Archaeologists have restored an underground tunnel once used by Roman emperors to enter the Colosseum that will soon open to visitors for the first time.

The so-called ‘Passage of Emperor Commodus’ is a tunnel emperors would use to enter the arena unseen and protected which would lead them directly to the honor box reserved to them, archaeologists of the Colosseum Archaeological Park told the Associated Press.

The passage was named after the Emperor Commodus, who lived from 180 to 192 A.D., when it was initially discovered in the 1810s.

Emperor Commodus, a name widely known after director Ridley Scott made him one of the main characters in the movie “Gladiator,” was known to be passionate about gladiators games to which he also used to participate.

History goes that while Emperor Commodus was passing through the tunnel somebody attempted to take his life, though unsuccessfully.

The similarities between the description of this event as described by ancient Latin author Cassius Done and the actual tunnel, brought the archaeologists in the 19th century to name the passage after Commodus.

According to archaeologists though, the passage was built between the last years of the rule of Emperor Domitianus (81-96 A.D.) and the rule of Emperor Trajan (97-117 A.D.).

The corridor is shaped as an ’S’ and archaeologists say the tunnel continues outside the arena but it is still unknown where it leads.

Most probably, they say, it would lead to emperor's quarters nearby.

Barbara Nazzaro, the architect who led restoration work of the passage, said the passage was rich with frescoes, stuccoes, marbles and other decorations depicting the shows happening in the amphitheater.

The passage will open to the public on 27 October.

AP video shot by Andrea Rosa