Sep 11
12
Roman Amphitheatre Found In England
A large Roman Amphitheatre has been discovered buried below the summit of Studforth Hill outside of Aldborough village in Yorkshire England. The team of researchers from Cambridge University was led by a local woman who was told about the legend of a Roman amphitheatre by her grandfather. Until this discovery the local stories of an ancient amphitheatre have been long dismissed as legend.
This breakthrough discovery was possible because of today’s GPR technologies. Ground Penetrating Radar was used to scan more than a square mile of pastures in a grid format. After which the locals were informed in a packed meeting that the amphitheatre had finally been tracked down.
Many ruins have been discovered around Yorkshire confirming this area was well settled by Romans. Artwork was discovered in some of the ruins suggesting cultured inhabitants. Previous finds by researchers suggest other theatres may be close by. The scientists believe this Roman Amphitheatre is just part of a complex which may include a sports arena.
The next step is for the researchers to find funding and gain permission to excavate this site to complete a full survey. As they uncover more secrets there may be proof that the site was once part of a bustling Roman entertainment complex.
Roman Gladiator School Found In Austria
An international team from the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology (LBI-ArchPro), together with the Archaeological Park Carnuntum, using state-of-the-art ground penetrating radar devices discovered a Roman Gladiator School 20 km east of Vienna. The research team used a multi-antenna ground penetrating radar attached to a tractor to collect the subsurface data.
The use of ground penetrating radar has provided sufficient quality data of the subsurface structures for the researchers to use 3D modeling to recreate the 2,800 square meter (3,350 square yard) compound. From this data they were able to identify the school buildings arranged around an inner court with a circular training area with wooden stands for spectators.
The archaeologists believe that they have also located the gladiators’ cemetery, immediately behind a building associated with large grave monuments, stone sarcophagi and other, simpler, graves. This newly discovered gladiator school is near a previously excavated amphitheatre of the civilian city of Carnuntum. This amphitheatre is said to have held around 13,000 spectators and contemporary inscriptions claimed that it was the fourth largest amphitheatre in the Roman Empire.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IZ99v14aaU&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
It’s exciting to find stories where ground penetrating radar is being used today to uncover history and confirm what was once considered to be a myth handed down by generations.