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Archaeologists have actually found an eighth-century-B.C. royal burial place of a relative of King Midas in the ancient city of Gordionsouthwest of Ankara, Turkey. The burial mound included lots of uncommon artifacts and cremated human bones from an elite person from the ancient kingdom of Phrygia.
“Based on these artifacts, we estimate that the person in the tomb chamber may be a member of the royal family associated with Gordion and Midas,” Mehmet Nuri Ersoythe Turkish minister of culture and tourist, stated at a press conference Tuesday(June 3), the Turkish state-run news firm Anadolu Ajansı reported in Turkish.
Gordion was the capital of the Phrygian kingdom, which lasted from 1200 to 675 B.C. In the 8th century B.C., the kingdom was ruled initially by Gordias, who was related to the Gordian knot that Alexander the Great ultimately cut, and after that by his boy Midas, who is well-known for the story of turning whatever he touched to gold.
Gordion, like ancient Troywas inhabited often times over the centuries, leaving archaeologists with a twisted web of stronghold walls, burial places and homes to dig through.
The biggest burial place discovered at Gordion is called the “Midas Mound.” Among more than 120 mounds, it was constructed around 740 B.C. and consisted of the burial of a high-status individual– potentially Midas’ dad, Gordias– in a log casket on top of a purple fabrics and surrounded by bronze treasures
The recently revealed burial place is the 47th such mound excavated at Gordion. The mound has to do with 26 feet (8 meters) high and 200 feet (60 m) in size, archaeologist Yücel Şenyurtco-director of the Gordion excavation, informed Anadolu Ajansı in Turkish, and it consists of the earliest cremation to date at the website.
“This shows the burial customs of the Phrygians,” Şenyurt stated, and “clearly shows us that the person buried here was not an ordinary person.”
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Related: Ancient engraving exposes lost civilization in Turkey that might have beat King Midas
At the press conference, Ersoy stated that the mound consisted of a wood burial chamber that determined 10.2 by 9.2 feet (3.1 by 2.8 m), together with lots of bronze artifacts, consisting of cauldrons and containers, a few of which were still hanging from iron nails on the walls of the burial chamber, Anadolu Ajansı reported.
“These artifacts that we have unearthed are the most concentrated group after the findings in the previously excavated Midas Mound,” Ersoy stated.
“It’s possible that it belonged to someone in Midas’s family because his tumulus is nearby,” C. Brian RoseGordion excavation co-director and an archaeologist at the University of Pennsylvania, stated at the press conference, as reported by Anadolu Ajansı “What’s really interesting is that it’s a cremation burial,” Rose stated, since “this is the only example from the 8th century” at the website.
The recently found artifacts are now at the Gordion Museum, where they will be saved and brought back before being put on screen. Excavations at Gordion have actually been continuous for 75 years, however archaeologists are no place near completed with their examination of the many burial places and settlement structures.
“The area that has not yet been excavated is much larger than the area that has been excavated,” Şenyurt stated.
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Kristina Killgrove is a personnel author at Live Science with a concentrate on archaeology and paleoanthropology news. Her posts have actually likewise appeared in locations such as Forbes, Smithsonian, and Mental Floss. Killgrove holds postgraduate degrees in sociology and classical archaeology and was previously a university teacher and scientist. She has actually gotten awards from the Society for American Archaeology and the American Anthropological Association for her science composing.
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