The amphitheater was situated on the Campus Martius,[1] though its exact location remains unknown.

According to historian Tacitus, work began on the amphitheater in 57 AD, the year of Nero's second consulship with Lucius Calpurnius Piso.

It took only a year to complete and Nero held gladiatorial battles to inaugurate it.

However, the building's wooden construction meant it did not last long and was probably destroyed in the fire of 80.

Accounts of the amphitheater describe it as modestly sized and constructed entirely out of wood.