They lived in cells barely big enough to turn around in and usually fought until they died. This was the lot of those at a sensational scientific discovery unveiled Monday: The well-preserved ruins of a gladiator school in Austria. The Carnuntum ruins are part of a city of 50,000 people 28 miles (45 kilometers) east of Vienna that flourished about 1,700 years ago — a major military and trade outpost linking the far-flung Roman empire’s Asian boundaries to its central and northern European lands. Mapped out by radar, the ruins of the gladiator school remain underground. Yet officials say the find rivals the famous Ludus Magnus — the largest of the gladiatorial training schools in Rome — in its structure. And they say the Austrian site is even more detailed than the well-known Roman ruin, down to the remains of a thick wooden post in the middle of the training area, a mock enemy that young, desperate gladiators hacked away at centuries ago. Al Jazeera looks at what archeologists have discovered BBC News reports that the radar images show thick walls surrounding the compound which contained 40 small cells for fighters. “(This is) a world sensation, in the true meaning of the word,” said Lower Austrian provincial Governor Erwin Proell. The archaeological park Carnuntum said the ruins were “unique in the world … in their completeness and dimension.” The gladiator complex is part of a 10-square kilometer (3.9-square mile) site over the former city, an archaeological site now visited by hundreds of thousands of tourists a year. Officials told reporters they had no date for the start of excavations of the school, saying experts needed time to settle on a plan that conserves as much as possible. “If one has a major injury then you first do a series of CT scans before you let a surgeon do his work,” explained Wolfgang Neubauer, director of the Ludwig Bolzman Institute, which participated in the discovery. Digging at the city site began around 1870, but only 0.5 percent of the settlement has been excavated, due to the enormity of what lies beneath and to the painstaking process of restoring what already has been unearthed. Virtual video presentations Monday of the former Carnuntum gladiator school showed images of the ruins underground that morphed into what the complex must have looked like in the third century. It was definitely a school of hard knocks. “A gladiator school was a mixture of a barracks and a prison, kind of a high-security facility,” said the Roemisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum, one of the institutes involved in finding and evaluating the discovery. “The fighters were often convicted criminals, prisoners-of-war, and usually slaves.” Still, there were some perks for the men who sweated and bled for what they hoped would at least be a few brief moments of glory before their demise. At the end of a dusty and bruising day, they could pamper their bodies in baths with hot, cold and lukewarm water. And hearty meals of meat, grains and cereals were plentiful for the men who burned thousands of calories in battle each day for the entertainment of others. Thick walls surround 11,000 square meters (13,160 sq. yards) of the site, and the school and its adjacent buildings stretch over 2,800 square meters (3,350 square yards). Inside, a courtyard was ringed by living quarters and other buildings and contained a round, 19-square meter (23-square yard) training area — a small stadium overlooked by wooden seats and the terrace of the chief trainer. The complex also contained about 40 tiny sleeping cells for the gladiators; a large bathing area; a training hall with heated floors and assorted administrative buildings. Outside the walls, radar scans show what archeologists believe was a cemetery for those killed during training. The institute said the training area was where the men’s “market value and in end effect their fate” was decided. At the same time, it gave them a small chance for survival, fame, and possibly liberty. “If they were successful, they had a chance to advance to ‘superstar’ status — and maybe even achieve freedom,” said Carnuntum park head Franz Humer. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Read the rest here: Radar Unveils Well-Preserved ‘Gladiator School’ Ruins in Austria
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Radar Unveils Well-Preserved ‘Gladiator School’ Ruins in Austria
Amazing White House Discovery: Unemployment Creates Jobs
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Amazing White House Discovery: Unemployment Creates Jobs
[Guest post by Lee Stranahan] In a sudden burst of Tweets, former Raw Story editor Ron Brynaert has claimed that he’s been working behind the scenes with New York Times reporter Jenn Preston for ‘weeks’ on #Weinergate and that he was promised money. This also might explain some bizarre behavior that has slowed down the discovery the real person behind much of the shenanigans. It started with… ronbryn Ron Brynaert Dear @thepubliceditor this story is missing credit for my work with @NYT_JenPreston & I’ve been led on about getting $ nytimes.com/2011/06/18/nyr… And it goes on from there. Here are a few screen captures of Ron’s angry tweet (read bottom to top) – and Patterico should have more information on this soon. Full disclosure – I’ve been very clear that I have been talking to Preston for weeks, as well – at no time was money offered. Additionally, Preston clearly used elements of my public work in her stories and I was never credited or acknowledged. I spoke to Ron on the phone several days ago – he did not mention that he was working with Preston, but seems to have relayed some of my conversation with her. – Lee Stranahan
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What’s Up With NYT’s Jen Preston & Ron Brynaert?
If this weekend has taught us anything politically, it’s that the left is not interested in facts. Once a template has been established, no amount of evidence is going to usurp their idea of how and why certain events have transpired. After the Discovery Channel hostage situation , Media Matters grabbed the mantle of leadership and advised against jumping to conclusions: Today they have some more thoughts. This time on the over-the-top violent rhetoric that is apparently emanating from the Tea Party side of the political spectrum. Either they weren’t logged in on Saturday or they are a consortium of political hacks that are more than happy to ignore certain behaviors if it advances their political agenda. I’ll let you be the judge. (but the latter is the answer) After the horrendous acts of an insane lone gunman on Saturday, Twitter was abuzz with people on the left and right offering condolences to the families of the victims. As is often the phrase when there is a political person involved in something like this, many were saying it was time to “put the politics aside.” Apparently the left did not get this memo. Warning: After the jump includes language some might find objectionable. It started with Markos Moulitsas, humanitarian and founder of DailyKos. He began by attempting to sell his book : He then decided to target (excuse the language) more specifically who was to blame for the atrocities. Because after all, Sarah Palin had, during the election cycle, posted this map using a target to indicate that Gifford’s Az district was to be…um….chosen as an area ripe for Republican victory on November 2nd. Laying blame on this map and more specifically at the feet of Sarah Palin was viewed by many as inappropriately political given the proximity to the events that had taken place and the uncertainty as to the condition of the victims. Certainly discussions of the motives would need to be had, but right now, the concern should be for the family right? Trying to make the point that politics should be put aside resulted in typical leftist eloquence. Because silence was not an option. Since after all… And they felt that something must be done about this over-the-top rhetoric! And not just Sarah Palin, but really… Because once again, just look at this map!! I mean clearly, it’s not over-the-top to say… Because unlike the left, the right is incredibly hateful! These kinds of threats are unacceptable! And I think we can all agree it’s certainly not the time for making ill-conceived jokes. Well, regardless, the left was united that the hate speech and use of violent, insulting & hate filled terminology must stop. Well…maps! There’s no maps like the evil Palin used on the left… Well….at least they never specifically targeted the district that Giffords was in using inflammatory or “violent” language… *Highlights were added – Ben Ok, but first of all, that’s not Markos. Markos would never ever use that type of language, especially not about Giffords… *Highlights were added – Ben Oh…
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The Left Puts a Bullseye on the Right
Editorial Note: This morning, prior to this news, we were running a caption contest on this cartoon. We have suspended that contest and removed the cartoon from the front page. — Erick —————————– A terrible tragedy today. Rep. Giffords of Arizona was gunned down and, though early reports were that she is dead, the hospital is confirming, as of this writing, that she is alive and in surgery. 11 others were apparently shot and six others are dead. I spent an hour with Rep. Giffords a few months ago. She and I were sitting in Jim Bohannon’s studio with Robert Reich was on the air. She’d driven him over to the studio. We chatted for an hour. We disagreed on much. She was extremely, exceedingly nice. My prayers are for her and her family. Unfortunately, the left is using this tragedy to score political points. Rep. Giffords was on Gov. Palin’s target list for defeat this past November. The left claims Gov. Palin has blood on her hands. So does the tea party movement. Less than a year ago a gunman stormed into the Discovery Channel’s headquarters, taking hostages and threatening to kill them all. The left immediately accused the man of being a tea party activist. Unfortunately for the left, the man turned out to be an envirowacko leftist raised on Algore’s global warming garbage. Immediately, the left changed their tune and proclaimed that no longer could we as partisans accuse each other of causing things like this. There are just crazy people in the world and tragedies happen. My, my how quickly they forget. The truth is there is evil in this world. Evil exists where God does not and as we drive God further and further away, evil creeps in more and more. Today was not a random act of violence. It was a profound evil. Let’s not pretend it wasn’t. Let’s not pretend evil does not exist. But let’s not let the left, yet again, spin this against the tea party movement, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, or Sarah Palin inciting violence. That’s both a profound lie and just another, though lesser, bit of evil.
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The Blame Game and Prayers Begin
