The archaeology of Lydia, from Gyges to Alexander / Christopher H. Roosevelt.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 279-298) and index.

1. Introduction -- Regional Archaeology -- Material Culture and Cultural Change -- Overview of this Study -- 2. The cultural and historical framework -- Lydian Origins, Language, and the Early Lydian Period (Through yhe Late Eighth Century) -- The Middle Lydian Period ( Early Seventh through Mid-Sixth Centuries) -- The Late Lydian (or Achaemenid) Period (Mid-Sixth through Late Fourth Centuries) -- 3. Lydian geography and environment -- The Natural Landscapes of Lydia -- Geology -- Climate and Vegetation -- Resources -- The Richness and Diversity of Lydian Lanscapes -- 4. Settlement and society at Sardis -- The Geography and Development of Sardis -- Lydian Houses and Domestic Economy -- Small-Scale Craft Production and Exchange -- Large-Scale Craft Production and Exchange -- Royal, Administrative, and Public Buildings -- Cults and Cult Places -- Sardis and Lydian Society -- 5. Settlement and society in central and greater Lydia -- Central Lydia, the Immediate Hinterland of Sardis -- Greater Lydia, the Distant Hinterland of Sardis -- Settlement Structure and Estates -- Settlement Concerns -- Sacred Landscapes and Cult Places -- Lydian Settlement Patterns and Regional Interaction -- 6. Burial and society -- Regional Burial Types -- Graveside Markers and Funerary Imagery -- Grave Assemblages and Funeral Ceremonies -- Burial and Lydian Society -- 7. Conclusions : continuity and change at Sardis and beyond -- Development in the Material Record -- Material and Historical Synthesis : Continuity and Change -- Some Final Conclusions and Prescriptions for the Future.

In The Archaeology of Lydia : From Gyges to Alexander, Christopher Roosevelt provides the first overview of the regional archaeology of Lydia in western Turkey, including much previously unpublished evidence as well as a fresh synthesis of the archaeology of Sardis, the ancient capital of the region. Combining data from regional surveys, stylistic analyses of artifacts in local museums, ancient texts, and environmental studies, he presents a new perspective on the archaeology of this area. To assess the importance of Lydian landscapes under Lydian and Achaemenid rule, roughly between the seventh and fourth centuries BCE, Roosevelt situates the archaeological evidence within frameworks established by evidence for ancient geography, environmental conditions, and resource availability and exploitation. Drawing on detailed and copiously illustrated evidence presented in a regionally organized catalogue, the book considers the significance of evidence of settlement and burial at Sardis and beyond for understanding Lydian society as a whole and the continuity of cultural traditions across the transition from Lydian to Achaemenid hegemony.