2nd - 3rd century AD

Circus

A secondary road, branching of the main road where Praça da Figueira is today, provided access to the circus. Along this road, on both sides, was the
necropolis
. Built outside city limits, beyond the
Felicitas Iulia Olisipo
walls, in present-day Rossio, the circus was the popular location for leisure, presenting bigae and quadrigae races (two or four horse driven chariots) and animal fights, and where commemorative events were held. The remains of the
Felicitas Iulia Olisipo
circus were initially found during construction of the Lisbon Underground by Irisalva Moita, in 1961. At the time, however, the structure in
opus signinum
, flanked by a 20 feet thick wall, was thought to be a road or part of the port. In 1994, when the underground network was expanded, a new segment, at the depth of 20 feet, was identified: the
spina
, the barrier that constituted the central feature of the roman circus. A plinth (the base of a pillar or, in this case, possibly a statue) was also identified and part of the
arena
was exhumed. A ceramic fragment of Hispanic
terra sigillata
, from the 2nd century AD, helped date the circus. The platform in
opus signinum
was wide and flanked by two walls. It was part of a complex that included basins with decorative water (
euripus
), but also served a practical function (perhaps drinking waters for horses). On the outside, the barrier was covered with noble materials, including the rose marble plaque found by researchers near the wall.
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Multimedia

The Circus of Olisipo

Typology

Circus, City | Urbs, Tank

Archeological interventions

1994-1995; 1997

Suggested reading

Sepúlveda, E.; Vale, A.; Sousa, A. V.; Santos, V.; Guerreiro, N. (2002) - A cronologia do circo de Olisipo: a Terra Sigillata. Revista Portuguesa de Arqueologia. Lisboa: Instituto Português de Arqueologia. 5: 2, pp. 245-275.

Vale, A. (2000) - Relatório da Intervenção Arqueológica da Praça D. Pedro IV (Lisboa). Lisboa: Instituto Português do Património Arquitetónico. 2 volumes (policopiado).

Vale, A.; Fernandes, L. (1997) - Intervenção arqueológica na Praça de D. Pedro IV (Rossio) em Lisboa. In Atas do 3.º Encontro Nacional de Arqueologia Urbana (Almada, 20 a 23 de fevereiro de 1997). Almada: Câmara Municipal de Almada. Divisão de Museus (Col. Monografias Arqueologia), pp. 109-121.

Vale, A.; Fernandes, L. (2017) - O Circo Romano de Olisipo: exemplos de revestimento. Debaixo dos Nossos Pés. Pavimentos Históricos de Lisboa. Lisboa: Museu de Lisboa, pp. 124-127.

Vale, A.; Sousa, V. (2003) - A Barreira do Circo de Olisipo. In Atas do Quarto Encontro de Arqueologia Urbana (Amadora, 10 a 12 de novembro de 2000). Amadora: Câmara Municipal da Amadora, Museu Municipal de Arqueologia da Amadora, ARQA, pp. 177-186.

Address

Praça D. Pedro IV (Rossio), Lisboa

Identification code​

LxR1106007