Topography

The amphitheatre was located outside of the Early Roman city. All attempts by archaeologists to integrate the structure into the ancient road system-often by extending it-have proved fruitless.

Using a practice that was much employed in antiquity, the builders used the contours of the land, in this case the southwest face of the Sainte-Geneviève hill, to situate the monument. Using this natural incline meant that the size of the substructure needed to support the cavea could be reduced, if not completely eliminated.