"Without any need for excavation, modern geomagnetic techniques have given us the first clear indications of the site of the hippodrome east of the sanctuary of Olympia," said Mueller. The landscape in this area has changed so much that it is nearly impossible to reconstruct its appearance in ancient times. It is only here, between the adjoining hills on the other side of the road to Arcadia in the north and the bed of the Alfeios River in the south that the topology is suitable for the accommodation of a race course with a length of more than one kilometer. The area east of the sanctuary of Olympia had not been the subject of archeological investigation before, although the ancient written sources show that this must have been the site of the largest structure built to host events there.Īccording to Pausanias, the hippodrome lay south of the now researched and reconstructed stadium, and must now be several meters below the current level. "The project could become a new attraction for the sports world, similar to the excavation of the ancient Olympic stadium 50 years ago." "The DAI, with its branch in Athens, has done sports history a great service through its contribution," says Mueller. Ten students were on hand to assist Mueller, who is an authority on Olympia.Īncient Olympia remains a source of fascination for history and sports buffs alike The investigation of the area east of the sanctuary of Olympia, funded by the Institute of Sports Science of the University of Mainz and the International Riding Association, has produced the first concrete indications of the location of the race course and its geographical dimensions. The actual starting-gates, with boxes for up to 24 teams of horses, are most probably located under a gigantic pile of earth excavated by the archeologists investigating the temple area since 1875. Of particular interest is the fact that at the halfway point of the northern access to the starting-gates - where Pausanias describes the chariot entryway to the hippodrome - there is a circular arrangement with a diameter of about 10 meters, clearly marked in the ancient soil layer, which could be the remains of the sacred structure described here by the ancient writer. Structural remains identified as the temple of Demeter, known to have been sited near the hippodrome, were discovered in the northern part of the area investigated in the spring of 2007. The researchers believe this to be the hippodrome race course, which ran parallel to the stadium. They detected conspicuous, rectilinear structures along a stretch of almost 1,200 meters (4,000 feet). This served as an additional incentive for the German researchers: Using modern geophysical methods, they systematically searched the area for the first time.Įxperts Armin Grubert from Mainz and Christian Huebner from Freiburg, who specialize in the use of geomagnetic and geo-radar techniques, were able to map soil disturbances such as water courses, ditches, and walls. In modern plans and descriptions it is usually stated quite simply that "nothing remains of the hippodrome due to flooding in medieval times."
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The area, described by Pausanias to the east of the sanctuary of Olympia, has been flooded by the Alfeios River since ancient times and is covered with silt.
![ancient olympic chariot races ancient olympic chariot races](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-upCwDGZ_d24/UBKhheWvHYI/AAAAAAAAITU/N3qiUzpc10s/s1600/greek+games.jpg)
Since then, archeologists and sports historians from all over the world have been involved in trying to solve this secret.
![ancient olympic chariot races ancient olympic chariot races](https://www.history.com/.image/t_share/MTgyODAzMDI4MDcwMzc2ODY3/firstolympicsmyths.jpg)
Its actual location had never been found, although German archeologists have been continuously excavating the site where the ancient Olympics were held since 1875. Prior to this, the hippodrome had only been known from written sources. Roman chariot races took place at the Circus Maximus