What happened to the Colosseum in Rome after the fall of Roman Empire?

Built in 72 AD, the famous edifice remained in history as a place associated with bloody shows they love so much Romans: battles participating gladiators and animals. But what happened to the Colosseum after the fall of the Roman Empire? Recently, archaeologists have conducted excavations within the premises found with surprise that for many centuries it was used simply as a kind of "block of flats".

Starting ninth century until 1349, when it was damaged by a strong earthquake, the Colosseum was basically a residential complex with apartments for rent. Archaeologists have discovered the exhaust pipe tile, pottery shards, traces of the existence of sheds and workshops, and the foundation of a wall surrounding one of the properties.

The monks of the monastery of Santa Maria Nova, located nearby, had the administration building for a while, and would have to rent different places inside her to serve as housing, believe the researchers. During this period, the space inside the amphitheater would have been a huge common courtyard with crowded people, animals and household things.

In the sixteenth century, Pope Sixtus IV attempted to turn the Colosseum into a wool processing plant, but the project did not last long. Currently Colosseum undergoing in a restoration process under a three-year project worth 33 million USD.