A Colosseum in Mastaura, Turkey

The ancient city of Mastaura is unknown to me and the internet is not proving to be very helpful. The site is situated 50 kilometers east of Aydin, Turkey. 

In the middle of nowhere, aerial pictures revealed a circle around a depression that was too perfect to be natural. The untrained eye may miss it altogether but the hidden contours belonged to a Colosseum. A lot of vegetation and a thick layer of soil has hidden this Roman construction from view for centuries. It was discovered in 2020 and as the archaeologists started clearing the site by cutting trees and bushes that had held the stone remains in their grip, they realized it belonged to Mastaura. 

[Picture from Arkeonews]

Having lain buried for centuries, the Colosseum underground is rather well-preserved. The parts of the building above ground reveal rows of seats, the central area where the spectacles took place, and the outside supporting walls and vaults. It is definitely smaller than its counterpart in Rome. 

The amphitheater could soon be dated to about 200 AD, i.e., the days when emperors of the Severan Dynasty ruled, 193-235 AD. 

Usually, amphitheaters are oval-shaped, but this is one of the rare circular examples, measuring 30x40 meters. The only round example I have ever seen was in Cyrene, modern Libya. There, its life started as a theater but the expansion of the city called for an amphitheater. Lacking the space for an oval shape, the builders simply mirrored the existing theater to create a round amphitheater (see: Cyrene, founded by the Greeks). 

The Colosseum of Mastaura offered seating to 15,000-20,000 people, which may have come from neighboring cities such as Aphrodisias, Miletus, Priene, and Ephesos. It is one of three such arenas discovered so far in Turkey. The spectacles were similar to the gladiator battles and animal fights organized all over the Roman Empire. 

Mastaura appears to be built inside a narrow valley, maybe along a small river and covered an amazing surface of 160,000 m2. Over the past two years, researchers unearthed an impressive underground sewage system that spread over the entire city. Based on the engineering technique and the materials used, it can be dated to around 200 BC and was probably used well into the days of Roman imperial rule. The size of the sewer is such that one can comfortably walk inside them. For now, the passage is blocked some 20 meters into the system because the walls caved in. 

[Picture from Arkeonews/IHA]

A lot of work remains to be done at Mastaura, like reinforcing some sections of the walls and brickwork of the Colosseum, clearing the sewage system, and exposing more buildings and artifacts around the city.

Mastaura was important enough to mint its own coins in Roman times, and a substantial number has been found so far and needs to be further analyzed.