The early imperial ceramics as evidence for life at Roman Sardis

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Historical testimonia tell us that in the year 17 CE, an earthquake struck in Western Asia Minor and destroyed the city of Sardis. Recent excavations in the Field 49, Field 55, and Artemis Temple excavation sectors at the site have yielded a small number of closely datable deposits as well as fills containing large quantities of well-preserved ceramics datable to the 1st century. Through a detailed typological study of this material, this dissertation characterizes the common components of the Early Imperial Sardian ceramic assemblage and establishes a typo-chronological framework for this material, which enables us, for the first time, to use the pottery and lamps recovered from the site to illuminate this period in this history of the city.