JAMES BALL: So the same way that we would talk about our famous

sports stars and we'd argue over who was the best and who was the

greatest, who was the best footballer, who's the best

Formula One racer, who's the best cricket batsman or bowler,

you know, you can imagine people from Roman times. Talking about

who the best charioteer was and why.

JAMES GRASBY : Have you ever imagined being a fly on the wall

of history? Join me for an inside view of the stories of

people, places and moments that made us.

I'm historian James Grasby. Lean in for a tale from time back

when.

JAMES BALL: This is the Prasina Stone. It is a beautiful example

of ancient graffiti. It's of Cotswold Stone and it has the

letters P-R-A-S-I-N-A inscribed on it.

JAMES GRASBY : This is James Ball from Chedworth Roman Villa

in Gloucestershire.

The name Prasina refers to a chariot racing team from ancient

Rome.

Prasina is derived from the Greek word Prasinos which means

leek green, the colour of a leek, and was then taken on by

the Romans, Prasinos, Prasine.

And they were one of the most popular racing teams of their

time.

JAMES BALL: If you're thinking Formula One, you'd be thinking

Red Bull or Ferrari. If you're thinking Premier League teams,

this would be your Manchester City, your Manchester United,

your Liverpool, your Chelsea. These were the big guys.

There were four chariot racing teams in ancient Rome. So we had

the Greens, the Blues, the Whites and the Reds.

JAMES GRASBY : These teams were at the top of their game. And

the level of organisation that went into races is similar to

what we would imagine today.

JAMES BALL: It was a huge economic endeavour to put on

these races. And some sources describe it as sort of sports on

an industrial scale.

The Greens would have to have horses. They would have to have

charioteers. They would have to have design for the chariots

themselves.

There would be multiple horses. You'd have several hundred

horses within a stable, and you'd be having to pay all of

these people.

You'd have all those crafts and all the skill sets that would

have to come along to make this happen. It was a huge, huge

enterprise.

JAMES GRASBY : And the crowds?

JAMES BALL: You would have hundreds of thousands of people

coming along to come and watch these charioteers in action.

So at the Circus Maximus, the largest in Rome, the capacity

there was about 150,000 people.

So if you compare that to modern stadiums, I mean, a few of the

big ones are about 100,000. So this is 50,000 more than that.

So the scale of it for a sport that is 2,000 years ago just

blows your mind.

JAMES GRASBY : Well, these race goers saw the teams competing

around a tight oval-shaped track surrounded on all sides by these

spectators.

Like modern racing, there were skills and tactics involved to

ensure your top rider was in the lead. But these were often

dangerous and very high risk, which James explains added to

the atmosphere of each race.

JAMES BALL: The track was about 350 metres long the one way and

350 metres long the other way, and you'd go through a very,

very tight turning circle, which made the races phenomenal to

watch.

So you'd have the charioteers and the chariots going at a hell

of a pace up to one side.

And then they would have to manoeuver to go around that 180

degree hairpin bend and then get the speed up and do it again.

Obviously, the first chariot across the line was the one that

won. You have to really think about how you are going to race.

Some of the scenes that have been described, especially as

the chariots go around the 180 degree bend, it is the most

dangerous part of the race.

So you get these high, high speeds and then you've got to

get your angle into the turn.

And you've got to be able to slow down, but you want to get

the best line because it's the fastest line, but everyone's

going for it. And you could have chariots toppling over. You

could have horses getting caught up in it.

You could have drivers thrown from the chariots.

And the drivers, the charioteers, would strap

themselves to the horses. So you'd be ripped off and you

could get dragged behind.

But you'd have a knife strapped to your chest. So you'd have to

use the knife to cut away at the reins so that you could free

yourself to be able to live and race another day.

There was racing in Britain. So this was a sport that was

exported across the empire. And it was the biggest sport in

ancient Rome.

So a lot of people talk about the gladiators. The gladiators

would put on a few shows a year at the Circus Maximus and other

sort of arenas. You could have a race a week.

And on that day, you'd have several races happening. You

would have a whole shopping arena. So people would be able

to go-

Similar to what we do today, we go along and we have our food,

we have our drink, we buy our merchandise, ancient fans would

be able to do the same.

So it was huge. And the fans were passionate, very similar to

the way they are today in terms of having their sporting heroes.

Charioteers themselves were superstars. They would earn a

fortune.

You'd be able to find remnants of these guys in mosaic floors.

You'd be able to find remnants of them in frescoes.

You can see their gravesites today, some of these famous

charioteers. And obviously at Chedworth, we have the Prasina

Stone, showing that the wealthy family here were huge supporters

of the Greens.

JAMES GRASBY : The Prasina Stone is a great reminder of our

connection with the past and our fascination with sport through

the ages.

And I'll leave you with a thought of what a piece of

graffiti today, or cherished piece of memorabilia, may say

about our own societies two thousand years from now.

Thank you for listening to this episode of Back When. Be the

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All of the details can be found in our episode show notes. While

you're there, be sure to also check out our nature show, Wild

Tales, and also our kids' show, Ranger Rae and the Wildlifers.

Join us again next time for more tales from time. Back when.