a Roman Coliseum in Africa the amphitheater of elj the city of elj is in Southeastern Tunisia it thrived under Roman rule the city's large Amphitheater later became known as the African Coliseum the Ampitheater originally had a 400 m circumference though about 1/3 of the original construction has been destroyed it is still possible to appreciate the sheer scale of the structure construction dates back to the height of the city's Prosperity during the 3rd Century ad there was capacity here for 35,000 people the central arena is 65 m in diameter as large as the Arenas found in Rome the use of elaborate stage props meant there were performances here on a par with those in Rome itself Gladiators and wild animals were raised onto the arena from underground rooms open out onto the main corridors they were used to hold animals slaves and Gladiators before they stepped out into the arena there were also rooms to store the corpses of the beasts and Fighters Spectators cheered when African wild animals sprang onto the arena From Below Elm lies on fertile land and has thrived on olive oil production additional taxes were imposed on the olive industry to raise money to build the amphitheater the people of elgem h a strong sense of rivalry with Rome and wanted to create a great Coliseum similar in scale to the one there local people used the amphitheater as a fortress after the fall of the Roman Empire they rebelled against the government and fought for their rights using this building as their base during the 17th century the Ottoman Empire attacked the amphitheater and destroyed the western side of the building the northern side has also been damaged over the centuries only the south facing wall remains intact today the amphitheater of Elam is a symbol of the Roman Empire a power that stretched onto the African continent