 Vespasian started his own redevelopment of the site around AD 70 to 72 , possibly funding the construction with booty seized after the Roman victory in the First Jewish @-@ Roman War in AD 70 . The lake was in @-@ filled and the site designated as the location for the Flavian Amphitheatre . Reverting the private use by Nero to a more popular social purpose of a colosseum raised Vespasian 's popularity . Gladiatorial schools ( ludi ) and other support buildings were later constructed within the former grounds of the Domus Aurea , much of which had been torn down . 
