producers working on the remake of the oscar winning ben hur have been barred from shooting the epic chariot scene at the circus maximus filmmakers already on location in rome and the southern city of matera reportedly made a request to use the ancient stadium immortalised by the film in december but it was feared the decision to bring hundreds of extras and heavy vehicles into a fragile archaeological site would lead to public outcry the circus maximus (pictured) is an ancient site in rome once used for the empire's deadly chariot races here it is pictured when it hosted the live 8 concert in 2005  the circus maximus was capable of holding hundreds of thousands of spectators during the chariot races  however, archaeologists said filming at the ancient site would cause 'irreparable damage' to the famous site  the rent of the ancient ground as a set for two weeks would have netted one million euros for the city’s cash strapped coffers, corriere della sera reported the classic chariot race scene   in which ben hur played by charlton heston competes against his nemesis massala   will now be filmed in a purpose built reproduction arena in rome’s cinecittà studios the circus maximus was the centre of a row last summer when the rolling stones were allowed to use it for a concert heritage experts said the decision to allow 65,000 music fans to rampage over the area would cause irreparable damage to a ‘very fragile’ site the millionaire rock band were charged just €8,000 the original 1959 ben hur film saw charlton heston filmed at the circus maximus in the movie's epic chariot race finale (pictured) the ancient arena has been used for pop concerts in the past with genesis and lady gaga playing there in recent years bob geldof's live 8 concert was held there in 2005 but the site is currently under restoration archeologists have continued to discover roman artefacts including ancient coins, wheels and saucepans as well as the remains of ancient taverns a spokesman for the ministry for cultural affairs said it was investigating
unpolitical circus maximus rolling stones paleobiologist choca
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