 The site became available to Nero by the Great Fire of Rome in AD 64 and redeveloped for his personal enjoyment with the construction of a huge artificial lake in the Domus Aurea, and a colossal statue of himself.Vespasian started his own redevelopment of the site around AD 70 to 72, possibly funding the construction with booty seized after the Roman victory in the First Jewish-Roman War in AD 70.The lake was in-filled and the site designated as the location for the Flavian Amphitheatre.