Serdika Amphitheater - Sofia

Overview

The Roman Amphitheater is an archeological monument located in the central part of Sofia, 300 m from the East Gate of ancient Serdica. It is a complex of several important ancient buildings - a Roman theater dating from the late century and an amphitheater dating from the end of the III to the beginning of the IV century. The amphitheater is the 77th ancient monument of its kind discovered in the world and is close in size to the Colosseum in Rome. The dimensions of the oval arena of the Serdica amphitheater are 60.5 m long and 43 m wide. The combination of a Roman theater and a late antique amphitheater is unique in the world.

Construction began during the reign of Emperor Diocletian and was completed by Emperor Constantine the Great. The ancient amphitheater was discovered by accident recently.

In 2004 the construction works of the new Arena di Serdica Hotel in the city center came across a part of a Roman wall. Archaeological excavations immediately started – thus the Amphitheatre of Serdica was discovered -  a monumental public building with an elliptical layout and an arena in the middle,  surrounded by seats for the spectators. 

However, as early as 1919, evidence of the amphitheater's location had already been found - a stone plaque illustrating gladiatorial battles. The plaque depicts images of lions, tigers, bulls, crocodiles, in battle with gladiators. Bear teeth were also found during the excavations.