Archaeologists excavating at the site of the ancient city of Sardis have uncovered a military shield and bronze arrowheads which they believe may be from the battle against Persia in 546 BC. While the city of Sardis is familiar to Bible students from the New Testament era, as the site of one of the churches of Revelation (Rev. 3:1-6), it was formerly the capital of the ancient kingdom of Lydia. In the sixth century BC, the Persian army under Cyrus the Great defeated the Lydians at Sardis during the Battle of Thymbra. The artifacts from this battle were unearthed in a section of the site believed to be the palace region. In addition to its fame as the capital of the Lydian Kingdom and the site of one of the churches in the biblical book of Revelation, Sardis is also believed to be the place where coins were first minted.
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