Turkey’s Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, announced the discovery of an exceptionally well-preserved royal burial chamber dated to the 8th century BCE at the archaeological site of Gordion, where the Penn Museum has been conducting excavations since 1950. The find may be linked to the dynasty of the legendary King Midas, famous for his “golden touch”—whom we’ve previously reported on as someone who didn’t actually turn anything into gold: the Phrygians didn’t have much gold, in fact very little has been found at the site, but they literally wore it… garments that appeared golden as they walked through the streets of the city.

Gordion was the ancient capital of the kingdom of Phrygia, which ruled much of Anatolia in the early first millennium BCE, and has been a constant source of archaeological discoveries since excavations began more than seventy years ago.

According to Professor C. Brian Rose, director of the Gordion excavations and chief curator of the Mediterranean section at the Penn Museum, the site had already revealed structures and unique artifacts such as the oldest standing wooden building in the world (the burial chamber of Tumulus MM, around 740 BCE), the earliest colored stone mosaics found in the citadel (825 BCE), the best-preserved citadel gate of the first millennium (850 BCE), and a gilded ivory sphinx from the 6th century BCE, which was likely part of a throne.

Gordion tumulus Midas tomb
Aerial view of the site of ancient Gordion. Credit: prdyapim / Shutterstock

Until now, excavations were carried out for three months each summer and were limited by the academic commitments of the researchers. However, a new program launched in 2024 by the Ministry of Culture and Turkey has enabled archaeological work to continue year-round in collaboration with local universities. In Gordion, this partnership has brought together Professor Yücel Şenyurt, from Haci Bayram Veli University in Ankara, with Professor Rose’s team.

An Unexpected Discovery

Şenyurt’s project initially focused on a monumental burial mound near the Gordion Museum, identified as Tumulus T-26, one of 130 that surround the citadel. Using remote sensor technology (magnetic prospection), archaeologists determined the likely location of a wooden chamber hidden beneath a 6.5-meter-high mound 60 meters in diameter. After four months of excavations, archaeologists uncovered the burial chamber.

Although the structure’s roof collapsed over time, the objects deposited in the tomb around 750 BCE remained intact, showing no signs of looting. Among the artifacts found were remarkably well-preserved bronze vessels used in funerary banquets, along with iron tools. But the most surprising find was a set of large bronze cauldrons, accompanied by smaller containers, jugs, and bowls, all used for serving food and drink during the funeral.

Additionally, the outer surfaces of these objects retain remnants of adhered textiles, providing information about the handcrafted products of the Phrygian elite. However, what has most puzzled experts is that this was a cremation— a practice previously only documented in Gordion more than a century later.

Gordion tumulus Midas tomb
The Midas Tumulus (MM). Credit: prdyapim / Shutterstock

The excavation of these tumuli has provided us with a wealth of information about the lives of Gordion’s rulers and their close associates, explained Rose, who has led the fieldwork at the site since 2013. Thanks to Şenyurt’s excavations, we now know that cremation among the elite was practiced a century earlier than we had thought. Furthermore, the traces of textiles on the vessels confirm the importance of this industry in Gordion.

The newly discovered Tumulus T-26 is located near and is contemporary with Tumulus MM, where the father of King Midas was likely buried. It is likely that the occupant of this new tomb is related to Midas’s family or his inner circle, according to Rose.

The find adds to another recent discovery, Tumulus T-52, excavated by the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara and the Gordion Project, which contained the remains of a child under ten years old along with more than 3,000 amber beads imported from the Baltic Sea—evidence of the extensive trade networks of the time.

SOURCES

University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology

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