Word: lydian
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This uncommonly rich site had already yielded great finds to the probes of American scholars in a previous expedition. During the four years that preceded World War I, a group of Princeton archaeologists unearthed the Hellenistic temple of Artmis, a architectural masterpiece, and numerous examples of Lydian minor arts...
Further, the Princeton group wished to explore the archaeological resources of this area especially to uncover traces of the original Lydian city, but the World War, and later, the Turko-Greek conflicts continually discouraged their efforts. One of the members of the Princeton group was George Chase, who later became a professor of Archaeology here and a Dean of the GSAS. Chase's administrative duties prevented him from tracking down the Lydian earthware that the expedition had discovered but had left at the site. Instead, in 1938, he suggested to his then-assistant, Professor Hanfmann, that a return trip...
Professor Hanfmann was intrigued by Chase's idea. Hanfmann's major field of study has been Lydian pottery and he is especially concerned with the Lydian influence on the Etruscan culture that arose in Italy during the sixth century...
Sardis was a vital area in the ancient world. The fame and grandeur of the city in ancient times was enormous. During the seventh and sixth centuries B.C., the Lydian empire grew, and, under King Croesus, reached its peak around 550. The source of the legendary wealth of Lydia was the enormous gold deposits (the present expedition hopes to discover their exact location). In 540, the Persians conquered the city and Croesus, the "millionaire-king" whose memory is still honored in the phrase "rich as Croesus", died...
...first two years of what Hanfmann plans ideally to be a ten-year operation have yielded great finds. First the exact location of the Lydian capital has been definitely established. Though the Princeton expedition had found traces of Lydian art-work near the Temple of Artemis, it had not discovered any building dating back to the seventh century...