Aydın, Germencik, Ortaklar, Tekinköy
This is an example of a theatre built in the wrong place due to an error of judgement in ground mechanics by Roman engineers. The place chosen for the auditorium is on clay ground that becomes slippery in the rain. When they encountered slippery ground during construction of the upper section of the auditorium they tried to solve the problem by the use of hollow semi cones set at an angle of 30 degrees. This solution is one of the Roman’s contributions to building technology. This application can be observed in many buildings including the amphitheatre of Tripoli. The semi cones with an angle of 30 degrees were produced by cutting down through cones with an apex angle of 60 degrees, and arranged side by side with their tops meeting at the centre. In other words, cut cones were inserted beneath the benches like a fan to create a gradient in keeping with the auditorium circle. The hollow cut cones were woven into an arched wall and their hollow interior filled with the clay that continued to slide down the hill. The height of the walls around the orchestra is an indication that the theatre belongs to the late period. The construction of high edges to the stage or the subsequent raising of low ones was to accommodate gladiator fights. The theatre is thought to have been left unfinished due to problems that the unstable clay ground might create in the future.
The theatre was planned as being a two-tier theatre with each tier consisting of 14 rows. The orchestra has a radius of 43 feet and there are 12 niches carved into the edge of the orchestra wall. The height of the stage wall is six feet and three inches. The bench for dignitaries is five feet in length. There are holes in the benches for wooden poles over which awnings were stretched to shelter the spectators from rain and sun. The section designated for notables is accessed by entrances reached by sets of six steps at the edge of the stage. This 30-degree theatre faces southeast.
Had the theatre been completed, it would have seated approximately 6,000 people.