The din of caged animals, the smell of gladiators' fear and the thunder of tens of thousands of cheering spectators above have all evaporated with the passage of time.
But walking through the bowels of the Colosseum, the subterranean ruins of ancient Rome's most famous amphitheatre, the extent to which technical expertise was harnessed to such bloody ends becomes painfully clear.
The reopening to the public was announced Friday after meticulous restoration of the "hypogeum", or below ground area, with a new pathway offering intimate views and an app explaining the grisly details of the behind-the-scenes area.
