London's Roman Amphitheatre

About London's Roman Amphitheatre

The City of London began collecting works of art in the seventeenth century, when it commissioned portraits of the judges appointed to assess property claims in the wake of the Great Fire of London of 1666. Its collection now comprises 4,000 works of art ranging from portraits of kings and queens to depictions of important naval battles, from period views of historic London to the work of contemporary artists. Since the Second World War, the City of London’s collection has concentrated on London subjects.

The gallery displays about 250 works of art at a time, with a programme of temporary exhibitions exploring different themes and allowing many lesser-known pictures from the collection to come out of store.

During the excavation of the foundations of the 15th century Guildhall Chapel, where the Guildhall Art Gallery now stands, the remains of the eastern end of Roman London's Amphitheatre were exposed. The amphitheatre, including the arena, stands and external walls was approximately 100 meters wide and it is estimated that it would have held about 6000-7000 spectators at a time when the population of London may have been about 20,000. Admission to the gallery includes access to the archaeological remains. Only a few remnants of the stone walls still stand, but they're imaginatively fleshed out with digital technology to give the feel of the real thing.