Detail of an exterior pier on the Colosseum.
The rough finish of the lowest three blocks on the pier in this image might betray the roughed-out condition in which these blocks were inserted into the structure. More careful work is apparent above on the moulded bracket from which the arches spring and it is possible that this finish was meant to have been applied all across the exterior surface of the Colosseum. Either this section was overlooked or it is was felt unnecessary to smooth all of these piers to the same level.
