The ludi, or games, were among the Romans' favourite pastimes and charioteers were the footballers of their age, celebrated and rewarded with enormous wealth.
Colchester Borough Council have signed the submission bid for £950,000 to help conserve and interpret the unique roman circus uncovered in the town four years ago.
The Roman Circus or chariot racing track is one of only four identified in Northern Europe and is one of the most exciting roman finds to be uncovered in Britain in decades.
The council will find out in March 2009 whether their bid for around £1m in funding has been successful, after which a bid for further funding will be submitted.
Money will go towards creating a cover building and to raise awareness of the town’s rich cultural heritage for both locals and tourists.
Cllr Theresa Higgins, Culture, Tourism and Diversity Portfolio Holder said: “I am delighted that the round one bid for the Circus Interpretation Project is going forward. Colchester’s Roman Circus is a unique piece of archaeology and we want to do the very best for the town and its history.
This terracotta 'Campana plaque' comes from the 1st or early 2nd century AD and depicts a quadriga (four-horse chariot) thundering towards a turning post. © The British Museum.
“You never quite know how a bid will go but we are hoping that we have put a good case together and that we will be successful as it is the only circus in the country and there are very few in the rest of the world.
“If we do get the funding we plan to build a centre over part of the circus so people can see what is underground and there will be lots of virtual displays so that you can see what it would have looked like at the time and how big it was.”
The discovery meant a lot to the town, which was once the capital of Roman Britain and still contains a wealth of Roman heritage buried under the ground, but prior to the discovery of the circus, Colchester didn't have that much that was above ground.
"There are the remains of a temple under the castle and many of the medieval buildings in the town were built from the Roman rubble that they found at the time," added Cllr Higgins.
For more information on the Roman circus go to www.colchester.gov.uk
