Gordion

On Monday we ventured out of Ankara and into rural Turkey. I’m working at the site of Gordion, located in the town of Yassihöyük, just north of Polatli. It is only an hour from Ankara, and surrounded by rolling hills and countryside.  For those of you who don’t know much about Gordion (I’ll admit, I knew very little about Gordion before coming here) it is famous as the home of King Midas. Yes, that King Midas. He was a Phrygian king, who ruled in the 8th century BC, but the site was occupied as early as 2500 BC.  It was also where Alexander the Great cut the Gordion knot, among other things.  The site has been excavated since 1950, and is fantastically huge.  The official website is here.

I’m pretty thrilled to be out in the field again, and to be working at such a ridiculously important and extensively excavated site. They have amazing artifacts from 4000 years of occupation, which is something you don’t see very often. And they’ve has conservators working at the site for years, which is also great from my perspective. Its enough to get me interested in the archaeology of the region, which is something I wouldn't have seen coming a few years ago. 

Here are some photos of the site. 

I'll try to refrain from too many pictures of ruins from here on out, but I can't make any promises.