Hello everyone. It's us, your hosts Maddie Pelling and Anthony Delaney.

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Hello and welcome to After Dark. Now, in today's episode, we are going right to the very

heart of the drama in the ancient Roman world, the Coliseum. And here's Maddie to tell you

a little bit more.

Beneath the Coliseum, it's dark. Down here the air is thick with the stench of sweat and wild animals.

Their cry is echoing from distant cages deeper still into the amphitheatre.

Sand falls from the wooden platforms overhead, their planks creaking with the weight of obeying crowd,

the same sand that will soak up the gladiator's blood in the heat of action.

Our gladiator stands in silence, waiting for his moment, knowing it must be close.

Though what's waiting for him out on the arena floor, he has no idea. He tries to stay limber

under the weight of his armour, shifting from leg to leg, his sword heavy in his hands. A pulley groans,

as slaves heave heavy ropes, and now, from its dark underbelly, the Colosseum, this magnificent and horrifying monster,

begins to stir into life.

Trapped doors slide open like the lid of a tomb, and our gladiator steps forward into sharp light

...