Search for Sybaris - The Story of the Archaeologist's Eight-Year Search for the Ancient City of the Sybarites, their Way of Life and Times

One of the greatest archaeological finds of modern times was the discovery, in December 1968, of the site of Sybaris, the ancient city of the Sybarites settled by the Greeks in southern Italy, near the Gulf of Tarentum. For over 200 years Sybaris was the wealthiest and most voluptuous of the Greek cities until in 510 B.C. it was attacked and destroyed, and a river was diverted over its ruins. For 2500 years it lay buried under silt and mud, until a team from the University of Philadelphia began an eight-year search for the site. This is the story of that search - an exciting documentary of an archaeological investigation using sophisticated techniques and equipment. It is also a fascinating pen-picture of the city and its Greek colonist inhabitant. The author succeeds in presenting details of the exploration in a way that holds the reader's interest through all the difficulties and frustrations the team encountered until, at last, they discovered the remaining reality of a city which has become a legend, a moral lesson, a symbol and a useful word in the English language...