Step inside the Colosseum at Rome around AD80 and discover for yourself the technological wonders, the vicious weapons, the thrills and the dangers of a great Roman arena. Find out why this incredible feat of architecture was built, who paid for it and where the money came from.

And then gasp at the the Gladiators who fought for their lives in the ancient Roman Colosseum and made it so lucrative for those in charge of this ruthless business. Astounding architectural achievements are explained and explored with full-colour cutaway illustrations. Pinpoint enlargements focus on the day to day lives of the people, looking at how they ate, dressed, entertained themselves and sometimes fought.

Illustrations of artefacts and paintings from the era help to support the main text by providing explanations of how we know what we know. Informative captions, maps, a complete glossary and an index make these titles ideal educational texts.