An ancient burial site unearthed in present-day Turkey could be associated with a famed sovereign, archaeologists have declared. Share Article Share Article Facebook X LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky Email Copy Link Link copied Bookmark Comments
A long-ago tomb discovered in modern Turkey might have been the final resting place of a relative of a celebrated king from the eighth century BC, a figure well-known for his fabled “golden touch,” archaeologists have reported. The tomb was located inside the Karaağaç Tumulus situated in the Bozüyük district of northwestern Turkey, approximately 160 km to the west of Gordion, the former Phrygian capital.
The tomb could be connected to the family of King Midas, the mythical ruler of Phrygia, who is widely recognised in Greek legends for his aptitude to transform anything he touched into pure gold. Phrygia was formerly a significant realm in central Anatolia, which thrived between 1,200 and 675 BC, peaking in the eighth century, the period generally linked to Midas. “Historically, Phrygia was frequently perceived as a centralised empire akin to the Assyrian or Urartian kingdoms,” stated Hüseyin Erpehlivan, an archaeologist from Bilecik University in Turkey.
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However, the tomb implies differently, Mr Erpehlivan conveyed to Live Science. The reality that an affluent tomb was constructed so remotely from the capital “reinforces the notion that the Phrygian political framework was not restricted to a strictly-centralised, city-centred model” at Gordion, he continued. Instead, it seems that political influence was distributed across the ancient kingdom in central Anatolia, his study has asserted.
Researchers surmise the burial was arranged for a distinguished person closely allied with the Phrygian elite. While probably not created for Midas himself, its size, structure and contents allude to someone integrated within the kingdom’s power systems, they clarified.
Initially identified in 2010 after satellite imagery exposed looting damage, the burial mound commands the encompassing scenery, ascending around 8 meters above a natural small hill and exceeding 30 meters above the surrounding region. It approximates 33.5 meters in breadth.
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Within the tomb, archaeologists unearthed a wooden sepulchre chamber whose design bore a close resemblance to distinguished Phrygian tombs in the vicinity of Gordion. Additionally discovered were numerous earthenware vessels, including one inscribed with a Phrygian personal name, in conjunction with several bronze situlas – age-old, elaborately ornamented pail-shaped containers employed throughout Europe from the Bronze Age through the Middle Ages for accommodating liquids, ceremonial functions, or even as voting boxes.
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Prior to this discovery, situlas similar to these had exclusively been chronicled at the so-termed “Midas Mound” in Gordion, extensively presumed to be the burial ground of Gordias, the father of King Midas.
Based on the aesthetic and workmanship of the relics exposed, the tomb has been assigned a date of between 740 and 690 BC – during the apex of Phrygia’s strength.
However, Mr Erpehlivan has advised against presuming the tomb belonged to a member of the royal lineage. The interment offerings may rather constitute a fragment of a prestigious gift interchange between the court and an influential regional personality, such as a governor possessing intimate political affiliations with the reigning dynasty, he remarked.
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Skeletal remains were likewise located within the tomb, but researchers do not consider them to be those of the original dweller. Certain bones originate from an earlier graveyard that existed on the locale before the mound was erected, while others are attributable to interments executed centuries later.
