Les arènes de Senlis

The arena is only open to guided tours on certain Saturdays between April and October, during the European Heritage Days in September and the National Archaeology Days in June.

Discover the remains of Augustomagus: the 1st-century arenas and the 3rd-century wall. The semi-excavated Senlis arenas are a unique site in the "Hauts de France" region. Built in the 1st century AD, some 8,000 spectators were able to watch gladiatorial combat with wild beasts (belluaires), animal fighting (venationes) and hunting.
At the beginning of the 5th century, the edict of Honorius banned gladiatorial combat, giving way to concerts, plays and pantomimes. Abandoned in the 6th century, the arenas were used in turn as quarries and rubbish dumps, then buried and forgotten over time, until they were discovered in 1865 by Félix Vernois, a founding member of the Senlis Society of History and Archaeology.

DATAtourisme France