Gordion – Phrygian Capital
Gordium · King Midas Tumulus
Early Phrygian Iron Age (~1200–700 BCE; Midas tumulus ~740 BCE)·Phrygian (Balkan–Anatolian)·🇹🇷 Ankara Province, Polatlı, Turkey
About
About Gordion – Phrygian Capital
Phrygian capital at the Sangarius bend where Rodney Young's Penn excavations revealed a burnt 800 BCE citadel with polished pebble mosaics – the oldest known – and the great Tumulus MM: 53-m high and 300-m diameter covering a cedar-log chamber (dendro-dated 740 BCE) traditionally linked to King Midas via his father Gordias. Horse bridle, fibulae and 181 bronze vessels attest to Phrygian bronze feasting culture between Hittite collapse and Persian conquest.
Why it mattersPhrygian capital at the Sangarius bend where Rodney Young's Penn excavations revealed a burnt 800 BCE citadel with polished pebble mosaics – the oldest known – and the great Tumulus MM: 53-m high and
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Occupant of Tumulus MM – Midas or predecessor Gordias given revised dendro date
- 02Destruction horizon 800 BCE – Cimmerian or internal refortification
Theories
- 01Phrygian textile industrial palace economy linking Balkan fibulae to Urartian cauldrons
- 02Tumulus funerary display emulating Neo-Hittite royal ideology before Lydian hegemony
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.900–740 BCE (citadel); Tumulus MM 740 BCE
- Period
- Early Phrygian Iron Age (~1200–700 BCE; Midas tumulus ~740 BCE)
- Culture
- Phrygian (Balkan–Anatolian)
- Purpose
- Royal citadel, Midas tumulus and industrial textile centre on Royal Road
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
c.900–740 BCE (citadel); Tumulus MM 740 BCE
Initial construction
c. 1438 CE
Abandonment
On the ground
Structures & features
39.6500° N · 31.9900° E · 680 m · 2 mapped features
Tumulus MM (Midas Mound)
tumulus53-m artificial mound over cedar chamber with Midas-era burial and bronze vessels
39.6520° N · 31.9920° ECitadel Pebble Mosaic Building
palaceBurnt 800 BCE megaron with earliest pebble floor mosaic
39.6490° N · 31.9880° E
Gallery