The Colosseum of Rome took at least eight years to build, but the Romans could build much faster when they wanted to. Julius Caesar’s first bridge over the Rhine in Germany, was built in just 10 days using 40,000 legionaries.
It’s doubtful that 10 times as many men could have done it in a day though, and building a city is much more complicated. Many Roman residential buildings were six stories high, and you can’t build the top floor before the one below is complete.
Cement needs more than a day to set and delivering all the materials for every building at once would be impossible along narrow Roman streets.
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Asked by: Yousef Medina, Rome
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