Cavea

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The different levels of the cavea in the Roman Theatre at Bosra. Ima cavea in blue, media cavea in red and summa cavea in yellow. Cavea illustration - Roman theatre at Bosra.jpg
The different levels of the cavea in the Roman Theatre at Bosra. Ima cavea in blue, media cavea in red and summa cavea in yellow.

In Roman times the cavea (Latin for "enclosure") referred to the seating sections of Roman theatres and amphitheatres. The cavea is traditionally organised in three horizontal sections, corresponding to the social class of the spectators: [1]

Similarly, the front row was called the prima cavea and the last row was called the cavea ultima. The cavea was further divided vertically into cunei. A cuneus (Latin for "wedge"; plural, cunei) was a wedge-shaped division separated by the scalae or stairways.

Cavea also referred to the subterranean cells in which the wild beasts were confined prior to the combats in the Roman arena. [2]

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References

  1. Roman Architecture
  2. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Cavea"  . Encyclopædia Britannica . 5 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 579.