Colosseum opens Passage of Commodus

"The corridor is not a straight line. It has three branches: two short ones that run east and west and the north-south passage connecting them. It had skylights at regular intervals for illumination and ventilation. The eastern branch leads away towards an unknown destination, perhaps the ludus where the gladiators were trained. It was lavishly decorated with ornate stucco coffers and marble panels that covered the walls and ceiling with frames and plinths at the base of the wall for an architectural effect."

"Later, the marble was removed and stucco decorations were added with plant, animal, gladiatorial and mythological motifs. There were scenes depicting Ariadne abandoned by Theseus and her marriage to Dionysus; scenes of arena spectacles including boar hunts and bear fights. According to Herodian's Roman History 1.8.46, Commodus was attacked by an assassin in this passageway, in a plot instigated by his sister Lucilla"

An underground vaulted walkway called the Passage of Commodus connected the Colosseum's pulvinar (imperial box) on the southern minor axis to the exterior. Production stamps on wall bricks date construction between the late reign of Domitian and the reign of Trajan, coinciding with major plumbing and subterranean modifications. The corridor is non-linear with three branches and skylights for illumination and ventilation; the eastern branch may lead to a gladiatorial ludus. Original marble panels and ornate stucco coffers decorated walls and ceilings; later stucco motifs depicted plant, animal, gladiatorial and mythological scenes. Herodian records an assassination attempt on Commodus in this passage.

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