Discovering a 2,800-year-old royal tomb, revealing the story of King Midas
Türkiye's Culture and Tourism Minister announced the discovery of a 2,800-year-old royal tomb in the city of Gordion - the hometown of King Midas.
Báo Khoa học và Đời sống•10/06/2025
During excavations in the ancient city of Gordion, southwest of Ankara, Türkiye, archaeologists discovered a royal tomb dating back to the 8th century BC. Photo: Alamy. According to experts, the tomb, which is about 2,800 years old, belonged to a relative of King Midas. The prince was a great ruler of the ancient kingdom of Phrygia. Photo: Vikiçizer / CC BY-SA 3.0.
Inside this royal tomb, dozens of rare artifacts were buried with cremated human bones. Photo: Vikiçizer / CC BY-SA 3.0. “Based on the artifacts found, we predict that the tomb’s owner could be a member of the royal family related to Gordion and King Midas,” Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, Turkey’s Minister of Culture and Tourism , said at a press conference. Photo: Archaeologist1950 / CC BY-SA 4.0. Gordion was the capital of the Phrygian kingdom, which existed from 1200 BC to 675 BC. In the 8th century BC, Phrygian was ruled by Gordias. After Gordias died, his son Midas became king. King Midas is famous for his story of turning everything he touched into gold. Photo: Wikimedia / Volker Höhfeld.
Like many ancient cities, Gordion was occupied many times throughout history. As a result, excavations here have revealed walls, tombs, houses... dating back thousands of years. Photo: Wikimedia/ Gargarapalvin. The newly discovered tomb is the 47th mound excavated at Gordion. It is about 8m high and 60m in diameter. Archaeologist Yücel Şenyurt, co-director of the Gordion excavation, said that cremation of the body of a person too old was a Phrygian burial custom. Photo: CC BY SA 2.5. Furthermore, an individual buried in Gordion shows that this person had a high social status and origin, and was not an ordinary person. Photo: MEH Bergmann/CC BY SA 4.0.
Researchers speculate that the owner of the newly discovered tomb may have been a relative of King Midas, whose tomb was found nearby. Photo: Zeynel Cebeci/CC BY SA 4.0. The artifacts excavated from the royal tomb are now being preserved and restored at the Gordion Museum before being put on display. Photo: Zeynel Cebeci/CC BY SA 4.0.
Readers are invited to watch the video : Revealing lost civilizations through archaeological remains.
Báo Khoa học và Đời sống•10/06/2025
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