Details for Circus Maximus, Rome

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The Circuis Maximus was Rome's largest and oldest Hippodrome, it was originally built around 600BC and was used for horse and chariot races. It is estimated that the Circuis Maximus held from 250,000 to 300,000 spectators, over five times that of the Colosseum.

The ciurcus was built in a valley between the Aventine and Pallentine hills in central Rome and had stands along the two banks. The dimensions of the area were over 600m long and around 150m wide. There stands were originally built in wood - but later upgraded to stone as time passed.

It is said that the Circus Maximus caught fire on two occasions and the stands have also been known to have collapsed killing scores of people.

This is a reconstruction of how the Circus Maximus would have looked, the chanel in the centre of the track was known as a spina.

Submitted By: starms on 2005-12-27