During excavation work for a new museum extension in Arles, France, archaeologists have stumbled upon a perfectly preserved 1st-century 'Optician’s Atelier'. The workshop contains a collection of polished rock-crystal lenses of varying magnifications and several experimental bronze frames designed to hold the stones before the eyes.
The find is the first of its kind in the Roman world, providing direct evidence that ancient physicians and craftsmen were actively producing corrective lenses for vision impairment. Among the artifacts is a small stone tablet inscribed with 'refraction charts' used to calibrate the curvature of the crystal, suggesting a highly scientific approach to optics in the early Roman Empire.