Tumulus Survey and Museum Research in Lydia, Western Turkey: Determining Lydian- and Persian-Period Settlement Patterns

Abstract

Regional archaeological research in Lydia (western Turkey) has focused on prehistoric and Hellenistic through Byzantine periods with relative neglect of settlement patterns during the period in which Lydia was under Lydian and, subsequently, Persian control in the 7th through 4th centuries B.C. A multi-component research project conducted in 2000 and 2001 aimed to establish Lydian- and Persian-period settlement patterns through a regional survey targeting tumuli (burial mounds) and documentation of primarily unpublished archives and provenienced finds in local museums. The primary hypothesis was that tumulus groups could be used to infer general locations of settlement areas. At least 510 tumuli, representing between 75 and 117 groups of tumuli, and at least 113 other sites of the Lydian and Persian periods were identified. Comparison of the tumulus survey and museum data using Geographic Information Systems shows that tumulus groups do indicate general locations of Lydian- and Persian-period settlement in greater Lydia and can be used to determine contemporary regional settlement patterns. This approach shows the value of combining different classes of data in regional archaeological approaches and the continuing utility of extensive survey for regional studies of particular periods in archaeologically untested areas.