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 2
nd 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.