Currently in ruins, it is part of the Archaeological Ensemble of Tárraco that was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2000.

There are remains of a large inscription dating to the reign of Elagabalus (3rd century AD) and located in the podium.

In 259, during the persecution of Christians by Emperor Valerian, the city's bishop, Fructuosus, and his deacons, Augurius and Eulogius, were burned alive.

After Christianity became the official religion of the empire, the amphitheatre lost its original functions.

After closing the prison, it was abandoned up to the mid-20th century when work was started to recover the theatre, funded by the Bryant Foundation.