A vomitorium is a passage situated below or behind a tier of seats in an amphitheatre or a stadium through which large crowds can exit rapidly at the end of an event. They can also be pathways for actors to enter and leave stage.[1] The Latin word vomitorium, plural vomitoria, derives from the verb vomō, vomere, "to spew forth". In ancient Roman architecture, vomitoria were designed to provide rapid egress for large crowds at amphitheatres and stadia, as they do in modern sports stadia and large theatres.[2]
- ^ "Vomitorium". Oxford Dictionary. Oxford Dictionaries. Archived from the original on February 24, 2011. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
- ^ Longfellow, William P.P., ed. (1903). A cyclopaedia of works of architecture in Italy, Greece, and the Levant. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. p. xxxii.