Gathering Spot for Gladiators collapses in heart of Pompeii
Herald Tribune 8/11/2010
The 2,000-year-old "House of the Gladiators" in the ruins of ancient Pompeii collapsed over the weekend. The stone house — on the main street of the archaeological site and measuring about 80 square meters, or 860 square feet — collapsed just after dawn Saturday while Pompeii was closed to visitors, officials said. The structure was believed to be where gladiators gathered and trained before going to battle in a nearby amphitheater in Pompeii, which was destroyed by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79
