Gordion (Gordium) – Polatlı/Yassıhöyük, Ankara
Gordion, capital of ancient Phrygia, lies at Yassıhöyük near Polatlı. The multi-layered mound and surrounding royal tumuli chart occupation from the Early Bronze Age through Hellenistic times. Highlights include the Midas (MM) Tumulus with a wooden burial chamber, the Early Phrygian citadel with megaron buildings, city gates, and pebble mosaics, and later Persian and Hellenistic levels showing continuity and transformation. The famed “Gordian Knot” legend places Alexander the Great here in 333 BC.
Significance:
- Premier source for Phrygian architecture, woodcraft, furniture, and weaving (Tumulus MM finds).
- Citadel destruction horizon (c. 800 BC) and reconstruction illuminate Iron Age politics and resilience.
- A UNESCO Tentative List site anchoring research on Phrygian culture and tumulus funerary practices.
Sources
- Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordion
- University of Pennsylvania Museum – Gordion Project
- UNESCO Tentative List (Gordion) – https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/1402/