Sight in Ancient Times

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In a book by Vincent Ilardi, Vision from Spectacles to Telescopes, he writes about the discovery of a 5,300-year-old ivory knife handle of Egyptian origin with microscopic carved figures. This is certain evidence that Egyptians had a means for providing vision enhancements. The ancient Romans used emeralds and some other green stones to provide visual aid and a soothing aspect to the eyes. Emperor Nero watched a gladiator in an event with the aid of a smaragdus*, an emerald or similar gem. However, historians feel that the stone merely blocked out the glare of the sun and gave little more visual aid. *Smaragdus is Greek for green gem. The picture is from gemology-laboratory.com