Location

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.

Purpose

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.^[1] 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.^[2] 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.^[3] This effectively served as a sort of precursor to the games, a taste of what was to come at the Ludi Romani.

Classical

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),^[3] though the Ludus Magnus was the largest of the four training schools that Domitian erected in the area surrounding the Colosseum.^[4]

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.^[4] Hadrian also added certain refinements as the structure suffered fire damage in the late second century.^[4] And then Caracalla also saw to some repairs and modifications during his reign, with other additions occurring under unclear patronage throughout the active life of the Ludus Magnus.

In late antiquity the gladiatorial school, along with the Colosseum, largely went out of use due to a lack of need in society for gladiatorial games as a form of entertainment when gladiatorial combat was outlawed in the fifth century C.E. The building was abandoned in the sixth century when the space was then used to house a small cemetery.^[3] By the middle of the sixth century, the area was no longer cared for and numerous churches were built, as the population continued to decrease.

Post-Classical

The structural remains were rediscovered in 1937 during construction work taking place near the Colosseum, though excavations did not occur until 1957–61.^[5] Situated between the Via Labicana and Via di S. Giovanni in Laterano, excavations were carried out for less than half of the overall building.^[4] However, in light of the educated assumption that the structure was largely symmetrical and additional help from the marble plan, a restored plan for the entire structure has been postulated.^[6]

Textual

Some of the ancient sources which survive to today are Epictetus, who describes some of the harsh conditions the gladiators of a ludus often faced.^[10] Roman poet Juvenal also enlightens about the separate quarters present in a ludus.^[11] Roman orator Quintilian further describes the exchange of blows of gladiators in practice.^[12]

Archaeological

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.^[3] What remains is largely the product of a rebuilding endeavor taken on by the emperor Trajan in the early second century C.E.^[3] According to Claridge, under Trajan the seating area and ground level were elevated while the arena level remained intact.^[3] We^[who?] 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.^[4] 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.