The catapult pulled back latch at the gates all at once, and they flew open. The gates of the starting boxes in the north curve of the Circus were designed to open with the help of a catapult system. There was a trumpet blast and the race started. The presiding magistrate signaled start by dropping a cloth napkin from his hand. On the day of the race, regular processions took place in the circus and all bets were stopped at that time.Įxample of Chariot racing. Each of the teams also had their own fan base, just like today’s football fans and also sometimes there was fought street battles between rival fans.

If a driver was very successful, he could buy the freedom from the prize money.

Most charioteers were professionals who served as slaves. They were paid for their performances in the circus. For this they were under imperial patronage and each crew provided by the emperors the stables on the Campus Martius, as well as coaches, veterinarians, blacksmiths and zookeepers. The teams (factiones) consisted of the magistrates (organizers), and the drivers. Most of the time there were four teams whose charioteers wore garments in the colors white, red, blue and green. The drivers of the various chariots belonged to a crew and each crew was marked by its own color. Opposite, in the north curve, were the twelve start gates of the Circus, the so-called Carceres.Īt the time of the Roman emperors chariot races were maintained very professionally. In the center of the south curve stood a marble decorated triumphal arch, which granted a direct entrance into the arena. The masonry consisted of bricks and clad cement. With their sturdy construction, the arcades secured the grandstands above and provided space for the stairs and passageways. Up to 3 floors, the grandstands were once high. In 1936 AD, when excavating the well-preserved south-east curve of the Circus, it was discovered that the grandstand was based exclusively on arched substructures, also called arcades. The grandstands, as in the Great Coliseum, were build on multi-layer basis to accommodate more spectators and provide a better view. Other objects on “spina” served for practical purposes, including seven moving eggs and seven artificial dolphins for counting the seven laps of a race. On this spina were various objects and monuments, including a 24m large granite obelisk by Ramses II (obelisk was brought to Rome in 10 BC by the command of Roman Emperor Octavian Augustus). Through the middle of this arena was again a 344 m long brick strut (Spina) in the longitudinal side direction. Overall, the circus was 600 m long and 150 m wide, making the arena from above seen an oval shape. According to Pliny the Elder the Circus Maximus could accommodate 250,000 spectators and other sources says that it could fit up to 400.000 spectators, but these numbers are probably unrealistic.

World chariot races