Beneath the arena floor was an elaborate system for caging and controlling the many animals used in the fights and hunts. In this reconstruction drawing, the arrow points to a hoist that would lift the animal to the higher level cages, from which it could be driven up a ramp and through a trapdoor into the arena. This photo of the substructures of the arena in Pozzuoli shows the stone animal dens and the blocks for the ropes and pulleys that operated the hoists. Below the photo is a diagram by John Henry Middleton illustrating the arrangement of the animal pens.

Animal Cages viewed from side

Animal Cages viewed from top