Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (400 page)

A sunken room entered down a short flight of steps found in Minoan palaces. Arthur
EVANS
believed that they were used for ritual purification, but they could simply be bathrooms.

 
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The modern town on the east bank of the Nile in Upper Egypt which covers the site of ancient Thebes. In the southern part of the town is the great temple of Luxor , built by Amenhotep III and Rameses II. It was connected to the second great religious complex at Karnak in the northern part of the city by a ceremonial way. Karnak was the most important religious centre in Egypt during the New Kingdom, although its roots extend back much further. Covering more than 120ha, the site is dominated by the central temple to
AMEN
, around which are temples to Mut and another to Montu.
[Sum.: N. Strudwick and H. Strudwick , 1999,
Thebes in Egypt: a guide to the tombs and temples of ancient Luxor
. London: British Museum]

 
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The inhabitants of a small kingdom on the southern coast of Turkey that flourished in the early 1st millennium
bc
. Their capital was at Xanthos but little is known about them or their culture. They spoke an Indo-European language. They are mentioned in historical texts as being pirates, and are believed to have been one of the groups that come together as the
SEA PEOPLES
. Their kingdom was absorbed into the Achaemenid empire in the 6th century
bc
.

 
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The inhabitants of a small kingdom in western Turkey that flourished in the early 1st millennium
bc
. The capital at Sardis became rich as a result of exploiting gold in the nearby Pactolus River, and by the 7th century
bc
it was an important trading post en route between the Aegean and the oriental civilizations in India and China. Overrun by the
CIMMERIANS
for a while in the mid 7th century
bc
, the Lydians bounced back to become strong again. In addition to being very fine masons and architects, they were also the first people to create a coin-based currency. This innovation was subsequently adopted by both the Greeks and the Persians. Lydia flourished until the mid 6th century when, during the reign of King Croesus, they were overcome by the Achemenids. Sardis later became the western capital of the Persian empire, linked to
SUSA
by a royal road.

 
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Lyell , Sir Charles
(1797–1875)
[Bi].

Geologist, traveller, and leading early proponent of
uniformitarianism
. Lyell's works, notably his
Principles of Geology
published between 1830 and 1833, were very largely responsible for the discrediting of the diluvialist and catastrophist theories about the antiquity of the human species based on the biblical chronology.
[Bio.: J. North , 1965,
Sir Charles Lyell: interpreter of the principles of geology.
London: Barker]

 
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See
GRIMSTON WARE
.

 
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