‘This place once held fifty thousand spectators,’ Paul said, leading me down some broken steps and into the enclosure. ‘Nowadays there’s an occasional theatre show in this small part. For an audience of a few hundred.’
I said nothing. I was still coming to terms with how badly the Colosseum had deteriorated from what I had imagined.
‘In the heyday of the Colosseum the wild beasts were kept underground,’ Paul went on. ‘A system of trap doors and pulleys hoisted them into the arena so they sprang up through the ground like magic. But all that mechanism is broken or rotted. Now you must be content with these stables at the back.’
We had arrived before heavy wooden double doors set into the high wall of the arena itself. The doors looked in good repair, and there was a sheen of oil on the metal hinges. The Nomenculator waited while one of his servants came forward, raised the heavy bar that kept them shut, and swung them open. We went inside, into a large antechamber with a high, vaulted ceiling, whitewashed walls and a stone-flagged floor.
‘This is where the actors waited before going out to perform,’ Paul told me. ‘Gladiatorial contests were by no means the only public spectacles in the Colosseum. There were pageants and re-enactments, circus shows and dramas based on stories of their gods and goddesses. Many of them involved riders and horses.’
At the back of the antechamber was a broad passageway with several doors on either side. He led me to the first of them and opened it with a flourish. ‘This is where they kept their nags,’ he announced.
I looked into a large, well-appointed stable. A small window set up high in the rear wall gave light and air. There was a stone manger, a groove in the stone floor to carry away piss.
‘This will be perfect for the aurochs,’ I said, pleased.
‘Alcuin claims that it is the only aurochs in captivity. I can’t wait to see it,’ Paul answered. ‘There are adjacent stalls for your other animals. I’ll have my people keep the open space in the arena cleared so they can be let out for exercise,’ he let out a wheezy laugh, ‘though not at the same time.’
‘I’ll write to Alcuin to let him know how kind you have been,’ I said.
He acknowledged my thanks with a small shrug. ‘For your own accommodation I’ve arranged one of those houses on the lower arcade that we saw on the way in.’
We retraced our steps out into the arena where the Nomenculator’s attendants were waiting. They had been joined by two men standing on either side of a large box with protruding handles. It reminded me of a deep bed with a canopy over it. I had never seen a litter before.
Pausing, the Nomenculator turned to me. ‘One of my men will escort you back to rejoin your comrades. If there’s anything you need, just let me know.’
He stepped inside the litter, half reclining on the seat. The two bearers lifted the vehicle and the Nomenculator’s mottled face came back level with my own.
‘Perhaps you and your colleagues could join me for a meal at my official residence? I’d like to hear about your journey so far,’ he said.
‘I’d be delighted,’ I replied.
‘If it’s not too soon for you, I suggest supper tomorrow evening. I’ll send someone to fetch you. A word of warning: avoid walking the streets of Rome on your own, especially after dark. I don’t want to have to send a letter to Alcuin saying that something untoward had happened to you or your comrades.’
He gave an order and the two litter bearers began to move. I watched my new-found ally being carried away up the stairs, leaving me wondering why he showed quite such concern for our safety.
*
Next morning dawned with the same unrelenting grey sky though the drizzle had stopped, and we drove our boat-like waggons into the city and as far as the Colosseum. I worried about how to transfer the aurochs into its new home without endangering ourselves, until Osric drew my attention to an archway at street level wider than the other entrances. It was sealed with a massive gate that looked as if it had not been opened for a very long time. Behind it a passageway led to a second gate that opened directly into the arena. We forced open both the gates and backed the aurochs’ wheeled cage into the entrance, then released the beast. Snorting angrily, it ran down the passageway and out into the arena. After making a couple of menacing circuits of the ring, tossing its head and looking for enemies, it came across the entrance into what had been the performers’ anteroom. The brute trotted inside and eventually found its way into the stable prepared for it. Walo had been tracking the creature from a safe distance and he slammed the door shut behind it. He then undertook the easier task of bringing Madi and Modi to their new accommodation.