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wasoneof thegreatcitiesof Asia 5 Sardis in antiquity located in western ofLydia (akingdom Minor. Ascapital sheachieved fame frommodern Izmir), Turkey, inland before under herlastking,Croesus, andwealth especially in themid-sixth cenconquest succumbing to thePersian theruins of Sardis travelers first visited turyB.C. Western exploration century, but realscientific in the fifteenth whenPrinceton Unidid not beginuntilthiscentury, anexcavation fromI9IO to I9I4, and versity conducted Society jar 4%inches. Giftof theAmerican Height of the werediagain in I922. The findsfromthisexcavation (the coins), 26.59.6 of Sardis, 26.59.2-5 for the Exca?vation Museum in Istanbul the Archaeological videdbetween (the jar) Beginning in I958, a Museum. and the Metropolitan by Harvard and excavation, sponsored new American to revealthe vast has continued Cornell universities, capital. extentof the ancient scarcely offers "Lydia, unlikemostothercountries, exceptthe to describe, any wonders for the historian

of Tmois washed downfromtherange gold-dust which fromthe of golddustin thispassage lus."Themention us that it was the Herodotus reminds Greekhistorian Somesaythatthe coined money. Lydians whoinvented of KingGyges issued asearly asthereign first coins were ornot this century B.C.; butwhether in themid-seventh great-grandson Alyatis thecase, by thetimeof Gyges's waswellestabsonCroesus, coinage tes,andAlyattes's lished. eachbearing thedevice of Croesus, Thirty goldstaters oneanother, of a lionanda bullfacing of the foreparts jar.They in thisinsignificant-looking were found hidden the shortly before buried forsafekeeping wereprobably of Sardis in 547B.C. Persian conquest

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in lettersthatareakinto Greek waswritten 6 Lydian andto itselfis quitedifferent, but the language letters, stele Thismarble thisday it hasnot beendeciphered. in I9II. wasfoundat Sardis inscription witha Lydian of a few on the basisof the understanding Recently, of of the University Gusmani Professor Roberto words, maybea juridthattheinscription hassuggested Messina of a havingto do with the confirmation icaldocument to named Mlimnas of goods froman individual transfer at Sardis. of Artemis thesanctuary
for 5 feet, 4 inches.Gift of the SmericanSociety Height 26.59.7 of Sardis, the Excavation

were probbelow shaped jars shown curiously 7 Thefour forwhichSardis baccaris, a perfume ablyusedto contain wasa thattheshape It is possible wasnotedin antiquity. like these Jars for the perfume. trade-mark convenient at Sardis, andbecause numbers in great havebeenfound of Lydia,modern they seemto havebeena specialty have calledthem Iydions.These,datingfrom scholars but at Sardis; all excavated B.C., were the sixthcentury sitesin the Medihavebeenfoundat numerous Iydions were thattheircontents world, goodevidence terranean exported. widely
jar 4N inches.Gift of theAmerican Heightof thetallest 26.sg9.64, 26.Z64.27, of Sardis, Society for theExcavation s6.75.I6-I7

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8 Duringthe firstAmerican excavations, hundreds of ancient tombs wereopened in the cemeteries of Sardis, andthisgroup is thepartial contents of oneof thetombs. It canbe datedto shortly afterthe middle of the sixth century B.C. by thepresence of imports from Athens and Sparta, theAtticoinochoe andLaconian kylix,ordrinkingcup,bothin theleft foreground. The restof the potteryis Lydian, andcanbe recogni7PS

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trictnortheast of Sardis, came theinspiration forthe jug with the oversized spoutandfor the pitcher with the bulbous body.The small,darkjug in the rightbackground maybe a descendant of an olderHittiteshape. Whyso manyparallels withothercultures? Probably because Sardis wassituated on oneof thegreat highways of antiquity, whichranfromthe Aegean coast,across western AsiaMinor, andintoPersia. Travelers andcara-

0 ik; ll;taP ! L 1h of cation. W Jt W one Early W XiL portant _ have ed t of bay Sidamara The S male the Christian originated cophagi, oflate sons of figure an them, seated arcade. type Roman ofwith (Asta of Constantine in after found author-philosopher style between columnated It Asia .7\4znor), belongs the in of Minor the earliest Sidamara, the arcades, Great, columns to about and sculpture, a known group type, and postEze believed at within most 11 of Ambardressed as middle -i * sarthe the im| to y_w
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9 Thisfragment of a sarcophagus shows a beardin chitonandhimation andholding a scroll (ro-

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of thesss century A.D. Marble, 28M2 x I2

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BYZANTI U M

0 Theimperial diadem identifies thissculpture as the headof a Roman emperor. It is a portrait _ siblyConstans. The identification is based on a certain similarity of thisheadto representations of the youthful emperor foundon coins; lackof r' authentic, unidealized portraits of Constans and his brothers doesnot allowforpositive identifisoftened by influences fromthe Near East, is characteristic of thenewlyrising Byzantine style andsuitswellthe dating of the piece.It is said
Xbozxt340 A .D Marble, hezghtl oM2inahes. Rogers Fund,67.I07

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