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Excavations
on the Southern side of the amphitheatre revealed that the outside
wall was nearly 2m thick with heavy buttresses. Inside this was
an earthen bank which supported the wooden seats. Finally came
the arena wall which was estimated to have originally between
2 and 3 metres high.
The arena
floor was found to consist of sand some 50cm deep on top of a
layer of river cobbles.
The stone
pictured right was found in the arena wall. It recorded the cohort
responsible for the construction of that section.
The masonry
(eg South Entrance top right) was found to be so strong that it
was concluded that the whole structure could be excavated and
left uncovered. (Not like the remains at Silchester which crumbled
within two years of being exposed.)
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