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A review by donzhivago
The Colosseum by Keith Hopkins
4.0
Reasonably interesting enough as a history of the Colosseum, but far more compelling were two ideas presented at the end.
First, the Colosseum's fascinating re-use as manure pit, fortress, housing, glue factory, and church in the centuries following its abandonment. This hauntological consideration of the Colosseum's many lives deserves its own book; I would relish 1,000 pages of Michener or Rutherfurd historical fiction.
The other is the botanical history of the Colosseum, which for whatever reason was home to hundreds of exceptionally rare plant specimens. The plants kill the structure, risking collapse, while archaeology kills the plants, eradicating them from our planet, so who deserves to win out?
The history part is fine, and well done, but these two ideas will stay with me far more than the preceding gladiatorial combat.
First, the Colosseum's fascinating re-use as manure pit, fortress, housing, glue factory, and church in the centuries following its abandonment. This hauntological consideration of the Colosseum's many lives deserves its own book; I would relish 1,000 pages of Michener or Rutherfurd historical fiction.
The other is the botanical history of the Colosseum, which for whatever reason was home to hundreds of exceptionally rare plant specimens. The plants kill the structure, risking collapse, while archaeology kills the plants, eradicating them from our planet, so who deserves to win out?
The history part is fine, and well done, but these two ideas will stay with me far more than the preceding gladiatorial combat.