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Horse Racecourse In Ancient Olympia Discovered After 1600 Years
"The site of the ancient hippodrome course in Olympia, where the emperor Nero competed for Olympian laurels, has been discovered. The hippodrome was discovered in Olympia by a research team that included Professor Norbert Müller (a sports historian from Mainz), Dr Christian Wacker (a sports archaeologist from Cologne) and PD Dr Reinhard Senff (chief excavator of the German Archaeological Institute - DAI.
'This discovery is an archaeological sensation,' commented Norbert Müller of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. The research project extended over several weeks before being completed in the middle of May 2008.
Prior to this, the hippodrome had only been known from written sources. Archaeologists had failed to locate its actual site. This is surprising, as German archaeologists have been continuously excavating the site of where the ancient olympiad was held since 1875; this research has become a tradition and innumerable archaeologists, historians, and sports historians from all over the world have been involved in trying to solve this secret for over a hundred years.
Pausanias, a travel writer of the ancient world, described this course for horse races, its starting mechanisms, turning points and altars in much detail in the 2nd century AD: 'If you climb over the stand of the stadion along the side where the hellanodikai are seated, you reach a terrain, where the horse races and the starting mechanism for the horses are located. The starting mechanism has the form of the prow of a ship, with the tip pointing to the race-track. Along the side where the prow touches the column of Agnaptos, it is broad. At the farthest tip of the prow there is placed a bronze dolphin on a pole (11) Both sides of the starting mechanism are more than 400 feet long and there are starting gates incorporated in them...'"
(End of excerpt)
Full article at link.
Source: Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (2008, July 21). Horse Racecourse In Ancient Olympia Discovered After 1600 Years. ScienceDaily. Retrieved July 30, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2008/07/080714145253.htm "The site of the ancient hippodrome course in Olympia, where the emperor Nero competed for Olympian laurels, has been discovered.... more -
(ABC prime Time excerpt) New da Vinci Code? Leonardo Last Supper Christ webbed han...
For 500 years the the left hand of Christ in the Last Supper (1495) has been in front of everyone and never called what it is "syndactyly (webbed). The video shows an interview of Leonardo da Vinci researcher Ben Sweeney and Joseph Upton MD renowned hand surgeon discussing that hand and a detailed sketch of Leonardo's own anomalous left hand.
more information at
http://www.leonardoshands.com/artman2/publish/leonardo-... For 500 years the the left hand of Christ in the Last Supper (1495) has been in front of everyone and never called what it is "sy... more -
Yale Daily News Research probes into possible Leonardo da Vinci handicap
http://www.leonardoshands.com/artman2/publish/english-versions-2/Research_probes_into_possible_da_Vinci_handicap.shtml
Research probes into possible da Vinci handicap
By Maggie Reid
Contributor(s) YaleDailyNews.com
Along with the help of a former Yale researcher, a longtime admirer of Leonardo da Vinci is trying to challenge commonly accepted beliefs about the life of one of the greatest minds in history.
“I’m coming into the Leonardo world as an outsider,” Ben Sweeney said. “Many people in academia run the risk of getting locked into their ideas and stuck in their own perspective. I don’t come in with anything preconceived.”
Although Sweeney’s research runs the gamut on da Vinci — including art, science and math — his study on da Vinci’s anomalous left hand has been the subject of most interest. Through analysis of different da Vinci sketches, Sweeney developed the idea that the third and fourth fingers of da Vinci’s left hand were connected. This condition is called syndactyly, in which two or more digits are fused together.
Sweeney said that art historians have noticed issues with da Vinci’s hand in his sketches before, but it was always written off as the result of a stroke da Vinci had late in life. But Sweeney took his theory to Joseph Upton ’66, a former Yale-New Haven Hospital surgeon who researched at the University, who agreed that it appears to be a syndactyly hand.
Upton, a current Harvard Medical School professor, said that although the theory may not be able to be verified — proof would involve an X-ray — he does believe Sweeney’s conclusion that the anomalies in Da Vinci’s work are not simply a result of a stroke.
The theory also looks at the depiction of Jesus’ left hand in “The Last Supper” and “Madonna with the Yarn-Winder.” Jesus’ left hand is misshapen in both of these paintings, Sweeney said. In “Madonna with the Yarn-Winder,” the disfiguration was discovered through the use of infrared technology, Sweeney said, and adds to his theory that da Vinci had some sort of obsession or preoccupation with syndactyly hands.
“Whenever the art world came across a misfigured hand, they considered it a mistake,” Sweeney said. “In my opinion, da Vinci didn’t make mistakes. He’s definitely portraying syndactyly hands.”
Robert Goldwyn, a professor of surgery at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, said Sweeney is probably on the right track about da Vinci’s hand. The theory is interesting because Sweeney is looking at da Vinci in a way that nobody has in the last 500 years, Goldwyn said, most likely because of Sweeney’s unique position outside the field of academia.
“One art historian told me he never wanted to see me again after hearing my theory,” Sweeney said. “The art world wants to assume beauty over truth, and Leonardo knew that. He understood our mental state, even 500 years ago.”
With the help of experts such as Upton — who he is collaborating with on four different anatomical studies — Sweeney is working on about 40 different studies ranging from an examination of da Vinci’s health to the development of a mathematical form with which to study da Vinci art from a mathematical perspective. One of his most recent projects was the creation of a robot that da Vinci had created full plans for in his notes, Sweeney said. The “lost robot” has been traveling the country on tour and is currently on exhibit at the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma.
Sweeney said that he hopes the research will culminate with a book written . Getting the information out is a slow process because data can be misconstrued if its not presented clearly enough, he said, but he expects the results to make an impression on the art community.
“This is going to be the control-alt-delete of the art world,” Sweeney said. “There will be a concordance of his work, but this is really just the beginning.” http://www.leonardoshands.com/artman2/publish/english-versions-2/Research_probes_into_possible_da_Vinci_handicap.shtml ... more -
Infrared of Leonardo's (Lansdowne) Madonna of the Yarnwinder depicts syndacty...
Excerpt from Leonardoshands website below:
http://www.leonardoshands.com/artman2/publish/english-v...
The Madonna of the Yarnwinder 1504 (The Lansdowne Madonna) (Fig.12 A, B, C, D) by Leonardo has been extensively studied, including an IR-RGB (infrared-reflectographyby the National Institute of Applied Optics (INOA-CNR) in Florence, Italy.), color scan, mixed colorwith infrared and false color) scanning. Remarkably what is seen in the IR of the infant's left hand (Fig.12C, D &13) is an uncorrected synpolydactyly after early soft tissue separation but with no skeletal correction (Upton, Clinics 332). Interpreted as pentimenti and revisions of his compositions (Universal Leonardo website), it may have been that the infant portrayed had a congenital anomaly consistent with the syndactyl left hand of Christ depicted in the Last Supper.
Pursuit of scholarship demands that all of Leonardo da Vinci's original works be revisited by experts armed with the latest technology, including perhaps genetic studies of the pertinent parties including the genius himself. "The Weary Hand" depicts a confident, functioning syndactyly hand while The Last Supper and Yarnwinder show a left syndactyly Christ. Perfection is no longer limited to the realm of the "norm". Excerpt from Leonardoshands website below: http://www.leonardoshands.com/artman2/publish/english-versions/Il_Mancino.shtml ... more -
Leonardo da Vinci's lost robot knight on display
Fairly recently in the study of Leonardo da Vinci, it was theorized and determined that he built robots. Famous roboticist Mark Rosheim submitted a paper with his proof to the Leonardo Society. . It was accepted and he was comissioned to recreate it for the BBC. It is designed to sit stand and move arms and uses two hand cranks, It has been displayed around the USA and is normally on display in San Diego Museum of Man.
Even Bill Gates referenced it in his article about robots in every home and Dan Brown (in Da Vinci Code) uses excerpts from Rosheims paper to describe a miniature version of this robot.
There are many photos at http://www.leonardoshands.com/artman2/publish/leonardo-...
Also check out video and research showing that Leonardo depicted Christ in Last Supper with a syndactyly (webbed) left hand on Current as well as at www.Leonardoshands.com Fairly recently in the study of Leonardo da Vinci, it was theorized and determined that he built robots. Famous roboticist Mark Roshe... more -
Improve Your Memory With Ten Minutes of Talking [Mind Hacks]
Ten minutes of conversation can improve your memory as much or more than traditional memory boosting exercises, reports ScienceDaily:
The higher the level of participants' social interaction, researchers found, the better their cognitive functioning. This relationship was reliable for all age groups, from the youngest through the oldest.
On the flip side, social isolation can have a negative impact on memory, as well as emotional well-being. Ten minutes of conversation can improve your memory as much or more than traditional memory boosting exercises, reports ScienceDaily: ... more
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