precursor to the games, a taste of what was to come at the Ludi Romani. History Classical The Ludus Magnus was constructed under the reign of emperor Domitian during the late first century C.E. He also erected three other ludi around the same time (such as the Dacian, Gallic, and Matutinus or Morning School), though the Ludus Magnus was the largest of the four training schools that Domitian erected in the area surrounding the Colosseum.The Ludus Magnus underwent various reconstructions under succeeding emperors during the Roman Empire. For instance, changes were undertaken under Trajan so that the pavement level was raised by 1.4 m providing us with the structure that can be seen today. Hadrian also added certain refinements as the structure suffered fire damage in the late second century. And then Caracalla also saw to some repairs and modifications during his reign, with other additions occurring under unclear patronage throughout the active life of the Ludus Magnus. In late antiquity the gladiatorial school, along with the Colosseum, largely went out of use due to a lack of need in society for gladiatorial games as a form of entertainment when gladiatorial combat was outlawed in the fifth century C.E. The building was abandoned in the sixth century when the space was then used to house a small cemetery. By the middle of the sixth century, the area was no longer cared for and numerous churches were built, as the population continued to decrease. Post-Classical The structural remains were rediscovered in 1937 during construction work taking place near the Colosseum, though excavations did not occur until 1957–61. Situated between the Via Labicana and Via di S. Giovanni in Laterano, excavations were carried out for less than half of the overall building. However, in light of the educated assumption that the structure was largely symmetrical and additional help from the marble plan, a restored plan for the entire structure has been postulated. Architecture Access points would have been located along the Via Labicana whereby one descended steps to the level of the arena floor below street level. There was a central courtyard which served as arena space and was surrounded by Tuscan style colonnades on all four sides, with fountains flanking each corner. At the centre of the Ludus Magnus there was an ellipsoidal arena in which the gladiators practiced, circumscribed by steps of a small cavea, probably reserved for a limited