Tomb of Phrygian king to shed light on history

ANKARA – Anadolu Agency

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A wooden tomb, which has been unearthed in the ancient city of Gordion, the capital of Phrygia, in Ankara’s Polatlı district, will shed light on the history of the region, according to officials. 

Professor Charles Brian Rose, the head of the Gordion ancient city excavations and an anthropologist from the University of Pennsylvania, said the new tumulus which had been found during illegal excavations by treasure hunters in the Beyşehir neighborhood was 17 meters in height and a significant tomb of a Phrygian king.  

Rose said technical examinations revealed it was the second wooden tomb of a Phrygian king ever found in the world.  

“According to examinations, it is a Phrygian tumulus from the eighth century B.C. It is a very big tumulus. Salvage excavations to be carried out here are very important in terms of revealing the real history. It is in the same type and dates back to the same period with the Midas tumulus that has been previously found in Gordion. Inside of the tumulus is a wooden burial chamber,” he said. 


Rose said the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations would begin excavations to reach the burial chamber and uncover the tumulus.

“We estimate that a very important personality is buried here. When the work is done, I believe we will reach very significant data and the tomb of an important Phrygian king,” he said. 

In 2014 and 2015, the Ankara General Directorate of Cultural and Natural Heritage did fieldwork in 135 spots in eight rural neighborhoods in and around the Gordion ancient city, according to Rose. “With the 21newly discovered tumulus, the number of tumulus increased to 124. Also, three mounds and a new castle have been registered,” he added. 

According to the report made by the officials of the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, the Ankara General Directorate of Cultural and Natural Heritage and the Ankara Directorate of Surveying and Monuments, the distribution of ancient sites by rural neighborhoods is as follows: 

- Yassıhöyük: 87 tumulus, one mound, two castles and a king road 

- Şabanözü: 12 tumulus, two mounds, an architectural structure, a plain settlement

- Çekirdeksiz: Four tumulus, two mounds

- Kıranharmanı: Seven tumulus, one mound

- Beylikköprü: 10 tumulus

- Ömerler: Two tumulus

- Sazılar: One tumulus

- Beyceğiz: One tumulus.