Sardis ancient city and Bintepeler Lydian tumuli are now under global protection: a new legacy for UNESCO

The Manisa "Sardes Ancient City and Bintepeler Lydian Tumuli" was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List at the 47th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Paris. This brings the number of sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List to 22.

Archaeologist Nezih Başgelen, director of the Cultural and Natural Heritage Monitoring Platform, made a statement to our newspaper on the subject. “As an archaeologist, I was delighted by the unanimous inclusion of the Sardis and Bintepeler tumuli on the permanent list at the 47th World Heritage Committee meeting held in Paris. I wholeheartedly congratulate these important archaeological sites, which bear witness to Anatolia's multilayered past, on being included in the global protection and promotion program,” Başgelen said. “The decision to emphasize the historical, cultural, and universal values of these sites, which provide unique data on the Lydian period, is a source of pride for our country's archaeology. Sardis is an ancient city located on the banks of the Paktalos/Sart River at the foot of the northern slopes of Mount Tmolos near the Salihli district of Manisa province. It was the capital of the Lydian State. The Lydian State represents a civilization unique to Anatolia. Today's indispensable monetary economy owes a great debt to them for minting the oldest coins in history.”

'GOLDEN SARDES'

Historically, during the reign of Croesus, the capital reached the pinnacle of its wealth and cultural development, becoming, in the words of the renowned 5th-century BC playwright Aeschylus, "Golden Sardis" or "Sardinus, the goldfield." The capital's dazzling and magnificent wealth generated great curiosity and admiration for Lydia within the contemporary lifestyle. Alluvium carried by the Lydians' sacred river (Hermos), soil from the legendary mountain of Tmolus, and the conquered acropolises, today cover the remnants of this civilization's golden days. Lydian-era layers lie 10-15 meters below present-day ground level.

MONUMENTAL TOMBS OF THE LYDIAN KINGS...

Başgelen, emphasizing the vital importance of the region's cultural heritage, continues: "At a site known as Bintepeler, eight kilometers north of Sardis and overlooking the southern shores of Lake Gygaie (Marmara), considered sacred by the Lydians, lie the monumental tombs of Lydian kings and nobles, known as tumuli, made of piled earth. Excavations conducted in the 1940s revealed at least 149 monumental tumuli. Although only 115 of these have survived intact, it has been observed that the tumuli in this royal necropolis have suffered significant damage by treasure hunters in recent years."

The largest of these, known as Kocamutaftepe, was described by the historian Herodotus as the largest tomb monument after those in Egypt and Babylon, and was reportedly built for the Lydian King Alyattes. With a diameter of 355 m, a height of 69 m, and a circumference of 1,115 m, the Alyattes tumulus is among the largest tumulus tombs in the world. The tomb chamber was discovered in the 19th century by the Prussian ambassador Ludwig Peter Spiegelthal, having been looted in antiquity.

The second largest tumulus in this area is Karnıyarıktepe, which is 200 meters in diameter and 50 meters high.”

Başgelen, noting that a 90-meter-wide crepis wall bearing various Lydian monograms was discovered within the tumulus, said, “This magnificent tumulus, initially thought to belong to King Gyges, has been dated to the end of the first half of the 6th century BC based on stonework and ceramic finds. Therefore, one hypothesis suggests that it belonged to a Lydian king who commissioned the tumulus but was not buried within it, most likely Croesus, whose wealth was legendary and who was captured by the Persians.”

Despite being such important funerary monuments, the Bintepeler Lydian tumuli, located within a vast area of agricultural land, have become increasingly vulnerable to illicit excavations by treasure hunters in recent years due to their remote location. We hope that the inclusion of the Bintepeler Lydian tumuli, along with the ancient city of Sardis, on the UNESCO World Heritage List will lead to more effective protective measures against the devastation caused by these treasure hunters using heavy equipment, which continue to plague Bintepeler.