Abstract
This article deals with a group of lydion found from the vicinities of Afyonkarahisar and Bursa which are preserved in Bilecik Museum today. Although the records of the findspots are missing, it is possible that all they belong to the graves. They may have been found from the graves in the area around Bursa or nearby Dascylium. Those from Afyonkarahisar must have been found around Dinar, from Celaenae. The importance of both satrapal centres is known from historical and archaeological sources. Similar finds from these settlements have been published before. Researches made within the scope of the article, it is understood that the lydia of Bilecik Museum belong to the transitional-type and the late-type put forth by Greenewalt Jr. The first group (Cat. 1–3) is dated between the last quarter of the sixth century and the beginning of the fifth century BC. The second group (Cat. 4) is dated to the early fifth century BC, lastly, the third group (Cat. 5–7) is dated to the middle of the fifth century BC. Therefore, it has been understood that these containers belong to the Achaemenid Period when Anatolia was under Persian rule in the Late Iron Age. The lydia with their exotic contents must have been presented as gifts to the graves of wealthy individuals, possibly Persian or local elites. It is seen that the export of lydia which decreased in parallel with the shortage of contents, continued to the centres in Anatolia in the fifth century BC. The tumuli and rock-cut tombs known from both Dascylium and Celaenae may be the original contexts of these vessels.