Roman Theatre at Palmyra
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Overview of the theatre in 2007
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| Location | Palmyra, Syria |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 34°33′03″N 38°16′08″E / 34.550768°N 38.268761°E |
| Type | Roman theatre |
| Width | 92 metres (302 ft) |
| History | |
| Material | ashlar stones |
| Periods | Roman, Palmyrene |
| Site notes | |
| Condition | Largely intact |
| Ownership | Public |
| Public access | Inaccessible (in a war zone) |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | i, ii, iv |
| Designated | 1980 (4th session) |
| Part of | Site of Palmyra |
| Reference no. | 23 |
| State Party |
 Syria
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| Region | Arab States |
| Endangered | 2013–present |
The Roman Theatre at Palmyra (Arabic: مسرح تدمر, translit. Masraḥ Tadmur, lit. 'Palmyra Theatre') is a Roman theatre in ancient Palmyra in the Syrian Desert. The unfinished theatre dates back to the second-century CE Severan period. The theatre's remains have since been restored. It was occupied by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in May 2015 and recaptured by the government forces in March 2016 with the support of Russian airstrikes.
The second-century CE theatre was built in the center of a semicircular colonnaded piazza which opens up to the South Gate of Palmyra. The 82-by-104-metre (269 by 341 ft) piazza was located to the south-west of the main colonnaded street. The unfinished cavea is 92 metres (302 ft) in diameter and consists only of an ima cavea, the lowest section of the cavea, directly surrounding the orchestra. The ima cavea is organized into eleven cunei of twelve rows each and faces north-northeast towards the cardo maximus. The theatre's aditus maximi, its main entrances, are 3.5 metres (11 ft) in width, and lead to a stone-paved orchestra with a diameter of 23.5 metres (77 ft). The orchestra is bounded by a circular wall with a diameter of 20.3 metres (67 ft).
The proscenium wall is decorated with ten curved and nine rectangular niches placed alternately. The stage measures 45.5 by 10.5 metres (149 by 34 ft) and is accessed by two staircases. The scaenae frons had five doors: the main entrance, or valve regia, built into a broad curved niche; two guest doors on either side of the valve regia, or valve hospitalis, built into shallow rectangular niches; and two extra doors, at either end of the stage. Emperor Nero is known to have placed his statue in the niche of the regia of the theatre at Palmyra. The columns at the stage are decorated in the Corinthian order.
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