91Èȱ¬

Do you enjoy munching on a delicious snack while you watch a footie match or a movie? Well so did the ancient Romans!

Archaeologists have discovered that ancient Romans enjoyed chowing down on a snack or two whilst watching events at the Colosseum.

The Colosseum is a huge stone arena (a bit like Wembley) in the city of Rome, in Italy, and was built around 2,000 years ago.

A team of archaeologists dug through the ancient sewers around the Colosseum and found lots of fruit seeds, stones, and pits from things like olives, figs, grapes, cherries, blackberries, walnuts and more - which gave them an idea of what people used to eat there.

Researchers began investigating the ancient drains and sewers under the Colosseum in January 2021.

They used special robots, which were guided using wires, to explore the maze-like drainage systems.

Alfonsina Russo, the Director of the Colosseum Archaeological Park said that finds like these give people a glimpse into the "experience and habits of those who came to this place during the long days dedicated to the performances".

Archaeologists also found the bones of animals like bears, big cats and dogs that were probably used in the arena's hunting games.

The Colosseum is one of Italy's most famous and visited landmarks.

When it was built around 80 CE it was the biggest amphitheatre (or arena) in the Roman Empire, and could hold around 50,000 people.

It was famous for hosting big gladiatorial fights, sports and plays, and would draw in huge crowds.

The Colosseum stopped being used around 523 AD, after it became less popular.