Roman Colosseum's Secret

The Roman Colosseum had a retractable cloth awning, weighing about 24 tons, held up by a large network of ropes and 240 huge pillars, which covered 30% of the entire Colosseum, providing shade for all of the spectators. In the late 1990s, a man studying the underground chambers of the Colosseum found patterns of holes, notches, and grooves in the walls. By connecting the dots in the negative space, he discovered that a system of elevators had been used to transport wild animals and scenery to the main floor.