3. Cilt - Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı

CENTRAL LYDIA ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY:2006 RESULTSCristopher H. ROOSEVELT*Cristina LUKEI. INTRODUCTIONThe 2006 season of the Central Lydia Archaeological Survey (CLAS) tookplace between 18 May and 26 June, with a total of 20 days spent conducting fi eldwork and the remaining time devoted to the processing and analysis of fi nds. Theultimate goal of the project is to record accurately the locations of sites of culturalactivity in a c. 350 square kilometer area of central Lydia surrounding the GygaeanLake (Marmara Gölü), comprising parts of the districts of Ahmetli, Saruhanlı,Gölmarmara, and Salihli in the province of Manisa (Map: 1). The project aims tounderstand better the multi-purpose use of the landscape for settlement, burial,and resource exploitation from prehistoric to modern times and shifts in such usein response to environmental, socio-political, and economic changes, such as lakeformation and drought, the rise of urbanism and subsequent imperial regimes, andlater agricultural intensifi cation and industrialization. The 2006 season focused onareas west and north of the Gygaean Lake but included also the region known asBin Tepe, just south of the Gygaean Lake, which is commonly thought to be theroyal burial ground for the ancient Lydian capital of Sardis (Sart), located c. 10 kmto the south, across the middle Hermos (Gediz) River valley.The results of the 2006 season complement those of 2005 by continuingto provide a fuller understanding of the multi-period use of the central Lydianlandscape. During archaeological survey, the team documented a total of 164survey units, clarifying our understanding of the distribution of cultural activity in thesurvey area, and identifi ed 27 points of interest that include previously unidentifi edsettlements, cemeteries, and quarries, an unpublished inscription, and variousother sites including two previously undocumented tumuli. Seven days of lakesediment coring and hydrographic survey on the Gygaean Lake resulted in a clearer* Cristopher H. ROOSEVELT, Boston University, Central Lydia Archaeological SurveyDepartment of Archaeology, USA.Cristina LUKE, Boston University, Central Lydia Archaeological Survey Department ofArchaeology, USA.305