With a growing number of nations joining the proposed boycott of the Moscow Olympic Games, there has been renewed interest tin the suggestion by the Greek government of returning the Games to a permanent site near where they were first staged.
GV: Games site at Nemea, Greece
SV ZOOM IN TO Columns and pile of ancient stones (2 shots)
LV AND CU: Tunnel entrance to stadium
GV: Excavation team digging with pick axes. (3 shots)
GV: Team sweeping open area
CU: Hands uncovering stones with trowels
SV: Team placing artifacts in bucket
GV: Women moving earth in wheelbarrows (2 shots)
SV: Team digging amid runs (2 shots)
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Background: With a growing number of nations joining the proposed boycott of the Moscow Olympic Games, there has been renewed interest tin the suggestion by the Greek government of returning the Games to a permanent site near where they were first staged.
SYNOPSIS: An archaeological team from the University of California, led by Professor Steven Miller, is working at the site at Nemea, 80 miles (140 kilometres) south of Athens. Like its more famous predecessor, the games at Olympia, the Nemean Games were in honour of the God, Zeus.
The team have already cleared the entrance to the tunnel, through which the athletes entered the stadium. Much of the site is like that at Olympic - and both have the remains of an impressive Temple of Zeus.
There were important differences. The Nemean Games were held every two years, the Olympics every four. And instead of a laurel wreath, the winning athletes were presented with a bunch of wild celery. The Olympic were open to all free-born Greeks. The original Nemean Games were limited to citizens of Argolis, although later, they too were extended to all Greeks.
Although the Nemean site was already well documented, Professor Miller's team have made several significant discoveries, The site is impressive but it is modest compared to the sports cities of today. The return of the modern Olympics to Greece would require a massive new complex, funded by international organisations. Although the United States an some other nations have already decided to boycott the Moscow Games, the future of the event will not be know until later this month, when the final list of those accepting invitations to compete is known. But even now there are lessons to be learned froth past. Professor Miller has pointed out that the institutions of the ancient Olympics were threatened by politics. The Temple of Zeus at Nemea was destroyed, thus stripping those games of their significance - two and a half thousand years ago.