Amphitheatre of Pompeii

One of the oldest surviving Roman stone amphitheatres, built around 70 BC with private funds from Gaius Quinctius Valgus and Marcus Porcius shortly after Pompeii became a Roman colony. The arena held approximately 20,000 spectators. In 59 AD, a notorious riot between Pompeians and Nocerians during a gladiatorial show caused numerous deaths, prompting the Roman Senate to ban events there for a decade. The amphitheatre was buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, preserving it remarkably intact beneath volcanic ash.