Remains of 2,800-Year-Old Lydian Palace Unearthed at Sardis Ancient City

Excavations at Sardis Ancient City, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in western Turkey, have revealed the remains of a Lydian palace dating back to the 8th century BCE. Sardis, located in Manisa’s Salihli district, served as the capital of the Lydian Kingdom. The ongoing archaeological work is led by Prof. Dr. Nicholas Cahill from the University of Wisconsin.

This year’s excavations, about one kilometer east of the gymnasium, uncovered palace ruins, luxury residences, and terrace structures approximately eight meters below the surface. Prof. Dr. Cahill emphasized the difficulty of reaching Lydian layers due to the overlying Persian, Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine strata. The team also discovered 30 bronze arrowheads, human skeletal fragments, and nine of the world’s oldest known silver coins.

He explained that they began constructing monumental terraces and large structures as early as the 8th century BCE. This architecture may have been inspired by Phrygian monumental constructions from the 9th–10th centuries BCE. Previously, historians believed that the Lydians only began urbanization in the 7th century BCE, living in villages before that. The new findings reveal that Sardis had already developed into a large, monumental city much earlier, demonstrating that the Lydians looked east and established a true Anatolian civilization rather than a Greek one.

The discovered palace features stone walls 1.5–2 meters wide, with structures exceeding six meters in height. Cahill added, “These discoveries show that the Lydians were not merely influenced by Greek civilization, but were pioneers of early urbanization as an independent Anatolian culture.”

The team has temporarily covered the palace and surrounding structures to protect them from rainfall. Excavations will continue next season to examine the site in greater detail.

Cover Image Credit: Aerial view of the Sardis Ancient City excavation site. The Lydian palace and surrounding structures, located about eight meters below the surface, were uncovered here. Photo: Ahmet Bayram/AA