A Tomb Dated by Trees
The largest burial mound at the ancient Phrygian capital of Gordion is a massive artificial hill, 53 meters high with a diameter of 300 meters. Known as Tumulus MM, or the "Midas Mound," it contains the oldest standing wooden building in the world. Inside the mound, a burial chamber measuring 6.2 by 5.15 meters was constructed around 740 BCE. The tomb's builders used black pine and juniper for the walls and a distinctive double-pitched roof, a design also seen in elite "megaron" buildings on the city's citadel mound.
The precise date of the tomb's construction was established through dendrochronology. By analyzing the tree-ring patterns in the ancient timbers, scientists established a secure timeline for the structure. This work, refined in 2001, placed the cutting date of the logs at approximately 740 BCE. This date definitively shows the occupant could not be King Midas himself, who was active on the political stage decades later, around 709 BCE. The tomb is now believed to house the remains of his father, likely named Gordias.
An Iron Age Royal Funeral
Excavated in 1957 by a team from the University of Pennsylvania, the tomb chamber was found unlooted and remarkably preserved. The king, a man in his early 60s who stood about 1.59 meters tall, was laid in an open log coffin. The tomb was filled with an extraordinary collection of grave goods intended for the afterlife. These included over 100 fine wooden artifacts, such as ornate tables and serving stands inlaid with geometric patterns.
The tomb also held a vast collection of bronze vessels, 170 in total. Among them were large cauldrons with attachments shaped like sirens, and numerous bowls and jugs. Chemical analysis of residues inside these vessels revealed the menu of the funeral banquet. Mourners consumed a spicy stew of lamb or goat and lentils, accompanied by a mixed fermented beverage made from grape wine, barley beer, and honey mead. The majority of the artifacts, including the complex furniture and bronzes, are now displayed at the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara.