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Water flowed along passages beneath the Coliseum and into concealed pipes below the arena. Workers lifted the wooden flooring, creating a wide-open cavity below. Then the valves were turned on, and the water streamed through the pipes, filling the basin deep enough for scaled-down warships to float. People packed the seats, eagerly watching the men battle from the ships in a deadly fight until most of them had died. When the show was finished, water rushed out through large drains beneath the ed