Gordion is a paramount site for understanding the culture of central Anatolia over more than 3,000 years, from the Bronze Age to the Medieval period, but is most renowned for its Iron Age horizon, when it was royal capital of the mighty Phrygian kingdom. The hundreds of bone and ivory artifacts excavated at Gordion constitute a highly diverse body of material, and this publication presents one of the largest and most important assemblages of its kind in the Near East. The artifacts give remarkable insight into the tools used in crafts and manufacturing processes, a variety of decorative items, the artistic developments among local craftspeople, as well as indications of trading connections with other regions to the east and west. Ivory was a highly valued material used for decorative pieces in many areas around the eastern Mediterranean. The objects from Gordion are a significant addition to this corpus and illustrate both widely dispersed features common in other contemporary ivory-working centers, as well as the singular motifs and styles that developed in the Phrygian milieu. A unique assemblage of ivory horse trappings from the Early Phrygian Citadel are an important illustration of this cultural confluence. While bone was primarily used for strictly utilitarian objects, there are numerous pieces that show this lowly material could be used for high quality items such as inlays set into the wooden furniture exceptionally attested at Gordion. Even the sheep knuckle bone (astragal), decorated with incised designs and letters, gives a glimpse into the daily life in the community.

Gordion is a paramount site for understanding the culture of central Anatolia over more than 3,000 years, from the Bronze Age to the Medieval period, but is most renowned for its Iron Age horizon, when it was royal capital of the mighty Phrygian kingdom. The hundreds of bone and ivory artifacts excavated at Gordion constitute a highly diverse body of material, and this publication presents one of the largest and most important assemblages of its kind in the Near East. The artifacts give remarkable insight into the tools used in crafts and manufacturing processes, a variety of decorative items, the artistic developments among local craftspeople, as well as indications of trading connections with other regions to the east and west. Ivory was a highly valued material used for decorative pieces in many areas around the eastern Mediterranean. The objects from Gordion are a significant addition to this corpus and illustrate both widely dispersed features common in other contemporary ivory-working centers, as well as the singular motifs and styles that developed in the Phrygian milieu. A unique assemblage of ivory horse trappings from the Early Phrygian Citadel are an important illustration of this cultural confluence. While bone was primarily used for strictly utilitarian objects, there are numerous pieces that show this lowly material could be used for high quality items such as inlays set into the wooden furniture exceptionally attested at Gordion. Even the sheep knuckle bone (astragal), decorated with incised designs and letters, gives a glimpse into the daily life in the community.

This volume contains the excavation report for 12 cremation burials from the Phrygian site of Gordion in central Anatolia. These tombs, dating from the later seventh century to the third quarter of the 6th century BCE, were excavated by The University Museum between 1950 and 1969, and by the German brothers Alfred and Gustav Korte in 1900. The processes for interment through construction of tumulus and cremation procedure are carefully detailed, followed by an analysis of associated finds. Two tumuli of the Hellenistic period, both covering stone chambers with inhumation burials within, are included in an appendix. Further appendices discuss other specific materials excavated from the cremation burials. A discussion of the contemporary inhumation and cremation tumulus burials at Gordion in the Phrygian period, highlighting their continuities and significant differences, forms part of the conclusion, as does discussion of sociocultural developments at Gordion between ca. 650-525 BCE as illuminated by the mortuary remains. The tumuli afford insights into questions related to gender, religion, adult/child identity, trade, social status, ethnicity, transcultural affiliations, ceramic developments, jewelry manufacture, high-status artifact display (including ivory), feasting behaviors, animal sacrifice, hero cult, and widespread "killing" of artifacts associated with the cremation burials. This entirely new publication of Gordion's tumuli makes available at last the elite cremation burials of the later Middle and early Late Phrygian (Achaemenid) periods excavated by The University Museum. By including the two Korte tumuli, it provides a complete assemblage of the cremation tumuli at Gordion. They afford remarkable new insights into life, death, and an elaborate system of value at Gordion during this most turbulent century.

Ancient Gordion has long been recognized as a key Iron Age site for Anatolia and the eastern Mediterranean. Archaeological research has revealed much about its sequence of occupation. However, as yet no study has explored the underlying drivers of political and economic change at this site. This volume presents an overview of the political and economic histories supporting emergent elites and how they constructed power at Gordion during the Iron Age (1200-300 BCE). Based on geochemical and typological analysis of nearly 2000 Late Bronze Age to Hellenistic ceramic samples, the volume contextualizes this primary dataset through the lens of ceramic production, consumption, exchange and emulation. Synthesizing site data sets, the volume more broadly contributes to our understanding of the pivotal role of groups and their economic, social, and ritual practices in the creation of complex societies.

This book is the first major study of Lydian material culture at Gordion and also the first published monograph on Lydian painted pottery from any site excavation. Richly illustrated, it provides a comprehensive definition and analysis of Lydian ceramics based on stylistic, archaeological, and textual evidence, while thoroughly documenting the material's stratigraphic contexts. The book situates the ceramic corpus within its broader Anatolian cultural context and offers insights into the impact of Lydian cultural interfaces at Gordion. The Lydian pottery found at Gordion was largely produced at centers other than Sardis, the Lydian royal capital, although Sardian imports are also well attested and began to influence Gordion's material culture as early as the 7th century BCE, if not before. Following the demise of the Lydian kingdom, a more limited repertoire of Lydian ceramics demonstrably continued in use at Gordion into the Achaemenid Persian period in the late 6th and 5th centuries BCE. The material was excavated by Professor Rodney Young's team between 1950 and 1973 and is fully presented here for the first time. Ongoing research in the decades following Young's excavations has led to a more refined understanding of Gordion's archaeological contexts and chronology, and, consequently, we are now able to view the Lydian ceramic corpus within a more secure stratigraphic framework than would have been the case if the material had been published shortly after the excavations.

This volume contains the excavation report for 15 inhumation burials from the Phrygian site of Gordion in central Anatolia. These tombs, dating from the late eighth through the third quarter of the sixth century B.C., were excavated by The University Museum in 1950, 1951, 1955-1957, and 1969. The processes for internment through construction of tumulus are carefully detailed, followed by an analysis of associated finds. Chapters deal with a general overview of constructional methods, grave assemblages, and chronology. University Museum Monograph, 88

This book is a succinct and readable account of recent research at Gordion, the ancient capital of Phrygia, long one of the key sites for understanding Iron Age Anatolia. The regional survey at Gordion has involved a range of interdisciplinary studies—archaeological, environmental, and ethnoarchaeological—to produce an unusually comprehensive understanding of how the landscape evolved, the patterns of settlement during the rise and fall of the Phrygian state, and its environmental constraints. With a history of excavation of over a century, Gordion has yielded a vast store of material culture, some of which is spectacular. The Midas tumulus, the architecture of the Phrygian citadel, and the artifacts from several decades of excavations present unique challenges and solutions for conservation methodology. Analyses of these artifacts are providing new insights into the political and economic relationships of this region, particularly from the Early Iron Age to the Roman period. Presenting current work at Gordion contributes to the broader understanding of archaeology across the region and around the world.

The Furniture from Tumulus MM, The Gordion Wooden Objects, volume 1, is a study of the furniture from the largest tomb at Gordion, Turkey, excavated in 1957 by the University of Pennsylvania Museum. The tomb dates to the eighth century BC and is thought to be the burial of the great Phrygian king Midas or his father. The objects, initially misunderstood, are now identified as nine tables, two serving stands, two stools, a chair, and an open log coffin. Three pieces are ornately carved and inlaid with religious symbols and complex geometric motifs. The wooden objects from Gordion are now recognized as the most important collection of well preserved wooden artifacts excavated from the Near East. Included in this volume are new photographs, reconstruction drawings, and eight scientific/technical appendices. Contributors include: Harry Alden, Burhan Aytuğ, Mary W. Ballard, Robert A. Blanchette, Roland Cunningham, Laure Dussubieux, Patrick E. McGovern, Benjamin Held, Walter Hopwood, Joseph Koles, Lynn E. Roller, Krysia Spirydowicz. "...this work goes well beyond a typical site-specific object catalogue and makes important contributions to a wide range of scholarly fields, both technical and conceptual, from textile and wood analysis to anthropological and religious studies." Elizabeth P. Baughan, University of Richmond “The book succeeds in its main aims of making available every scrap of information about the finds, and it illuminates form, techniques, and function in a most convincing and stimulating manner.” Catherine M. Draycott, Courtauld Institute of Art