Gordion Archaeological Project

Curatorial Section
Research Discipline
- Archaeology
- Cultural Heritage
Dates
1950 - Present
Project Phase
Active Fieldwork
Gordion was the capital city of the powerful ancient kingdom of Phrygia around 3,000 years ago. The site has fascinated archaeologists and travelers since the 19th century, primarily because King Midas, ruler of Phrygia in the late 8th century BCE, reportedly had a “golden touch.” In 1957, Penn archaeologists discovered the tomb that Midas built for his father, which is still the oldest standing wooden building in the world. Containing the remains of a royal feast, including traces of ancient wine, the tomb represents just one of the finds that have been uncovered at Gordion. Penn archaeologists continue to use groundbreaking scientific techniques to explore and conserve the site today.
Gordion was the capital city of ancient Phrygia. It is located at the site of modern Yassıhöyük, about 70–80 km (43–50 mi) southwest of Ankara (the capital of Turkey), in the immediate vicinity of the Polatlı district. Gordion's location at the confluence of the Sakarya and Porsuk rivers gave it a strategic location with control over fertile land. Gordion lies where the ancient road between Lydia and Assyria/Babylonia crossed the Sangarius river.
The ancient city of Gordion has been occupied from the Early Bronze Age (c. 2300 BCE) continuously until the 4th century CE and again in the 13th and 14th centuries CE. During the Iron Age (ca. 900-600 BCE), it served as the royal capital of the powerful Phrygian civilization, and its diplomatic and geographic position brought it into contact with the Hittites, Neo-Hittites, Assyrians, Urartians, Lydians, Greeks, Persians, and Romans.
The site is dominated by the Citadel Mound, approximately 13.5 hectares in size, surrounded by a wall marked with several gates. Inside the walls, elite houses and administrative buildings mix with storehouses and workshops, providing an excellent record of Early Phrygian material culture and architecture. Evidence of widespread burning in the eastern portion of the Citadel Mound, called the Destruction Level, has been radio-carbon dated to ca. 800 BCE, after which Gordion’s inhabitants quickly rebuilt the mound even larger than before.
In addition to the monumental Citadel Mound, Gordion is surrounded by over one hundred tumuli, or burial mounds, dating from ca. 850 BCE to the end of the 6th century BCE. The largest of these, called the “Midas Mound”, contained the remains of King Midas’s father, Gordias, who was surrounded by fine textiles, bronze and wooden objects, and other riches. A reconstruction of the tomb chamber, along with objects loaned by the Turkish government, appeared in the 2016 special exhibition, “The Golden Age of King Midas”.
The site was “discovered” in 1893 by German Classicist Alfred Körte, who conducted a single season of excavation in 1900. Fifty years later, Penn Museum’s Rodney S. Young began 17 years of fieldwork at the site, concentrating on the eastern half of the Citadel Mound. His work revealed early and later Phrygian citadels, Hellenistic towns, and dozens of burial tumuli dating from the ninth century BCE into the Hellenistic period. In the decades since, Gordion has been excavated by a succession of Penn Museum archaeologists, who have employed remote sensing, survey, archaeobotanical, and digital techniques to better understand the site and its regional context. Site conservation and public education and outreach are key priorities of the project, and Gordion became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2023.
Researchers
- C. Brian Rose
Penn Museum | Project Director - Gareth Darbyshire
Penn Museum | Archivist - Ayse Daher Gursan-Salzmann
Penn Museum | Assistant Director - Mary M. Voight
- Gilbert Kenneth Sams
- Ellen Lucile Kohler
- Rodney Stuart Young
- Elisa Del Bono
Director, Site Conservation Program
- Lydian Painted Pottery Abroad: The Gordion Excavations 1950–1973, 2021
- The Archaeology of Phrygian Gordion, Royal City of Midas, 2012
- The New Chronology of Iron Age Gordion, 2011
- The Terracotta Figurines and Related Vessels, 1995
- The Incised Drawings from Early Phrygian Gordion, 2009
- Nonverbal Graffiti, Dipinti, and Stamps, 1987
- Botanical Aspects of Environment and Economy at Gordion, Turkey, 2010
- Agricultural Sustainability and Environmental Change at Ancient Gordion, 2017
- Gordion Excavations 4: The Early Phrygian Pottery. 2 vols, 1994
- Gordion Seals and Sealings: Individuals and Society, 2005
- A Hittite Cemetery at Gordion, 1956
- The Archaeology of Midas and the Phrygians: Recent Work at Gordion, 2005
- A Third Century Hoard of Tetradrachms from Gordion, 1953
- Gordion Wooden Furniture, 1999
- The Lesser Phrygian Tumuli. Part 1: The Inhumations, 1995
- The Lesser Phrygian Tumuli Part II: The Cremations, 2023
- The Bone and Ivory Objects from Gordion, 2023
- Three Great Early Tumuli, 1981
- The Bronze Age, 1991
- The Gordion Tomb Expedition Magazine Volume 1 | Issue 1
- Gordion Expedition Magazine Volume 2 | Issue 2
- Gordion Expedition Magazine Volume 4 | Issue 4
- Gordion Expedition Magazine Volume 5 | Issue 3
- Early Mosaics at Gordion Expedition Magazine Volume 7 | Issue 3
- Operation Gordion Expedition Magazine Volume 11 | Issue 1
- Nippur 1972-1973 Expedition Magazine Volume 16 | Issue 1
- Phrygian Furniture From Gordion Expedition Magazine Volume 16 | Issue 3
- Imports at Gordion Expedition Magazine Volume 21 | Issue 4
- Reconstructing An Ancient Table Expedition Magazine Volume 25 | Issue 4
- The Art of Writing at Gordion Expedition Magazine Volume 31 | Issue 1
- Gordion Expedition Magazine Volume 42 | Issue 1
- A Roman Town Cemetery at Gordion, Turkey Expedition Magazine Volume 43 | Issue 2
- A Rare Roman Trio: Octagonal Gemstones Excavated at Gordion Expedition Magazine Volume 44 | Issue 3
- Celts at Gordion Expedition Magazine Volume 45 | Issue 1
- From Phrygian Capital to Rural Fort Expedition Magazine Volume 49 | Issue 3
- His Golden Touch Expedition Magazine Volume 51 | Issue 2
- Gordion in History Expedition Magazine Volume 51 | Issue 2
- To the Victory of Caracalla Expedition Magazine Volume 51 | Issue 2
- Building Digital Gordion Expedition Magazine Volume 51 | Issue 2
- King Midas and Rodney Young Expedition Magazine Volume 51 | Issue 2
- A Conservation Management Plan for Preserving Gordion and Its Environs Expedition Magazine Volume 52 | Issue 1
- Resurrecting Gordion Expedition Magazine Volume 53 | Issue 1
- Taming the Beast Expedition Magazine Volume 55 | Issue 2
- Modelling Gordion’s Citadel Expedition Magazine Volume 56 | Issue 2
- The Next Decade at Gordion Expedition Magazine Volume 57 | Issue 3
- The Role of Science Expedition Magazine Volume 57 | Issue 3
- The Myth of Midas' Golden Touch Expedition Magazine Volume 57 | Issue 3
- Architectural Conservation at Gordion Expedition Magazine Volume 57 | Issue 3
- The Legacy of Phrygian Culture Expedition Magazine Volume 57 | Issue 3
- Tumulus MM Expedition Magazine Volume 57 | Issue 3
- The Interaction of Empires Expedition Magazine Volume 57 | Issue 3
- Gordion and the Penn Museum Expedition Magazine Volume 57 | Issue 3
- Saving Iraq's Cultural Heritage Expedition Magazine Volume 60 | Issue 2
- Gordion Museum Bulletin Volume 16 | Issue 1
- Progress at Gordion Museum Bulletin Volume 17 | Issue 4
- Scale Armor from Gordion Expedition Magazine Volume 62 | Issue 1
- Of Outstanding Value to Humanity Expedition Magazine Volume 66 | Issue 1
- Lasers in the Tomb Expedition Magazine Volume 66 | Issue 1
- Repairing Damage Inflicted by the Persians 2,500 Years Ago Expedition Magazine Volume 63 | Issue 3
- A Day in the Life Expedition Magazine Volume 57 | Issue 3
- From the Archives - The Missing Piece Expedition Magazine Volume 55 | Issue 2
- Recovering the Lost Art of Phrygian Roof Tiling Expedition Magazine Volume 44 | Issue 2
- Plants in the Service of Archaeological Preservation Expedition Magazine Volume 42 | Issue 1
- The Funerary Banquet of 'King Midas' Expedition Magazine Volume 42 | Issue 1
- Gordion (1957)
- Gordion (1951)
- The Roman City of Zeugma (Turkey) Conservation Project
- Literacy - Is it the Same Problem in Every Language?
- Visit the Penn Museum
- Recent Excavations at Gordion, Royal City of Midas
- Revealing the City of King Midas: Archaeology and Conservation at Gordion
- The Golden Age of King Midas
- The World of Phrygian Gordion, Royal City of Midas: Session 1
- The World of Phrygian Gordion, Royal City of Midas: Session 2
- The World of Phrygian Gordion, Royal City of Midas: Session 3
- The World of Phrygian Gordion, Royal City of Midas: Session 4
- The World of Phrygian Gordion, Royal City of Midas: Session 5
- Footage from King Midas' Tomb at Gordion, Turkey 1951 and 1957
- Plant Management at Gordion: Maintaining the Vegetative Soft Cap on Treated Walls
- Vegetative Roof Capping at Gordion
- Gordion: Open-Air Archaeological Site as Garden, Historical Landscape as Park
- Becoming an UNESCO World Heritage Site
This project is open to student participation, email gordion@pennmuseum.org for more information.