In what year was the Roman Colosseum completed?

The Roman Colosseum was completed in 80 AD under Emperor Titus. Construction began during the reign of his father, Vespasian, making the amphitheatre a major monument of the Flavian dynasty.

Work started around 72 AD on the site of an artificial lake in Nero’s vast palace complex, the Domus Aurea. The project used concrete, tuff, limestone, brick and marble, and required specialist builders, engineers, artists and labourers. By Vespasian’s death in 79, the structure had reached roughly its third story.

Titus completed the building and inaugurated it with a lavish programme of games in 80 AD. Ancient accounts describe spectacles involving gladiators, animal hunts and other public entertainments. The Colosseum was later modified under Vespasian’s younger son, Domitian, who added the underground hypogeum of tunnels and chambers.

The date 70 AD is therefore associated with the beginning of construction, not its completion. The name “Colosseum” likely refers to the enormous statue of Nero that once stood nearby; its original name was the Flavian Amphitheatre.