Turkey - The Ancient City of Sardis and the Lydian Tumuli of Bin Tepe

N 38 28 55 E 28 2 43 (Sardis) N 3834 48 E 28 00 25 (Bintepe) The Ancient City of Sardis The ancient city of Sardis is located in Manisa Province in western Turkey, near the modern town of Sart. It lies at the foot of the Bozdağ Mountains and at the edge of the fertile plain of the Gediz River. This broad valley has been one of the major routes from the Aegean to central Anatolia for most of recorded history. Sardis occupied a strategic location and drew on the fertile agricultural land of the plain, the timber and mineral resources of the mountains, the natural defenses of its impregnable citadel, fresh water from streams, springs, and lakes, trade from the coast to the interior, and gold from some of the richest sources in antiquity. The city is dominated by the ancient acropolis, which rises 300 meters above the surrounding plain, “the strongest place in the world” according to Polybius (9.20.12). The Pactolus stream (modern Sart Çayı) runs by the base of the citadel, and was famous in antiquity for its alluvial gold, making the Iron Age Lydians the wealthiest people in the world. The lower city within the Roman fortification walls covers some 127 hectares, and the citadel, major suburban sanctuaries, habitation and industrial areas, and cemeteries extend at least another 100 hectares outside the city walls. The site was occupied from the Late Bronze Age until the modern era, although it ceased to be a major urban center in the early seventh century AD.