‘Doors to Death’ reveal how Romans upgraded a stadium for bloodsport
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The ancient Roman city of Perge—in present-day southern Turkey—was one of the region’s most prominent urban centers. By the 2nd century CE, the hub was so large that it even supported a sizable stadium for communal gatherings and athletic events. However, these events took a much darker turn only a couple hundred years later. Based on recent archaeological evidence examined at the site, Perge’s stadium received renovations during the Late Roman period (the 3rd through 6th centuries CE) to facilitate deadly gladiatorial fights. The sites were also used for Damnatio ad Bestias—public executions by wild animals. These structural additions even included five specially designed gateways researchers nicknamed the “Doors to Death.”
The findings are detailed in a recently published study in the Oxford Journal of Archaeology from a team led by Istanbul University archaeologist Sedef Çokay Kepçe. While the stadium was originally designed to seat thousands of attendees, their taste in entertainment shifted as the empire transitioned into the Late Roman period—an era known for the rise of Christianity as well as the eventual collapse of Western Roman Empire in 417 CE.
The city’s architects knew that, like any sensible urban planning project, the more efficient and economical strategy wasn’t to tear down the existing arena and replace it with an entirely new facility. Instead, they simply needed to design upgrades to accommodate the public’s evolving (and bloodier) spectacles.
According to the archaeologists, the designers didn’t skimp on renovations. These features closely resemble those seen in other Roman amphitheaters specifically known for their public executions. Newer additions to the stadium included elevated stages, complex gate assemblies to help with crowd control, and enclosed spaces likely used to hold animals. Combined with the additional evidence of animal bones and relevant iconography, researchers believe it’s a near-certainty that Perge’s stadium became a venue for public executions.
At the same time, these weren’t free-for-all battles. The most intriguing discovery at the site is an array of five entrances spaced near one another. Dubbed the “Doors to Death” by the study’s authors, these entryways were likely opened at specified times during an event to release wild animals like lions, leopards, and other predatory big cats. This arrangement isn’t widely documented at other Roman stadiums, making it especially striking.
Archaeologists plan to continue exploring the ruins at Perge, including the stadium. As Arkeonews noted, the city’s amphitheater today functions as a remarkable metaphor for ancient Rome’s complex cultural values and history—a society responsible for impressive technological innovation, as well as inhumane violence.
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