July
07
/ 2025
A stunning new archaeological discovery at Gordion, the ancient capital of the Phrygian Kingdom in central Turkey, may rewrite what we know about the funerary traditions of King Midas's dynasty. A remarkably well-preserved 2,800-year-old royal tomb has been unearthed in a monumental burial mound near the site's museum, revealing a cremation burial, a banquet set of finely crafted bronze vessels, and tantalizing evidence of elite Phrygian life and death in the 8th century BC. The announcement was made by Turkey's Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mr. Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, in collaboration with the Penn Museum and Professor C. Brian Rose, director of the Gordion Excavation Project. According to Rose, "The excavation of these tumuli has yielded a wealth of information
