An ancient tomb believed to be linked to the Midas family could reveal new details about the ancient Phrygian Kingdom, a new investigation shows.
Discovered in 2010 and excavated since 2013, the tomb dates back to the ancient kingdom of Phrygia (1200 to 675 BCE), but is located more than 100 miles west of Gordion, the kingdom’s capital. The unusual location challenges long-held assumptions about Phrygia’s political structure.
“Historically, Phrygia was often viewed as a centralized kingdom similar to the Assyrian or Urartian empires," archaeologist Hüseyin Erpehlivan of Turkey's Bilecik University told Live Science.
However, he said the tomb’s location suggests “the Phrygian political organization was not limited to a strictly-centralized, urban-focused system,” but rather was more decentralized than previously thought.
The study, which Erpehlivan describes as “the first comprehensive study” of the gravesite, examined the tomb’s architecture and contents. He described the “lavish” gravegoods as a sign that an important person was buried there, although he told Live Science that it “might not indicate a royal burial, but rather a royal gift exchange with an important person who had regal connections, such as the area's governor.”
Still, according to Erpehlivan, the architecture and contents of the grave resembled previously known royal graves near Gordion, and “exceed what would be expected for a purely local, non-elite individual.”
Tomb engraved with battle scenes could represent royalty
Ceramic jars and bronze situlas (buckets) engraved with battle scenes indicate a royal connection. Notably, the situlas resembled those found in the likely tomb of Gordias, Midas’ father.
Archaeologist Maya Vassileva of the New Bulgarian University in Sofia told Live Science that while the tomb resembled an elite Phrygian burial, she “would not consider the presence of situlae as evidence for a local royal status or royal ties,” instead attributing their presence to a gift exchange.
Although archaeologists found bones at the site, they probably don’t belong to the original grave, according to University of Pennsylvania archaeologist Brian Rose. Rose, who has excavated related tombs, told Live Science that the burial site contains nearly 3,000 years' worth of graves. While some bones predated the burial site, others come from bodies interred after the burial mound was built.
Although the myth of King Midas’ “golden touch” may be a legend, a historical Midas lived in the 8th century BCE, ruling Phrygia and likely amassing a substantial fortune, which may have inspired later Greek myths about him.