The remains of the ancient amphitheater are located in the small valley in the town of Appezzau, enclosed between the hills of Montigu to the East and Iscalleddu to the West, to the South-West of the ancient Roman settlement, bordered by Via Pietro Pippia and the route of the SS 388 of Tirso and Mandrolisai.
The ancient Roman amphitheater was located in a suburban area compared to the ancient town of Forum Traiani: only at the time of Justinian was it incorporated into the urban area. It was designed to be modest in size compared to the grandiose buildings for gladiatorial shows of the ancient Roman world, perhaps also because of the small space that the slopes of the two hills of Montigu in the East and Iscalleddu in the West saved the valley.
Its location perfectly follows the constructive philosophy of the ancient Roman mentality: large suburban or even suburban spaces were preferred so that architects and structors could conceive grandiose buildings, in particular for the “à structure pleine” type (as was that of Forum Traiani at least in its first phase) and give vent to wide-ranging construction techniques; the amphitheaters had to be built, moreover, near an access road in order to contain the unrest and having escape routes in the event of emergency situations, also due to the presence of dangerous animals.
The archaeological excavations carried out in 1996 and then in 2008 involved about three quarters of the amphitheater, falling within the area owned by the municipality: following the investigations carried out, the floor plan and two distinct construction phases were highlighted, as well as the installation of a subsequent early medieval coemeterium built both inside and outside the building, which, at the time, was in a condition of abandonment and disrepair.
The first construction phase saw the construction of two opposing curvilinear embankments, oriented in the direction of NNO/SSE, divided into radial sections built with irregular stone blocks, cemented with mud mortar: the eastern embankment rests on the slope of the Montigu hill, while the western one follows the slope of the Iscalleddu relief.
The outer part of the two embankments was covered by a wall consisting of pillars, formed by four square blocks, put into dry work, for an average width of 1.30 m and a thickness of 1.35 m, alternating with opus caementicium mirrors with an external wall in opus vittatum, in gray trachyte tufelli, with an average length of m. 1.23 m and a thickness of m. 1.35.
The amphitheater arena is delimited by the podium wall that remains today made of an opus quadratum of gray trachyte blocks, arranged in rows, which extend, in the north-northwest sector to define the main entrance of the amphitheater.
At present, a single maenianum has remained, probably to be traced back to the first construction phase of the structure, with a width of 5.80 m., divided into about six orders of degrees and only one vomitorium identified in the northwestern sector of the cavea.
Although there is no documentation relating to a complete archaeological survey of the southern sector, which currently falls into a private area dedicated to craft activities, it is possible to state that the accesses to the arena were arranged along the main axis: the triumphalis gate (m. 5.10 x m. 3.23), from which the opening procession, aimed at Aquae Ypsitanae, started, was made of opus quadratum and was probably equipped with an arch.
The amphitheater in its first phase, which, according to scholars, was to be placed in the Trajan Age (117-138 AD), could hold about two thousand spectators.
When, in the Severian Age (193-211 AD), Forum Traiani obtained the rank of civitas, it was affected by an impressive act of urban monumentalization (construction of the baths and other public buildings, of the aqueduct) and, probably in this phase of ornatus civitatis, the expansion of the amphitheater must be placed, which saw an overwhelming use of opus caementicium, opus vittatum and arcades, techniques that Roman architects and structors, experts in their art, must be placed, they had also put into operation in the baths and in the aqueduct: at this time, the renewed interest in the munera gladiatorum and in the venationes was the main cause of the rise of amphitheatres in Sardinia (Karales, Silci, Tharros, Nora) as well as the demographic increase as in the case of Forum Traiani.
The amphitheater, thus expanded, could hold more than three thousand spectators.
The building then fell into disrepair and became a quarry for the removal of building materials reused elsewhere. The excavations carried out in 2008 revealed the presence of an Early Medieval burial both inside the cavea and in the immediate vicinity of the Porta Triumphalis: the material documentation acquired during the archaeological investigation revealed the presence of grave goods that can be traced back to burials that were mostly upset and in a secondary location, mainly objects of clothing and personal equipment of the deceased that make it possible to date the burial context to the full 8th century AD.

History of excavations
The first news of the existence of a building for shows at Forum Traiani was given in 1906 by Francesco Zedda in his volume and was later the subject of surface exploration studies.
Following the acquisition in 1996 of the heritage area of the Municipality of Fordongianus, with the exception of a portion in the south-western sector (used then and still today as a privately-owned artisanal area), in the same year the Superintendence of Cagliari and Oristano carried out a first archaeological excavation by Ginetto Bacco and Paolo Benito Serra. The amphitheater site, however, was affected by a stratigraphic and systematic archaeological excavation intervention only between the months of February and September 2008, by the Archaeological Superintendence of Sardinia in collaboration with the University of Sassari, the Municipality of Fordongianus and the Oristano Prison.

Bibliography
G. Bacco, T. Ganga, C. Oppo, P. B. Serra, M. Vacca, R. Marcello Zanella, R. Zucca, Structori amphitheatri. About the amphitheater of Forum Traiani (Sardinia), in “Roman Africa” XVIII, Rome 2010, pp. 1371-1459.
eprints.uniss.it/9127/1/AFRICA_ROMANA_18_vol_2.pdf R. Ghiotto, Roman Architecture in the Cities of Sardinia, Rome 2004, pp. 81-96.
R. Zucca, Fordongianus. Sassari, C. Delfino, 1986 (Archaeological Sardinia. Guides and itineraries; 4);
R. Delogu, The Architecture of the Middle Ages in Sardinia, Rome, 1953, pp. 14-15; 33; 56-8; 67; 113;
A. Zedda, Forum Trajani, Cagliari, 1906; A. Taramelli, Fordongianus.
Ancient baths of Forum Trajani, NS, 1903, pp. 469-492;
G. Spano, Description of Forum Trajani, BAS, VI, 1860, pp. 161-70;

How to get there
From Oristano, take the SP 55 to Silì and continue on the SS 388 in the direction of Simaxis and Ollastra. Continue to Fordongianus. From the town, take Via Pietro Pippia until you reach the amphitheater, visible from the street level, on the left.