Ordinary Lydians at Home: Lydian levels at Pactolus Cliff

Book excerpt: "This much-anticipated publication of two major Lydian excavation sectors at Sardis is the first in-depth presentation of the pottery and other artifacts found in the houses of the inhabitants of this legendary city. It traces continuous occupation outside the city walls from the Late Bronze Age to the middle of the sixth century B.C., when the Persians under Cyrus the Great captured the capital city of King Croesus. This book presents a remarkable synthesis of a vast quantity of everyday material into a vivid picture of daily life in early Sardis in the period when the Lydians were conquering most of western Turkey. The authors describe many small structures and a wealth of artifacts that collectively document the lives of ordinary Lydians. Because Sardis maintained cultural and economic contacts throughout the eastern Mediterranean, scholars working in Greece, Anatolia, and the Near East will find this first presentation of Lydian pottery and other objects, as well as vernacular architecture, of great interest. The two-volume book discusses the chronology, history, and evidence of everyday life, and catalogues nearly 800 objects, illustrated by more than 300 color plates of photos and detailed drawings"--