The Amphitheatre (London) refers to the remains of a Roman amphitheatre located beneath Guildhall Yard in the City of London, England. Discovered in 1988, the site is a scheduled monument and some of its remains are displayed in situ in the basement of the Guildhall Art Gallery complex.
London's first Roman amphitheatre was built in AD 70 from wood. It was renovated in the early 2nd century with tiled entrances and rag-stone walls. The amphitheatre was used for various public events, including gladiatorial games, animal fighting, public executions of criminals, and religious activities. It was one of the largest in Roman Britain, capable of seating up to 6,000 spectators.
After the Romans left Britain in the early 5th century, the amphitheatre lay derelict for hundreds of years. In the 11th century, the area was reoccupied, and by the 12th century, the first London Guildhall was built nearby. The site eventually became the public plaza of Guildhall Yard. The formal entrance to Guildhall Yard included a 13th-century gatehouse built directly over the southern entrance of the Roman amphitheatre. The church of St Lawrence Jewry, on the south side of Guildhall Yard, is built on an irregular alignment that may have been intended to follow the elliptical form of the amphitheatre.
The Guildhall Art Gallery, completed in 1999 on the northern side of the plaza, provides access to an excavated section of the Roman-era remains. The perimeter of the amphitheatre is marked at surface level on Guildhall Yard by a band of dark stone. The site is governed by English Heritage and was designated a scheduled monument on 23 July 1990 (reference no. 1013411).
