Clara Agustoni has written:

'La mosaique de la Venatio a Vallon (Fribourg): 20 ans de decouvertes autour des scenes de chasse' -- subject(s): OUR Brockhaus selection, Ancient History

It is reticulate type.

There were two types of animal acts in Rome. One was the animal hunts (venatio), the hunting and slaying of animals. These animals were not always wild or exotic, such as lions, bears or elephants. They could also be dogs, deer, goats or rabbits. The other were animal acts similar to those in a circus.

Leaf veins.

Tripinnate:

It is a leaf in which the secondary rachii are branched to form tertiary rachii which in turn bear the leaflets. Such a leaf is said to be tripinnate. E.g., drumstick (Moringa)

The Romans hunted in groups of spearmen on foot or on horseback. For boar hunting they used a special boar spear which was fitted with a cross guard to stop the boar driving its pierced body further down the shaft to attack its killer.

There was a tradition of killing animals for pleasure. Hunting was so popular that mosaics and paintings often depicted this pastime as a heroic activity. Slaughtering animals was considered a form of entertainment, and people scoured the countryside for bears, Lions, stags and boars to pursue with spears and dogs. With imperial expansion, they travelled throughout the Mediterranean to hunt and bring back animals to be killed in the venatio, animal hunts which were public entertainment.

The venatio were part of the schedule of the day in the gladiatorial games at the Colosseum and other amphitheatres (arenas) around the empire. In Rome they were also performed at the Circus Maximus (the chariot racing track) the forum and the saepta, a large building in the north of the city. The venator (hunter) was a gladiator who specialised in animal hunts. Various types of animals were used: lions, elephants, bears, deer, wild goats, dogs, and rabbits.

Romans hunting led to the extinction of loins in Italy and Greece. They then started hunting Barbary or Atlas Lion a breed which lived in Africa north of the Sahara. They decimated its population, which withdrew to remote forests. The Romans also hunted the Atlas bears which lived in the mountains of northwest Africa and which were the only bears in Africa. They cut its forest habitat and slaughtered many for sport or captured them and sold them for the venatio.

The animals were used in the "venatio" which was an animal hunt, a sort of extra added attraction to the gladiator games. They were separate from the gladiator bouts and were held in the morning of the day of the combats. The men who fought them were called "venatores" and were completely different from the sword and armor gladiators that fought in the afternoon. The animals came from the wild parts of the empire, bears from the north, bulls from Spain, but most of them came from Africa, as the big cats such as leopards and lions were popular in the hunts.

The festivities at the arena began in the morning with the "venatio" or wild animal hunt. This was followed by some type of entertainment such as acrobats/clowns or athletic events while the foliage and scenic decorations were being removed and the floor of the arena was smoothed. There was a lunch break during which the public execution were held and then the grand parade in which the gladiators would make their ceremonial entrance. The actual fighting began with the various pairs of gladiators contesting for the crowd's approval. When the fights had been decided and the arena cleared, gifts were thrown to the crowd.

The animals were used in the "venatio" which was an animal hunt, a sort of extra added attraction to the gladiator games. They were separate from the gladiator bouts and were held in the morning of the day of the combats. The men who fought them were called "venatores" and were completely different from the sword and armor gladiators that fought in the afternoon. The animals came from the wild parts of the empire, bears from the north, bulls from Spain, but most of them came from Africa, as the big cats such as leopards and lions were popular in the hunts.

The animals were used in the "venatio" which was an animal hunt, a sort of extra added attraction to the gladiator games. They were separate from the gladiator bouts and were held in the morning of the day of the combats. The men who fought them were called "venatores" and were completely different from the sword and armor gladiators that fought in the afternoon. The animals came from the wild parts of the empire, bears from the north, bulls from Spain, but most of them came from Africa, as the big cats such as leopards and lions were popular in the hunts.

If you mean Ludi, held at the Circus Maximus, it ranged in duration and scope from half-day events to spectacular multi-venue celebrations held over several days. There were public feasts, religious ceremonies and public feasts, horse and chariot racing, athletics, plays and recitals, beast-hunts (venatio), and gladiator fights. Sometimes there were public executions. The greater ludi at the Circus began with a flamboyant parade (pompa circensis), much like the triumphal procession (triumphus), which marked the purpose of the games and introduced the participants.

Usually, they put slaves, the poor, or conquered enemies into the circuses for entertainment. They faced gladiators or animals in the circuses. It was usually a way to kill someone for entertainment. If the slaves, the poor, or conquered enemies won, they were just put in the circus again.

The circuses were race tracks, not gladiatorial arenas. People went to the circuses to watch horse races and chariot races.

The venatio (plural venationes) took place at the Colosseum, the Circus Maximus (the chariot racing track) and the Saepta (a massive public building in the Campus Martius, in the north of the city). Animal hunts at the Colosseum were part of the gladiatorial games (which included many other events, besides the gladiatorial contests) and were held in the morning, while the gladiatorial contents took place in the afternoon. Animal hunts held at the Circus Maximus were part of the ludi circensis, games which involved chariot races.

Most of the animals used for the venationes were wild animals, but not all of them were. They included lions, elephants, bears, deer, wild goats, dogs, and rabbits. Some of these animals were trained, and instead of fighting, performed tricks. Hunts of lions were very popular because this animal was revered for its ferocity. The man who performed the vanatio was the venator "(hunter), who technically was not considered a gladiator. Besides hunting he performed tricks such as putting an arm in a lion's mouth, riding a camel while leading lions on a leash and making an elephant walk a tightrope.

Serious criminals could be condemned "to the beasts" (damnatio ad bestias) to be killed by wild animals at the Colosseum as a type of death sentence. They were called bestiarii. These executions were staged as plays in which the convict had to fight without weapon or amour.

The first Roman gladiatorial fight was in 264BC in the Middle Roman republic. They were popular throughout the Roman empire. Flavius Honorius decreed an end to the contests in 399AD, and they stopped being actually practiced some time after then. The actual duration of their presence is relatively unknown. Whether or not the games preceded this event, The Campanians, in 310 BC, celebrated their defeating the Samnites in the first Samnite War (343-341 BC) with the aid of Rome by pitching Samnite slaves against one another using armour they had captured during the war. The games became more popular throughout the Republic, and through the Imperial Era. In 399, Honorius tried to end the games by banning gladiatorial schools, thus lowering the quality of the games, and as he most likely hoped, the interest in the games. When the last games occurred is unknown, although in 440 AD, Bishop Salvius released a Pamphlet which directly attacked the games, although Gladiatorial games were not mentioned. (Gladiatorial games were only part of a larger set of games, including the Venatio, games with animals, and the midday execution of condemned criminals.) From this we can only assume that the games had ceased, as at this point Christians were trying to cease the games on a moral basis.

The animals that were fought in the Colosseum were many. Some of them are lions, tigers, hippos, rhinos, bears, leopards, and, believe it or not, ostriches. Any animal that was considered large and vicious was fair game for the arena.