Apart from the Roman colosseum, the sights of El Jem are still covered by sand. And the city of El Jem is a sleepy place without much character. But the colosseum is great, almost as big as the one of Rome. And it's in fairly good shape too. The colosseum was constructed in the 3rd century AD, and it's believed to have given room for as much as 30,000 spectators. It is 138 metres long by 114 metres wide. Underneath it run two passageways. This was the place where animals, prisoners and gladiators were kept, just until the moment when they were brought up into the bright daylight to perform what was in most cases the last show of their lives.