Sardis Biennial Lecture: Recent Discoveries at Sardis: from the Bronze Age until the End of Antiquity

April 25, 2019

Harvard Club of New York, 35 West 44th Street, New York, NY 10036

7:00 PM

Sardis was one of the most important ancient cities of western Turkey: the birthplace of coinage, capital of the Lydian king Croesus, and site of one of the Seven Churches of Asia. In this biennial lecture, director Nicholas Cahill, professor of art history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and director of the Sardis Expedition, will present new discoveries, research, and conservation projects of 2017–18. Cahill will share new evidence for occupation in the Early Bronze Age, almost a millennium earlier than previously believed; the remains of the Palace of Croesus and the capture of Sardis by Cyrus the Great; the largest arch in the Roman world; and information about patronage in the sixth century CE. Work by the Archaeological Exploration of Sardis is authorized by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism and has been sponsored by Harvard University and Cornell University since 1958. This biennial lecture series presents the latest research from the site to the Harvard New York communities. The excavation at Sardis is conducted with the permission and support of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey. Current conservation work at Sardis is also supported by an award provided by the U.S. Government, Department of State, U.S. Embassy Ankara. For more information, please contact Robin Woodman at 617-495-3940 or am_sardis@harvard.edu.