Sardis, the present day Salihli district of western Manisa
province, was the capital of the Lydian kingdom and was known as
the “Queen of Asia.” The city is believed to have prospered
under the Persians and Romans as it was the endpoint of the
Royal Road, which stretched from Persia to Anatolia. Excavation
first began here in 1854 and was conducted by Spiegelthal.
Operations continued systematically until the breakout of World
War I and resumed after 1958. Studies carried out between 1910
and 1914 by Harold Butler of Princeton University produced more
than 1,230 tombs in the Artemis Temple. Upon Butler’s death in
1921, a joint initiative by Harvard University and Cornell
University, headed by Professor George M. A. Hanfman and
subsequently by Professor Crawford H. Greenewalt, Jr., continued
his work. The excavations have also led to the discovery of the
Artemis Temple, the biggest known ancient synagogue of the
world, one of the seven holy churches of Christianity in
Anatolia, a gymnasium and a gold refinery.