Seating for 12000 by brewgirlca
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Description
Kinda long, sorry.
Ok, so now we are standing on the athletic course of the stadium of Perge. And I must say this must have been one pretty damn intimidating sight when it was alive because it is still amazing even now. When I was there I did some quick math and calculated 6,000 people could be sitting there. I guess I didn't count that people didn't have our fat American asses back then! In fact by counting the wear patterns on the bench seating it has been found that the stadium seated 12,000. And right next door was a theatre that seated 15,000 running shows at the same time. And given the huge open areas these structures were in, you can easily image 30,000 to 35,000 people packed in this entertainment complex. Now a football stadium for an average size American or Canadian city is about 45-50,000. So we are talking a very sizable amount of hoopla going on in Perge!
Now let's take a look at what is going on here. See that opening dead center at ground level? (Enlarge the image, darn it.) And remember those vaults in the previous slide? Well that opening leads into one of those vaults - those are the entrances to the stadium. Each vault supports a bank of seats and there are 25 of them in a long U-shaped structure. Each vault has 12 long benches. You can see that between the vaults there are a set of stairs. Now doesn't that look just like your typical football stadium? (Whichever side of the pond you're on)Isn't that amazing?
So you may think you wormed your way past the huckster vendors occupying the outer vaults only to be dumped right onto the "playing" field. Right there in the dust and stench and such forth with all the "athletes." But you would be wrong. Look to the far left and you will see a row of rocks three layers deep. And if you look just to right of center you will see that row again. That is the remains of a corridor that ran right around the inner most bank of seats, protecting the spectators from the "players." So you came through the entrance into a corridor, then you turned right or left and made your way to the flight of stairs and on up to your seats. Genius.
Ok, not over yet. And this is something Mikerson alluded to in the previous photo where he said he could imagine a road up top. Well it's too narrow for a road Mike. But what if you got seated and you spotted Uncle Kornos a few sections over and you wanted to see him to brag about the latest slave girl you had acquired? (Perhaps from a huckster in the vault you just came through.)Well it's kind of a hassle to go all the way down again and try to work your way across. Unless of course you used the other covered corridor; the one around the top rim of the stadium! Indeed look to the top left just below what appears to be a cliff. That small pile of rubble is the remains of the topmost covered corridor that encircled the structure. There is also a small bit on the extreme right. Genius again.
Wow, talk about how far we have actually come since those times. Ha! Those Roman engineers had a heck of a lot of things figured out that we just take for granted as being modern.
Oh, and finally. That cliff? Not a cliff. It's actually a few hundred meters back from the stadium and it's a wall. A defensive wall. That is part of the lower city wall built by the Romans in about the 3rd century C.D. The stadium as I said previously was built in about 50 C.D. That means that for some 250 years after the entertainment centers were built there were no city walls. And the story of the wall is coming up next.
Previous Perge
"Step right up"
"Step right up"
Comments (31)
ToniDunlap
Fascinating Roxy. Wonderful of you to share, otherwise I'd be missing it. Great photo.
Sepiasiren
another amazing shot--getting to live vicariously though your lens although at some point I will stand on the sands--lol
0rest4wicked
Amazing accomplishment for the time!
blinkings
What an amazing place.
whaleman
I would imagine it was packed when the Lions were playintg against the People! Nice shot!
SidheRoseGraphics
All pretty amazing feats of ancient engineering. As 'far' as we've come with managing to build retractable domes over our stadiums they still don't work sometimes and we still haven't done any mock naval battles in any of them. Lol. They were geniuses at building things. I have to give the Roman Empire that. A wonderful image and story to go with it, Roxy. Thanks!
mikeerson
76,125 seats is the total number of seats at Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium.... HOME OF THE DENVER BRONCOS NFL TEAM. The rocks looks huge where the action is to be - if they are as big as I think, it took some muscle to put them there... interesting that sights like this aren't cleaned up and used I wonder how many people were killed in this stadium and if they have record of the last event and day that something was held there. Pretty cool stuff, thanks for sharing.
twelvemark21
Cool bit of classic architecture and engineering. Fabulous photo!
vitachick
That is some history Roxy. Those Roman engineers were just fantastics.
Faemike55
Very cool and colourful description Roxy. I can also imagine some kid out there selling programs to the viewers, exhorting them to buy by saying that they need to know who is fighting whom Excellent photo
magnus073
Great photo of this amazing setting Roxy, this place really was one of a kind. Thanks for all of the info also.
barryjeffer
A great shot, but it's all the details you've given us about the place that really captures the imagination. Totally amazing what these ancient people did without the use of all the tools we have today. And what exceptional minds the Roman engineers must have had to envision these structures. Thanks Roxy.
photosynthesis
Fantastic shot of the ruins. I've visited Roman ruins in France & Italy & they are always awe-inspiring - this makes me want to travel to Turkey as well...
nefertiabet
Wonderful place and info, thank you!!!
Blush
Great image And info too Hugs Susan~
Tracesl
Excellent
4udreamcatcher
Wonderful capture and factual storytelling :O-)
etoiledumatin
Beau sujet, mais difficile à traiter en raison de la luminosité
drifterlee
Wonderful shot! That's a lot of people!
nitegrafix
Great piece.
West_coaster07
Awesome work!!
adorety
Amazing! Again. That is some great and insightful info. A genuine ancient athletic park. So what do we watch today honey? There's gladiators in Roma Bank Stadium and naval battles in The Bank of Rome Stadium. They were really amazing engineers and really understood crowd filing and control. It's also interesting to learn of the different layers of architecture from different civilizations too. It still makes me wonder about megalithic structures that are thousands of years older than this. With your description I can see how this was built, but how do you build using stones that are 50 tons or more, not with log rollers. But I digress. Great place for a concert! Like Pink Floyd at Pompeii.
jocko500
wow this is super cool looking . wonder how many people died here?
RodS
One can almost hear the roar of the crowd (with thier skinny butts...LOL) through your excellent photos and narratives, Roxy. A most excellent history lesson - far better than all that boring stuff back in school (speaking of ancient history...).
3dpoetry
Awesome photo
JaneEden
This is so amazing Roxy, thank you for your informative intro and also sharing the photo with us. hugs Jane xx
tennesseecowgirl
Good write up on this. Great pov.
velleman
I love antique world, great presentation!
Ash888
Neat pieces of archaeology you are giving us here Roxy! It must have been impressive when it was full of life and with a mind like yours it becomes alive again even now. Cool!
FaeMoon
I hope you are also taking pictures close up of those stones.. what a texture bonanza :) The sheer scope of this place is amazing and to think of the drama and the fighting that these crowds enjoyed as their entertainment, the roar of the crowd. You are describing it so well, I can easily picture it in my mind.