Conservation Efforts on the Middle Phrygian Gate Complex at Gordion, Turkey

Abstract

The Early Phrygians constructed the fortress city of Gordion (modern day Turkey), ca. 950–800 BCE. Gordion is renowned as the seat of the most famous Phrygian king, Midas of the Golden Touch, and also where Alexander the Great cut the Gordian knot (333 BCE). Although the ancient site was discovered in the late 1800s, it was not until the 1950s that large-scale excavations were begun by the University of Pennsylvania. Excavations showed that in the 8th century the Phrygians buried the Early Phrygian city with clay fill and rubble packing that formed the base for the new citadel fortifications and the Middle Phrygian Gate Complex guarding the city. Since the Gate Complex was first exposed in the 1950s, faces of the excavated rubble masonry have been subjected to environmental and weathering effects. More recently, sections had spalled off and left several large stone blocks of the Middle Phrygian wall resting above in imminent danger of collapse. In 2016, a site conservation project was undertaken to preserve portions of the Middle Phrygian architecture and stabilize the remains of the rubble masonry in the vicinity of the Gate Complex for safety reasons to protect visitors and the staff. This paper provides information on the conservation and stabilization efforts which have (i) illuminated the Middle Phrygian building strategies, (ii) enhanced the understanding gained during the original excavation in the 1950s, (iii) made the exposed rubble safe again, and (iv) improved the visitor’s experience of the overall site and spectacular Early Phrygian Gate Complex.