@jessebrown3790]

ONE QUESTION I have that I never heard anyone ASK AFTER The mock sea battles W boats and 100-200 people drowning IN The morning show then your have to clear out 200 bodies and the boats by Afternoon, even with the drainage system that can drain the water IN about 1 hour, clearing The Carnage before the afternoon show seems like the biggest challenge

[@astraluna6is9]

This is outstanding. Thanks to all that made this possible. PBS Forever!

[@Kenwood1990]

This would be a great way to get rid of criminals of the day .

[@domestikgoddez9823]

i love the physics explanations. we logged dead cedar trees and used the pulley system to control the logs coming down the hill and to lift them into the pick up truck - i was 8 months pregnant!! my ex cut the trees down and hooked up a small cable and i could do the rest.

[@CrazyBear65]

PBS. I've learned a lot over the years from watching PBS. I'm 57, I grew up with Mr Rogers, then Sesame Street, The Electric Company, ZOOM... When I was a teenager I used to smoke bong hits and watch The Woodwright's Shop. Might've had an influence in me becoming a tradesman. And then Bob Ross... Lotta good stuff on PBS. Worth donating to. _(Hint, hint.)_

[@alisterzarkar7163]

It was a sick world and it still is. A rescued wolf running into the hands of his friend is what stirrs our imagination today. The Romans got their kicks from watching lions come up and kill and eat unsuspecting helpless people, probably what the Romans called harlots and bastards. Interesting work of Italian engineers, but what is the lesson learned here?

[@bluecollar58]

Lol , that Engineer acting as though he rediscovered the pulley system by studying Roman ships instead of just overlooking the obvious.

[@annanardo2358]

Evil animal abusers. The emperor himself should have been crucified. Now THAT would have been real entertainment. All those poor terrified animals. Curses on those evil emperors for stirring up such horrors.

[@thatgirlmadge]

Excellent! Very very educational. Tastefully done considering the horrific games.

[@delsakelly3510]

Heart breaking history of blood thirsty ruler and generation. Genius men blessed with natural ability and skill yet created a monumental instrument to kill slaves and animals. Where is God in this era? It questions my faith.

[@drekarteristhekovanant]

I can’t help but to Think of Sports arenas today!!

[@mikeborgmann]

PBS ROCKS

[@tysonatkins2236]

They used rudimentary tools to fell the tree, as though that made a difference in it's function, but admirable nevertheless. Then, they bring the tree into the shop with a forklift, making the felling technique seem that much more unnecessary. A very well articulated show, despite the shenanigans!

[@JB-rt4mx]

Origins of Ticketmaster

[@Del-Scent]

Another algorithm surprise. What an interesting video. Extraordinary. Definitely saved to favorites!!!

[@BenjaminGrowUp]

What book? Honestly I am so use to people using platforms like yours to advertise their income makers like books. This man didn't do that and wasn't if the lady didn't say anything at the end. That there is a real man of integrity. He focused only on why he was invited there even if talking about his book would have boosted is funds. He might actually use much of his funds for selfless reasons. I personally am very interested in supporting his book knowing the and respecting the writer and his passion and inteligence. We need many more men and women like him, mentally.

[@hallivard]

Wow...just wow. Amazing job!

[@adamiller2526]

Dang! What a feat! Amazing that they could get that in!

[@jonise2524]

If those walls could talk, we would have many legal trials and prosecutions on cruelty and genocide against humanity and animal cruelty also

[@mtd94556]

If a society is based on conquering, other people's than the core society needs to be fairly bloodthirsty. This is a great way to foster a bloodthirsty society that will tolerate having less and less in order to conquer more and more for the benefit of the richest of the rich.

[@Katherine_Allen]

It's as though being a culture of bloodthirsty sociopathy was considered "moral." Makes me shudder and repulsed.

[@marilynnusbaum7564]

I wonder how these ancients would react to the blood and gore of our violent video games … -

[@MTknitter22]

They would laugh at it. They did the REAL THING, in living color in all its evil not fake on a screen (which is bad enough)

[@DeborahRosen99]

The show notes early on that it's estimated that over a million people perished in the Colosseum, and gladiatorial shows pushed several species to extinction. If those numbers are even close to the truth, then tourism at the Colosseum should be treated the same way as Auschwitz, as a "never again" memorial to the cruelty and barbarity of which human beings are capable of inflicting on one another and on the world around us. As it is currently seen, one could view the horror aspect of the tourism to the building as a form of blood sport in and of itself. Losing sight of what the building was constructed for in the awe of the engineering that made it possible, is a nasty way to lose sight of the forest for the trees.

[@1994CPK]

lmao, you sound so butthurt about it. People die dude, just how things work.

[@hardrays]

i feel exactly the same way. i breifly thought, that thing ought to be torn down but we do need to keep an eye on what our society developed from. is someone going to come along someday and float the idea that maybe that was all a great idea and that it ought to be made available to the public once again. quite possibly so.

[@Cheka__]

Sometimes animals were killed in the Colosseum.

[@charliebarton9878]

Yep Deborah, and in a thousand years Hitler will be viewed as a romantic hero.

[@tryste_mx]

It was definitely genocide and ethnic cleansing.

[@christineperez7562]

I love PBS. People like the same entertainment. That's why we like watch sports, movies and tv shows about killing. Some people liked watching real beheadings.

[@billbergendahl2911]

I've had the opportunity to visit the Colosseum twice. The first time in 1997, and again in 2001.

[@Gertieness]

PBS: the documentary 👑 👍

[@kimrok1]

I think the games should be brought back.

[@DemocracyFirst2025]

And now we have, the NFL! (cue “NFL on FOX” theme song 🎵)

[@stuartmacguire4914]

How did hundreds of people drown on boats that sank in five feet of water? How did dozens of crucified prisoners die during lunch hour. I thought the point of the cruelty was that it took an agonizing day or two for victims to die.

[@morgenhoop]

As a Roman Slave once, I have fought there.

[@Acer_Maximinus]

If the colosseum floor was covered with sand, then how would the trapdoor function?

[@steveramey4560]

When they opened the trap door all the sand on the surface would be lost and pour down into the opening. May be more legend than fact, like sea battles.

[@fjornnorth-uh7vr]

No sand on that part it was likely made with wood with something for traction so animals with hooves could climb out

[@russellst.martin4255]

This should be exhibit A whenever someone tries to argue that the world has only recently become an awful place, modern healthcare systems notwithstanding.

[@trevor_mounts_music]

I'd argue that any culture that builds a monument to human suffering at this scale isn't civilized 🤷‍♂

[@___beyondhorizon4664]

The emperor keep his citizens fully entertained and don't think about attempting a coup to kill him

[@cg00000]

Wow, amazing research. Well done.

[@KimonSheri]

Now. We have football, now we have cage fighting, nothing has changed.

[@gregorythomas2674]

I was a gladiator in a past life. So i was told by the fortune teller. I salute you Vespasian!

[@Franciscoflores-si2dz]

i was Vespasian in a past life.

[@gregorythomas2674]

@@Franciscoflores-si2dz Then I salute you Francisco! Might as well be consistent.

[@kurtbjorn3841]

Ha! I love the way "past lives" seem to work. 99% of past lives seem to be either a princess, a great ship captain, a general, a court official, and yes, a gladiator. No one is told "In your past life, you shoveled s**t in a hideous little subsistence farm until you died of starvation or a nasty disease at a young age."

[@gregorythomas2674]

@@kurtbjorn3841 Amen Kurt! That is quite true. I made the whole thing up just for fun anyway. Never been to a fortune teller in my life. Not sure if that is because I don't believe what they say or that I am actaully afraid to hear it. Maybe a little of both.

[@chriswilgus4752]

Hard to believe they had all those animals together in one place

[@crystalhawthorne8241]

What a treat 🌻🐝

[@castorkat4868]

Did the Romans have metal pulleys. Big question there for their experiment .

[@chefscorner7063]

Has NOVA ever put out a bad video on a subject. Even things I have no interest in, they seem to be able to find a way of presenting it in an interesting way!!

[@Phooie]

Awesome 😊

[@claireconover]

yes, all of them… if you’re a kid. I love these videos now but as a kid… it was “old people tv”.

[@christophercook12C]

Ghouls watching torture and murder of people they have enslaved. "A great day out for Roman citizens".

[@martihetrick609]

This is a awesome job guys

[@DefyingTheOddsYT]

Seriously over 11,000 animals in a season?? They were barbarians back then...nicely done NOVA!

[@schance1666]

Only took modern day 'romans' 1500 years to figure out how the real Romans did it. No big surprise.

[@juanitacamacho3690]

Question: How did they clean the debrie of boats and burn bodies fast enough for the show? How did they deal with mildew, stench, blood born bacteria, and rot from water? Maybe for the next chapter?

[@nycgweed]

They had a lot of slaves

[@DeborahRosen99]

The Colosseum was only one small part of Rome, and Rome was the biggest city in the Mediterranean by this time. Estimates reach over half a million people - a good-sized metropolis even today. They had to be very good at logistics to feed so many, and to get rid of the dead - cremation was the standard means of dealing with dead bodies, and usually handled outside of the city since burial was not permitted inside the walls. I'd imagine they applied the same sense of logistics to managing the behind-the-scenes of the games. Who knows, maybe they had an army of slaves clear the sands and resurface them for the next event the way we have a Zamboni resurface a skating rink. Bacteria weren't known about, so they took no precautions there. The stench? They dealt with what they could, and put up with the rest.

[@pete5668]

They didn't care about hygiene, pollution, and cleanliness as much back then.

[@DeborahRosen99]

@@pete5668 I wouldn't say that they "didn't care as much," only that their understanding was different. One of the first major public works the Romans built was the Cloaca Maxima, a sewer system that Rome still relies upon today, and a city official known as an aedile was specifically appointedto keep the streets clean - so they fully understood the importance of removing sewage from the city. As for hygiene, a proper Roman man would not dream of appearing in public unless he was properly bathed, scraped, shaved (they hated body hair), oiled and perfumed, and the public baths were open to all regardless of sex, wealth or social status. Unfortunately, without an understanding of germ theory, the public baths also served as a fast-track for the spread of infectioms and some waterborne diseases like cholera, to the point where at least one Roman doctor was known to have told a patient, "If you value your health, do not visit the baths." I think this observation, made by many others who didn't get it written down in post-collapse Europe, may have been the root of the medieval fear of washing.

[@MTknitter22]

The evil of cheering crowds watching such unbelievable torture and death of people for pure theatrical entertainment is so hard to fathom.

[@Rodmic-hd9pn]

This architect genius is like a Leonardo Da Vinci , and all the others who were ahead of their own time . Let us never forget how we became who we are today.

[@Rodmic-hd9pn]

True brilliance and a phenomenal mind. I’m blown a away

[@GodzHarleyGirlStudio]

Incredible ingenuity involved with so many bright,genius minds used to produce such an enormous building feat.

[@theobserver9131]

Why do humans employ their greatest minds to death and destruction? There's something really wrong with the human race.

[@LowLevelLemmy]

18:09 csgo back stab sfx

[@yellolab09]

They would have needed a much heavier/larger size cage crafted to hold/lift a lion to the floor of the colosseum...or an elephant.

[@sassnsnacksasmr8246]

Ofc I watched all of this! Thank you

[@kn9ioutom]

THE DARK SIDE OF MAN IS VERY REAL !!!

[@rr7firefly]

From the time of antiquity humans codified aesthetic proportions to generate architectural order. This was an established rule book that produced buildings of great beauty. This ordering system became an essential part of the visual language in service to structural and functional needs. The principles were re-discovered during the Renaissance and would later be further developed into Baroque structures.

[@jiml9692]

I miss those days of glory!!!!

[@chriswilgus4752]

Tigers are from India. Capture and transport it . Good luck .

[@Ari-pw6nu]

Remember when The History Channel aired shows forged by history and not seeded with speculation? When news channels hired journalists hungry for truth and not broadcast personalities hungry for money. When news station owners cared more about the dissemination of truth and not the ratings share. And when PBS was PBS like PBS is today. Albeit more advanced technologically today, it accepted the challenge of broadening it's range without becoming so biased in a particular direction that it became untrustworthy and increasingly irrelevant. Thank you PBS. My donations have lapsed and that will be corrected.

[@blueduck5589]

They drained the Colosseum of water and the mud/ground hardened in an hour in time for the gladiatorial games. Nonsense.

[@petebyron1957]

I always imagined a catapult device to lift the cage very fast, as opposed to manual lift.

[@wardlindemann8607]

This is just a rehash of old information. There is nothing new here. Good job PBS.

[@cbunix23]

There wasn't just technical innovation, there were even seat licenses for the better seats.

[@DellAnderson]

Not sure if they used any, but if I were designing I would have used counterweights like modern elevators (weight going down when crate goes up, connected by rope and a pulley) to reduce the amount of vertical force required to lift that crate. At a minimum, they should have used some kind of ratcheting device to keep the mechanism from spinning out of control if someone trips or loses their grip. Speaking of tripping, why didn't they borrow the Greek method of using feet to crank using their body weight? Wouldn't need to learn from the Romans to design a better lift.

[@DeborahRosen99]

Given how the Romans mastered the art of building trebuchet and ballistae (weapons which require storing a lot of energy in counterweights), I'm reasonably certain a counterweight system was in use at the Coliseum too, both in its construction and its operation.