The Roman Circus at Colchester

Philip Crummy, Colchester Archaeological Trust Recent Lecture

A 200 hectare redevelopment in Colchester provided an opportunity to investigate pre-Roman settlement. Along with field systems, trackways and burials some intriguing foundations came to light, made from the same Kentish greensand as buildings in Roman Colchester; a metre wide, 70 metres apart the walls were obviously not of a single building. When a journalist jokingly asked if any chariots had been found, the archaeologists began to wonder if they could have found a Roman circus; if so, it would be the first discovered in Britain. The dimensions and layout of known Roman circuses were checked and seemed to match. One line of the foundations was followed and within 10 metres it started to curve. The circus proved to be 450 metres long, situated 400 yards south of the Roman walls on the closest flat land to the town centre, and dates to the second century AD. 40-odd Roman circuses are known across the Empire, with about another 40 from descriptions. Rome’s Circus Maximus was 600 metres long and held about a quarter of a million people, but more typically Roman circuses were about 350 metres long, with one curved end and starting gates at the other. Located along one side would be the judges’ box and the pulvenar, where cult objects were displayed.

A Spina ran down the middle of the arena with turning posts at each end and an obelisk at the centre. Here also were lap counters, sometimes in the form of dolphins which would dip to denote a lap, sometimes eggs which dropped down a pole. Four-horse chariots raced round the Spina seven times anti-clockwise, the inside horse guiding the others around. There were seven or eight races in a day with cash prizes, and mosaics depict victors sporting a palm frond and laurel wreath. Charioteers, some of whom became famous, were members of teams, or factions, who wore different colours and had a great following amongst the crowd.

Part of the Colchester circus may have been incorporated into a Benedictine Abbey founded in 1095, as one Abbey wall seems to coincide with the Spina, where a square foundation was discovered which could have supported a 40-50 metre obelisk or brick column. Rubble from one turning post suggests that it was a red-painted one metre diameter cone, 4-5 metres high. The arena floor was worn next to this post, where the chariots would have made a tight turn. The seat tiers were built on earthen banks, like those at Roman theatres in Britain; part of the seat walling had collapsed onto the arena.

If circus seating was as cramped as stated by the Roman writer Horace, then Colchester could have accommodated about 15,000. The Roman town also had two theatres which could seat up to 5000. The discovery of a metal collar which would have fitted onto a wooden water main indicates that water was conveyed into the circus under pressure, suggesting that Colchester had dolphin lap counters: as they dipped, water poured from their mouths into basins, from which boys would scoop water onto the charioteers. During excavations in an Army camp the starting stalls were discovered and nearby were roof tiles and wall plaster from the demolition of the starting magistrate’s box, indicating that it was like a small room. Wealthy people seeking public office donated money for the construction of places of entertainment, each paying for a different section, evident at the Colchester circus where sections of the foundations show slight differences. In the third century a downturn in the local economy may have led to some of the circus being deliberately taken down. Provincial capitals such as London, York and Lincoln probably also possessed circuses; three mosiacs found in Britain depicting a circus might well each represent a particular circus.

Yvonne Masson