"The fabulous wealth of the Lydians, derived from the gold of the river Pactolus in which King Midas bathed, may be the stuff of legend, but the essence of the stories is firmly founded on fact. Lydia, in what is now western Turkey, enjoyed enormous prosperity during the first millennium BC, and in the late seventh century BC the world's first precious metal coinage was made there. The continuing Archaeological Exploration of Sardis has excavated the remains of a gold refinery at the site, dating from the sixth century BC at the very inception of bimetallic coinage." "This book gives a full account of the excavations of the furnaces and hearths which comprise the refinery and of the detailed scientific analysis carried out at the Department of Scientific Research in the British Museum which has made it possible to reconstruct the process. Also included are a scientific examination of the Lydian coinage and the first authoritative history of early gold refining and assaying technology around the world, from its inception to the post-medieval period."--BOOK JACKET.