ISTANBUL
Skeletal remains of two soldiers and weapons discovered during excavations at Sardis, an ancient Lydian city in the western province of Manisa, shed light on a dramatic sixth-century battle that paved the way for a Persian invasion.
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The excavation team, led by Nick Cahill, an art historian at the University of Wisconsin, found signs of injuries from swords or other weapons on the skulls and arm bones of the ancient soldiers.
“One of the soldiers was holding a stone in the palm of his hand and that’s how we dug up the bones,” Cahill said, suspecting that the small stone belonged to a slingshot used in the war.
The two soldiers were thrown between the ruins of the city’s brick walls and not buried, he explained, adding that the way they were found suggests they were defeated by Lydian soldiers.
“These bones and other artifacts bear traces of Persian rule, which had a significant impact on the history of Western Anatolia, and of the destruction the Persians caused to magnificent cities,” he said.
“The soldiers are both male and about 20 to 25 years old. Their arm bones are heavily compressed and it is clear that they were carrying something very heavy. We found a heavy iron helmet next to them.”
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Sardis is located in western Anatolia and was the ancient capital of the Lydian Empire, the inventor of gold and silver coins.
The Battle of Thymbra took place in 546 BC between the Lydian king Croesus and Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid Empire and was a prelude to the siege of Sardis by the Achaemenids. The battle ended with the defeat of the Lydians, the fall of Sardis and the incorporation of the Lydians into the Achaemenid Empire.
