Olympia

            Of course Olympia is most well known for being the beginning and start of the Olympic games but other than that it is now an intriguing archeological site. The site at Olympia holds the first Olympic stadium but it is also home to a sanctuary with temples to the gods, stoa, bath house, gymnasion and quite a bit more.

Ernst Curtius

            Through time more and more has been added to this site the temple to Zeus was an addition in the 4^th or 5^th century BC. However during the third century there was a series of earthquakes that took a definite toll on the site. The site was eventually covered over by what is now thought to be seawater from a couple tsunamis hitting the landscape. The first large-scale excavation was around 1870 when a German archeologist by the mane of Ernst Curtius was sent to do the dig. There were many attempts to excavate before Ernst got the funding and for the most part it was due to the other archeologists funding falling through and not being able to pay to do it themselves.

            The purpose of the dig was one of the largest carried out even to this day. He was to excavate the Heraion, the temple of Zeus, the Metroon, the Philippeion, the echo Colonnade and the precinct of Pelops. The German and Greek governments drew up paperwork so that the Germans could preform the dig and are responsible for keeping everything protected but everything that is uncovered will remain in Greece. However there was a great deal of looting in antiquity mostly by the Greeks themselves. Later when Dorpfeld took over the dig he went as far as doing periodic investigations to make sure nothing was missing, he also began digging in a more systematic way especially when they got to the stadium itself. It was here that they unearthed Pheidias’ workshop, and the Leonidaion. Also the north and south side of the stadium itself.

Philippeion

            Due to the natural disasters and war these temples are for the most part in ruins but for being the biggest undertaking at once the dig had been completed so systematically that every thing is easier to account for than it would have been on another dig of the time. However due to looting back in antiquity we are forced to make educated guesses at what some of the temples would have looked like. Including the immense statue of Zeus in his temple at Olympia.

Recreation of the Temple of Zeus

http://archaeology.about.com/od/archaeologicalsite1/a/olympia.htm

http://www.dainst.org/en/project/olympia?ft=all

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110710204240.htm

http://sunsite.icm.edu.pl/olympics/classical/