This special expanded issue of Expedition was created to accompany The Golden Age of King Midas. This extraordinary exhibition—with objects from four museums in Turkey, the Delphi Museum in Greece, the Oriental Institute Museum in Chicago, and our own Penn Museum collection—opens on Saturday, February 13, 2016.
Many individuals contributed to this issue, including the Director of the Gordion Archaeological Project, four members of the field staff, seven graduate students at Penn, Museum staff, and a scholar who has researched Gordion’s first excavator, Rodney Young.
We open with “Gordion and the Penn Museum,” which covers the history of the site and the Museum’s work there since 1950. We then move to “The Interaction of Empires,” where you will read about the Phrygians of Gordion and their relationship with the Assyrians, Lydians, Persians, Greeks, Scythians, and Cimmerians. This is followed by “Tumulus MM: Fit for a King,” a description of the largest tumulus at Gordion: how it was built, how it was excavated, who was buried there, the ceremonial feast that took place, and the objects that lay undisturbed for over 2,700 years.
Seven shorter articles follow, covering Phrygian culture, architectural conservation at Gordion, myths and legends associated with Midas, the role of science in Penn’s excavation of the site, a day in the life of the Gordion team, Rodney Young’s second “career” as a spy, and the next decade at Gordion.
This issue of Expedition has been a labor of love for many of us at the Museum. It serves as a record of 65 years of exploration and research at our longest running excavation. We hope that it will enhance your experience when you attend our very special exhibition on Gordion.
