The ancient Coliseum of Rome, where gladiators fought for their lives, is slanting about 40 centimeters lower on the south side than on the north, and authorities are investigating the project for urgent repairs. The Coliseum has been in need of restoration for years. Last year chunks of masonry and stone have regularly fallen from the arena. Authorities became aware of the tilt in the 2000-year-old amphitheatre about a year ago and have been monitoring it closely for the past couple of months. They believe that "dynamic vibrations" caused by Rome's heavy traffic, may be responsible for the drop on the south side next to one of Rome's busiest thoroughfares. Experts from Rome's Sapienza University and the Institute of Environmental Geology and Geoengineering (IGAG) conducted an urgent scientific study to determine the cause. Professor Giorgio Monti, from Sapienza's department of structural engineering, said he fears there may be a crack in the base of the monument. "The concrete (Roman Cement) foundation on which the Colosseum is built is an oval-shaped 'doughnut' which is about 13 meters thick," ProfMonti said. "There could be a stress fracture inside it." On July 31 Lorenzo Ornaghi, Italy's culture minister, unveiled the timetable for the controversial restoration, flanked by Gianni Alemanno, the mayor of Rome, and Diego Della Valle, the billionaire businessman footing the bill, reported the Telegraph. In the first stage of the project, four floors of scaffolding are expected to cover the monument's arches for a total of 915 days - two-and-a-half years - as the ancient amphitheatre's facade and entrances are rebuilt. Culture officials however stressed the monument would remain open to the public during construction. The new project will also look at the "dynamic vibrations" that officials fear have caused a drop of up to 15 inches on the south side of the monument, although as yet there are no plans to address the list. The restoration also provides for the construction of a tourist service centre outside the monument, while the third phase includes restoration of the internal area and a more comprehensive restoration of the underground cells or hypogeum beneath the arena. The restoration works have been delayed by a series of protests by trade unionists over Italian tycoon Diego Della Valle's plans to clean up the dirt-streaked arena. In January, the billionaire threatened to pull US$ 32 million in financing following investigations into alleged irregularities. The three-year restoration project, which aims to increase by a quarter the areas to which tourists will have access, was supposed to begin in March. It was postponed to July and is now unlikely to start before the end of the year. Designed as a 50 thousand seat amphitheatre and completed in 80 AD under the Emperor Titus, the Colosseum was used for gladiator contests and mock sea battles. It is considered one of the masterpieces of Roman architecture. The number of visitors to the site has gone from around one million visitors a year to around six million annually over the past decade. The Leaning Tower of Pisa, another popular Itaian attraction was reopened last year after being shut for a long time as engineers worked to prevent it from falling over and to make it safe for visitors.

As anyone who's ever visited Italy knows, the ancient Romans were master engineers. Their roads, aqueducts, and temples are still holding up remarkably well despite coming under siege over the centuries by waves of sacking marauders, mobs of tourists, and the occasional earthquake. But it seems the Romans also knew a thing or two about making concrete. While world's 1960s concrete tower blocks and flyovers are crumbling, Roman monuments such as the Pantheon and the Coliseum are still standing. Now scientists have discovered the secret ingredient behind the longevity of Roman concrete - volcanic ash. The study by the University of California, in Berkeley, found Roman concrete showed no corrosion, with a smooth surface suggesting long-term stability. Manufacturing modern cement requires heating a mix of limestone and clay at 1,450C. But Roman architectural mortar uses 85 per cent volcanic ash, fresh water and lime, which is cast at a much lower temperature, significantly reducing its carbon footprint. Now the researchers want to take the Roman techniques and apply them to modern cements. Dr Marie Jackson said: 'If we can find ways to incorporate a substantial component of volcanic rock in the production of specialty concretes, we could greatly reduce the carbon emissions associated with their production. We could also improve their durability and mechanical resistance over time.'

Conservation work at the crumbling ancient Roman city of Pompeii began. The whole project budget estimated US$ 142 million and the EU is contributing US$ 56 million to the project which should be completed by 2015. The new preservation campaign follows a series of structural collapses at the popular tourist site near Naples -- including at the House of Gladiators, a building used for training the arena warriors, which collapsed into a heap of rubble in 2010. The collapses have been blamed on years of mismanagement and underfunding. Buried by falling ash when nearby Mt. Vesuvius erupted in A.D. 79, buildings, streets and even curled-up corpses were found preserved when Pompeii was rediscovered in 1748. Today, the site draws 2.3 million visitors a year. Now work is beginning on two buildings, known as the Criptoportico and the Casa dei Dioscuri. The fresh funding will be used to help protect the site from heavy rains that have contributed to the collapses, and to restore frescoes and increase security. The new funds also will be put toward strengthening crumbling Roman villas, restoring damaged frescoes and improving video surveillance across the 44-hectare site.