Publication of “Ordinary Lydians at Home: The Lydian Trenches of the House of Bronzes and Pactolus Cliff at Sardis,” by Profs. Andrew Ramage, Nancy Ramage, and Gül Gürtekin-Demir.

February 4, 2021

This 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. The authors describe many small structures and a wealth of items that collectively document the lives of ordinary Lydians. Because Sardis maintained cultural and economic contacts throughout the eastern Mediterranean, the Lydian pottery and other objects, as well as the remains of vernacular architecture detailed here, will be of great interest to scholars working in Greece, Anatolia, and the Near East, and to other readers interested in the ancient world.The two-volume work discusses the chronology, history, and evidence of everyday life, and catalogues nearly eight hundred objects, which are illustrated by more than three hundred color plates of photos and line drawings.