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Bardowie was the property of the Clan Galbraith from 1214, and passed by marriage to John Hamilton of Cadzow in the later 14th century. The tower was built in 1566, with additions made from the late 17th or early 18th century. The later part of the castle is dated 1713. In the mid 18th century the castle passed by marriage to Thomas Buchanan of Spittal-Leny, whose descendants owned the castle until the early 20th century. Thomas' son Dr. Francis Buchanan-Hamilton claimed the chiefship of Clan Buchanan. The castle was sold several times in the 20th century, including in 1912 and 1951.
In 2002, the property was owned by motivational speaker Jack Black, the founder of MindStore, who listed it for sale when he was unable to get a permit to operate his wife's software business from the property. The interior had been extensively modernized.
References:The Amphitheatre of the Three Gauls was part of the federal sanctuary of the three Gauls dedicated to the cult of Rome and Augustus celebrated by the 60 Gallic tribes when they gathered at Lugdunum (Lyon). The amphitheatre was built at the foot of the La Croix-Rousse hill at what was then the confluence of the Rhône and Saône.
Excavations have revealed a basement of three elliptical walls linked by cross-walls and a channel surrounding the oval central arena. The arena was slightly sloped, with the building"s south part supported by a now-vanished vault. The arena"s dimensions are 67,6m by 42m. This phase of the amphitheatre housed games which accompanied the imperial cult, with its low capacity (1,800 seats) being enough for delegations from the 60 Gallic tribes.
The amphitheatre was expanded at the start of the 2nd century. Two galleries were added around the old amphitheatre, raising its width from 25 metres to 105 metres and its capacity to about 20,000 seats. In so doing it made it a building open to the whole population of Lugdunum and its environs.