The high-tech mechanisms of the Roman Colosseum

Colosseum spectators needed tickets and social rank to get a good seat

Entry to the Colosseum was free but tightly controlled: spectators presented tesserae, sat strictly by class, and risked losing their seats if they left for lunch, while senators watched in comfort and women and slaves were pushed to the top tiers.

The poet Martial vividly described the Colosseum’s opening games

In "Liber Spectaculorum," Martial recounts the inaugural spectacles at the Colosseum, offering graphic depictions of staged executions—some modeled on Greek myths—that took place during the midday program.

Some Colosseum fighters battled wild animals instead of other humans

Not everyone who entered the Colosseum was a gladiator. Learn about the bestiarii—who ranged from trained animal fighters to condemned prisoners—and how their encounters with wild beasts became one of Rome’s most lethal spectacles.

Exploring the Hippodrome of Constantinople

The Hippodrome had room for about 80,000 spectators (more than the Colosseum, but less than Rome’s Circus Maximus). It was simultaneously Constantinople’s premier entertainment venue and its greatest political theater: the emperor routinely watched the games, and sometimes communicated with the crowd through a herald. The worst riot in Byzantine history, the Nika Revolt, began when the factions of the Hippodrome united in opposition to Justinian.

Why only one of the seven wonders of the ancient world still exists

Greek writers recorded lists of great structures that were later codified by Renaissance writers. The definitive list includes the Colossus of Rhodes, the Giza Pyramid (the only existing one today), the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, and the Lighthouse of Alexandria.

Fascinating 3D animation shows how Romans built roads

Highly efficient engineering and materials production allowed Roman administrators to lay down nearly 50,000 miles of roads across the ancient empire. These roads were built so effectively that many are still around today. Watch this quick 3-minute video to see how they did it.

Synchronized swimming dates back to Ancient Rome

Known for gruesome gladiatorial contests, ancient Rome's aquatic spectacles may have been even more over-the-top. This article dives into the art of synchronized swimming in ancient Rome. Lakes were dug and amphitheaters flooded to provide space for aquatic reenactments of naval battles and artistic performances. Swimmers playing the role of water nymphs would create elaborate shapes, including ships with billowing sails.

The ancient engineers inspiring modern building practices

Modern concrete structures need replacing every 50 to 100 years, so why are buildings by the Maya, ancient Rome, and ancient China still standing strong? This article details how scientists are looking into humanity's past for clues on how to craft long-lasting structures. Part of the problem is adopting old material recipes to hold up to modern demands.

Stanford built a Google Maps for the Roman Empire, revealing how much it cost to travel in the ancient world

Nero's 'Golden House' was the peak of Roman imperial architecture

Constructed on land cleared by the Great Fire of Rome in 64 CE, Emperor Nero's large "Golden House" included gilded rooms, multiple gardens, zoo-like enclosures, an artificial lake that housed a boat, and a giant statue of Nero himself. The palace was destroyed after Nero's death in 68 CE.

Wildlife use Rome's sprawling archaeological sites as urban havens

The Italian capital features some of the world's most famous monuments as the inheritor of ancient Rome's grandeur. This photo essay explores the city's vibrant collection of wildlife, including long-concealed native crabs, peregrine falcons, and the beaver-like nutria.

Roman terror was key to its centuries-long dominance

Historians like Polybius recorded Rome's violent tactics in detail, including the enslavement of entire populations and the mass killing of whole cities. Even as terror and violence proved effective in war, many Romans came to view the tactics with skepticism.

A Roman-era cemetery in York may hold the remains of gladiators

A burial ground in York, used from the 1st to the 4th centuries CE, contained around 80 skeletons of unusually tall and muscular young men. Many show fatal combat wounds, including one with a bite mark from a large predator.

How ancient Romans invested and worked

The first stock exchange didn't open for business until the early 1600s, but that didn't stop the Ancient Romans from working and investing their money centuries before. While Romans are better known for their political inventions than their economic ones, understanding how they viewed money can help paint a better picture of the Roman mindset that created systems like democracy. Read this article to learn more.

Ancient Romans sometimes lobbed insults through graffiti

Graffiti was used to communicate ideas, offer advice, and, not unlike the internet, talk some trash. That was especially true with tourists, who sometimes scrawled messages on the pyramids, including one person who complained, "I can not read the hierogylphics." In response, someone replied, "Why do you care that you can not read the hieroglyphics? I do not understand your concern."

How powerful was the volcanic blast that destroyed parts of ancient Rome?

This article details how strong Mt. Vesuvius' powerful 79 CE blast may have been. Pompeii lay a bit further from the volcano's slopes than Herculaneum, a smaller seaside city. While Pompeii was mainly destroyed by ash and lapilli—glassy fragments of lava ejected during volcanic eruptions—Herculaneum was first hit by a scorching pyroclastic cloud of volcanic gas and other matter.

The standing ovation comes from an ancient Roman military tradition

Ovation is derived from the Latin for “I rejoice” and was a ceremonial salute to military generals who'd been victorious in battle.

Machu Picchu explained

High in the Andes Mountains, Machu Picchu stands as a testament to the ingenuity and resilience of the Inca Empire. Constructed in the mid-15th century during Emperor Pachacuti’s reign, this site is believed to have served as a royal retreat or ceremonial center. Its engineering marvels, including sophisticated aqueducts, terraced farming systems, and precisely carved stone structures like the Sun Temple, highlight the advanced skills of the Inca civilization.

The containment apparatus at Chernobyl is the world's largest movable metal structure

Completed in 2016, the "New Safe Confinement" is a €1.5B megastructure—the largest movable structure ever built. It was assembled next to the damaged reactor, then rolled into place along a special track to seal the site for at least 100 years.

The art of classical rhetoric

Ancient orators snapped human communication in two: the open palm of persuasive rhetoric versus the closed fist of evidence-heavy dialectic. The former seeks to convince the many via one's speech, while the latter seeks the truth in an argument. In ancient Rome, rhetoric had five "canons": invention, arrangement, style, memorization, and delivery. Loading the rhetorical canons in order was meant to help orators craft an effective and impactful speech.

What we know about the mysterious colossal squid

The colossal squid, the world's largest invertebrate, remained hidden from human discovery until nearly a century ago. Explore the world of the enormous and mysterious creature, including its features, habitat, and scientific significance. You can even plan a visit to the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and marvel at a real-life display.

The architecture of the Met

Curious how the Met came to occupy its incredible campus? This video, which was produced in association with the exhibition “Making The Met, 1970-2020,” tracks the history of the museum through the evolution of its architecture. From its temporary location in a private residence to its intended home in Central Park, the building now reflects the many different eras of design, including Victorian Gothic and Modernism, that have influenced its facade through the years.

Explore the archaeological treasures of Pompeii, the city buried under volcanic ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE.

Stonehenge produces concert-hall-like acoustics

Acoustics researcher Trevor Cox discovered that Stonehenge acts like a concert hall, reflecting and amplifying sound. This video shows Cox demonstrating the effect using a scale model inside a soundproof studio.

Why roller coaster loops are never circular

The beloved looped roller coaster rides used to be shapes as perfect circles and constructed with wood, resulting in wobbly machinery that gave people whiplash. After the invention of steel and further scientific understanding, Six Flags debuted The Great American Revolution—a modern, oval loop with steel that offered a safer and smoother experience.

In 1963, a basement renovation in Turkey revealed a passageway to a hidden, multilevel underground city that once housed as many as 20,000 people

How the Golden Gate Bridge was constructed

San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge is one of America's most iconic structures and is considered to be an engineering marvel. Built in 1930's, before the advent of modern construction technology, the structure was considered impossible by contemporary standards.

In 1963, a basement renovation in Turkey revealed a passageway to a hidden, multilevel underground city that once housed as many as 20,000 people

See a 3D reconstruction of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital that was home to an estimated population of 200,000 to 400,000.

The 1987 Nintendo video game 'Stadium Events' isn't known for being particularly fun, but its scarcity has made it a highly sought-after item that has sold for up to $35K at auction.

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.

The animatronic shark from Steven Spielberg's 'Jaws,' the first modern blockbuster, was a complex underwater apparatus called 'Bruce.'

Long before Major League Baseball began allowing instant replay for balls and strikes, an umpire reluctantly used the technology to determine whether a hit was a home run, a move that inadvertently ushered in a new era for the sport.

The Mona Lisa's celebrity status and repeated restorations have obscured what made the painting so revolutionary for its time

The US Constitution is widely regarded as the longest-standing written national constitution still in force—see how it has influenced rights worldwide.

Larger animals like giraffes, elephants, and blue whales have developed a unique defense against cancer, a phenomenon known as Peto's Paradox

See photos of Meteora, a mountainous site in central Greece, home to 14th-century monasteries perched atop soaring outcroppings.

Discover the catastrophic consequences of a failure of the US electrical grid—something that is more likely than many Americans think.

Massive 3D printers have been used to build homes by stacking layers of 'concrete toothpaste,' a fire-resistant material that effectively insulates against outside noise.

Clever Hans was a 1900s horse that was believed to be able to solve math equations, tell time, and read and comprehend German, until a psychology student discovered how he got his answers.

Watch how algorithms can be designed to train themselves and self-improve without human input, to the point where the optimized code is too complex for programmers to understand.

Sony set the standard for cylinder-shaped batteries when it repurposed manufacturing equipment used to make rolls of magnetic recording tape.

Neutron stars, the remains of some massive stars after they explode in a supernova, are the densest directly observable objects in the universe.

Corals are themselves not coral reefs—the term refers to the tiny marine invertebrates that build the rigid reef.

Hear about the 250-year history of the United States Postal Service, complete with some of its strangest deliveries, important innovations, and the figures that made it an American institution.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps is independent of Iran's regular army and is one of the most powerful and influential military-political organizations in the Middle East.

See how fireworks are made and learn how metals like magnesium and copper are responsible for different colors.

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

The Nasdaq's 'Magnificent 7' companies are responsible for roughly 40% of the Nasdaq 100 index's gains, while the remaining 93 companies account for the other 60%.

Some coin denominations have ridges etched on their sides, partly to prevent counterfeiting, in a practice called 'reeding.'