Ludus Magnus

Ancient Roman gladiatorial school

The Ludus Magnus (lat. :Domus Vectiliana), also known as the Great Gladiatorial Training School, was the largest of the gladiatorial schools in Rome. It was built by the emperor Domitian (r. 81–96 C. E.) in the late first century C. E., alongside other building projects undertaken by him such as three other gladiatorial schools across the Roman Empire. The training school is situated directly east of the Colosseum in the valley between the Esquiline and the Caelian hills, an area already occupied by Republican and Augustan structures. While there are remains that are visible today, they belong to a reconstruction that took place under the emperor Trajan (r. 98–117) where the Ludus plane was raised by about 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in). The Ludus Magnus was essentially a gladiatorial arena where gladiators from across the Roman Empire would live, eat, and practice while undergoing gladiatorial training in preparation for fighting at the gladiatorial games held at the Colosseum. The Colosseum was where Gladiators would go to fight their opposition.

The Ludus Magnus was situated directly to the east of the Colosseum in order to provide gladiators with accessibility to their main fighting venue. Though it is not aligned axially to the Colosseum, it does lie just north of it along the square of the Colosseum between the ancient Via Labicana and Via Di S. Giovanni. The Ludus Magnus was located in order to connect those two buildings, through an underground gallery linking the two buildings. A path with an entrance 22.17 ft wide which began underneath the amphitheater reached the Ludus at its southwestern corner.

The Ludus Magnus functioned as the leading gladiatorial school in Rome. The Romans used the same word ludi to denote gladiatorial games, as well as the schools which saw to the practice of such games. It was meant to be a place for gladiators from around the world to practice fighting techniques, such as training for venatio. Upon arriving to the ludus, gladiators would be separated based on their fighting specialty and then assigned a doctore for their specialty, as well as placed under the general oversight of a lanista. It is here that the gladiators would eat, train, and sleep on a regular basis. The training portion of their days was extensive but also public. As was customary, the Romans often watched the gladiators train as we know that the seating provided at this ludus accommodated approximately 3,000 spectators. This effectively served as a sort of precursor to the games, a taste of what was to come at the Ludi Romani.

The Ludus Magnus was constructed under the reign of emperor Domitian during the late first century C. E. He also erected three other ludi around the same time (such as the Dacian, Gallic, and Matutinus or Morning School),The Ludus Magnus underwent various reconstructions under succeeding emperors during the Roman Empire. For instance, changes were undertaken under Trajan so that the pavement level was raised by 1.4 m providing us with the structure that can be seen today. Situated between the Via Labicana and Via di S. Giovanni in Laterano, excavations were carried out for less than half of the overall building.

Access points would have been located along the Via Labicana whereby one descended steps to the level of the arena floor below street level. The cavea surrounding the arena has been calculated to encompass nine gradus, with a support system of concrete vaults over brick faced concrete walls. There were also underground chambers which were likely used for storage purposes. The foundation of the cavea was also elevated 2.75 m above the arena with a rectangular portico surrounding it with columns in two storeys, the lower in unfluted travertine Tuscan style and presumably Ionic above with no surviving capitals to confirm and the Ionic column features themselves belonging to a later repair than original construction. This corridor was likely paralleled above the ground as well, though, it remains speculation. Roman poet Juvenal also enlightens about the separate quarters present in a ludus. Roman orator Quintilian further describes the exchange of blows of gladiators in practice.

The archaeological remains of the Ludus Magnus represent roughly less than half of the practice arena and barracks, while the rest of the structure remains hidden under street level and other buildings. What remains is largely the product of a rebuilding endeavor taken on by the emperor Trajan in the early second century C. E. According to Claridge, under Trajan the seating area and ground level were elevated while the arena level remained intact. We also know of half of the plan from a fragment that has survived from the Severan Marble Plan (early third century C. E.), although breakage and erosion have decreased its informative value. There were also great doubts about where it was located in the general topography of ancient Rome, so that it can now be related to a building in Piazza Iside, still visible.