Antique theatre

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The Ancient Theatre is located at the southern end of the Three Hills, in the saddle between Taksim Tepe hill and Dzhambaz Tepe hill. The architectural design, conforming to the natural terrain is a fine example of the theatre building tradition of the Hellenistic centres in Asia Minor.
  The three-level stage structure, skene, is decorated with porticos with statues. According to the inscription on one of the porticos the Theatre was built in early 2nd century. This inscription might as well be related to reconstructed sectors of a theatre that was built here around the beginning of the 1st millennium.
  The theatron (“a place of seeing” ), the open area for the audience, had 28 concentric rows with marble seats, accessed through the stair aisles running radially. It was divided into two sections by a horizontal walkway called diazoma. The Theatre was accessed through three vaulted entrance getaways. On top of the northern entrance there was a loggia seating the eminent representatives of the local administration.
  The Theatre hosted the sessions of Koinon Thrakon, the Union of Thracian Cities; its members were local citizens allowed to address the Emperor directly on issues concerning the Province. The debates of the Demos, the People’s Assembly, were also held here. The seats of the representatives of the city communities, philas, were designated by inscriptions carved on them. Except for theatre performances and the sessions of the People’s Assembly and Koinon Thrakon, gladiator fights were also held here, as well as at the Forum and the Stadium, beceuse Philippopolis did not have an amphitheatre, the typical Roman venue for such games. For that reason additional barriers were placed at the Theatre and the Stadium to secure the safety of spectators. Although the Theatre underwent several reconstructions, its appearance did not generally change. It ceased functioning in the 5th century when the structure was demolished and the building materials plundered.