Imperial Extraction Infrastructure at the Colosseum: Reassessing the Passage of Commodus, the Eastern Cippi and Domitianic Movement Systems

This white paper proposes a systems-based operational interpretation of the eastern sector of the Colosseum complex in Rome. Building upon recent archaeological findings published by the Parco archeologico del Colosseo (PArCo), recent restoration work on the so-called Passage of Commodus, and earlier structural studies, this paper argues that the eastern side of the Colosseum may have functioned as a secured imperial staging and extraction zone integrated into a larger Domitianic infrastructure network.