Recovering the Lost Art of Phrygian A monumental entranceway led visitors between The seventh and sixth centuries B.C. were a dynamic imposing rectangular towers before opening onto a vista period in Anatolian history. Ionian Greeks on the west of large megaron-like buildings, their design and plan coast were taking bold strides in architecture and philos- Tiling clearly imitating the elite residences, storage facilities, ophy. The Lydians, under the Mermnad dynasty, were and workshops of the earlier city. At a time when the using electrum to mint some of the earliest known coins Greeks were just emerging from a so-called dark age, and to build elaborate palaces. And far to the east, the Practical and aesthetic elements converge in , reflecting Greek the commanded tremendous wealth and lengthening shadow of the Persian Empire was begin- resources, inspiring legends about a late-eighth-century ning to fall on . Situated at the nexus of these artistic temperament king named and his golden touch. Even in the potent cultural forces, the Phrygians drew inspiration Story & Artwork By Matt Glendinning sixth century, remained a thriving economic from their neighbors, even as they were ultimately and cultural hub of central Anatolia. engulfed by them. Despite the Lydians’ occupation of Gleaming in the sun, the buildings of the citadel central Anatolia early in the sixth century, and the would have caught the eye of the passerby, not only Persians’ around 550 B.C., Gordion continued to prosper. An impressive sight must have because of their size and impressive squared stone Indeed, increasing amounts of imported Lydian and masonry, but also because of a relatively new feature — Greek , together with major building activity greeted a visitor entering the fortified architectural . An invention of the Greeks a involving architectural terracottas, testify to a cultural century earlier, baked clay tiles were first used as a prac- flourishing at Gordion around 600 B.C. The decorated citadel of Gordion in the early sixth tical means of waterproofing temple roofs. But like other tiles rank among our best evidence for reconstructing ancient cultures, the Phrygians developed tiling into this important period of interaction and change. century B.C. After suffering devastating an expressive art. Molded in relief and brilliantly painted, the Gordion terracottas served as a medi- destruction by fire around 800 B.C., um of aristocratic display, a visual way for the city’s rulers to boast of their continuing pros- the Phrygian capital, in what is now perity and power. central , was restored to its for- TOP LEFT: Heraldic animal compositions, as shown here and in the frieze panel on page 30, may have carried aristocratic conno- mer grandeur in the eighth century. tations, perhaps serving as a coat of arms. TOP RIGHT: Gordion. Environs and Pendent frieze panel with four oblique squares. Although Citadel Mound. RIGHT: Raking sima (gutter). The common in all of Phrygian art, geometric designs on tiles upright panel prevented water from seeping over the may have had specific religious connotations, as seen in the gabled edge of a pitched roof. Greek influence is reflect- cult façades at Midas City. ed in the alternating star and scroll motifs.

28 VOLUME 44, NUMBER 2 EXPEDITION WWW.MUSEUM.UPENN.EDU/PUBLICATIONS 29 A TILE TREASURE TROVE decorative motifs — is an important component of the ments of volcanic , mica, and polycrystalline quartz) The modern discovery of Phrygian tiles at Gordion study of tiles. Styles of decoration can be compared and a well-defined transition between the gray core and began with the excavations of a number of fragmentary among sites, providing a gauge for interregional contact. reddish surface oxidation. Six tile types fit into this terracottas by two Austrian brothers, Gustav and Alfred Decoration also tended to change from one period to the group: pans, covers, and ridge beam covers decorated Körte, during their single campaign in 1900. Large-scale next, so that, like pottery, tiles are often chronologically with a lozenge; a raking sima (gutter) adorned with excavations were conducted at the site between 1950 diagnostic. For these reasons, investigators have spent a alternating stars and scrolls; a lateral sima decorated with and 1973 under the auspices of the University of lot of effort working out the progression of tile styles, at “tongues” above and painted blossoms flanking the Pennsylvania Museum and the direction of Rodney S. least in Greece. More work needs to be done in Turkey. spout; and a pendent frieze carrying lozenges and double Young. In addition to finding thousands of architectural In 1966, Swedish archaeologist Åke Åkerström pub- scrolls. These tiles were clearly designed to be deployed tiles, Young captivated both archaeologists and the lay lished a study synthesizing much of the evidence for roof together, as adjacent pieces correspond in length or public with his sensational discovery of a citadel of the tiles in Anatolia, including many of the Gordion terra- width and overlapping is neatly achieved by tapering or ninth century B.C., together with contemporary burials cottas. His monograph remains flanges. What had been a random assortment of tiles, beneath earthen tumuli (grave mounds). Gordion is best the primary reference therefore, can now be recognized as components known for this “Early Phrygian” period. work in this field, TOP: Frieze panel with antithetical goats. BOTTOM: Gordion. Pendent frieze plaque. More recent digging since 1988 has been directed by Plan of the Middle Phrygian citadel, built in the eighth century but it focused al- The hallmark of the Mary M. Voigt of the College of William and Mary, with B.C. in deliberate imitation of its ruined predecessor. most exclusively on Phrygian tile tradition, G. Kenneth Sams of the University of North Carolina, decoration, a limited the Chapel Hill, serving as overall project director. Voigt has to be reunited with their one-time roof mates, and the and risky approach also frieze offered a continued Young’s exploration of a later phase of the form of an entire roof to be extrapolated from just a few adopted by a number of convenient medium for decoration. citadel, the “Middle Phrygian,” built over its ruined pre- pieces. Terracottas also bear a relationship to the building more recent scholars. decessor in the eighth century B.C. Until recently, little they were meant to protect; tile width, for example, Some authors have cited of the same roof and can be scholarly attention had been paid to this era at Gordion is often related to rafter spacing and building length. At subjective stylistic consid- reconstructed as shown in the because the stratigraphy (layered sediments) was heavily Gordion, therefore, even reused tiles stand a chance of erations to date some of figure on page 32 (Roof 1). disturbed and the buildings were poorly preserved. But being reassociated with the poorly preserved foundations the Gordion tiles to the A similar approach can be new clues about the citadel’s topography are beginning of the settlement. early seventh century B.C., applied to a group of 478 frag- to emerge from the tiles, which Voigt’s excavations have Ancient tiles were also works of art. Many, partic- others to the second half ments, also related by fabric, shown to be products of the late Middle Phrygian ularly those lining the edges of a roof, were molded in of the sixth century, and still dimension, and decoration. In period, the sixth century B.C. relief and painted, and so iconography — the analysis of others the second half of the fifth. contrast to the orange-gray clay of In the 50 years since digging began in earnest at Treating tiles as isolated works of art can Roof 1, this fabric is distinctly buff Gordion, building tiles have become an important com- result in unrelated dates being assigned to colored and contains calcium car- ponent of classical archaeology. Made from a cheap and pieces that may have once belonged to the same roof, bonate and visible particles of abundant natural resource, clay tiles were used at many and so would have been contemporary. feldspar, volcanic rock, glass, and Mediterranean sites and compose an important source Current research is revising and expanding upon this quartz. Surface decoration consists of information about ancient architecture. As thick slabs method, approaching the tiles first and foremost as of an overall or buff slip. Five basic tile types are of baked clay, tiles are nearly indestructible and can sur- interrelated components of actual roofs. If we can first involved: spouted eaves tiles, flat pans, curved covers, vive in the ground for thousands of years. On rare occa- identify all surviving parts of a roof, through shared curved ridge beam covers, and semicircular end cover sions archaeologists find an entire roof in a collapsed, characteristics such as fabric, form, surface treatment, tiles with antefixes (vertical “face plates”). Again, the tiles undisturbed position, which eliminates any question and archaeological contexts, then we stand a much bet- fit together with puzzlelike efficiency, including a notch about which tiles worked together on a single building. ter chance of understanding the date of the roof as a for the end cover tiles to fit over the raised gutter at the At Gordion, however, tiles are most often found alone or whole, and so the historical significance of the tiles. eaves. The roof can be reconstructed as shown in the fig- in small groups in reused, secondary contexts, such as ure on page 33 (Roof 2). TWO TELLTALE ROOFS floor paving slabs or drain channels. But even such scat- YASSIHÖYÜK/GORDION A reassembled roof provides more historical informa- tered pieces are potentially informative. Middle Phrygian Period Among the many thousand preserved fragments at tion than do the tiles individually. Although the idea of The tiles of a given roof are related in size, shape, fab- Gordion, a group of 613 tiles stands out distinctly. The tiling probably came to Anatolia from Greece, Roof 1 ric, and decoration because they are standardized mod- relief work on the surfaces is crisp, and the red, white, betrays distinctly Anatolian design features, such as the ules designed to fit together in repeating combinations. and paint is particularly well preserved. The fabric use of pendent frieze plaques, broad swaths of patterning These characteristics allow pieces from different contexts is characterized by visible inclusions (for example, frag- across the pans and covers, and a pipelike ridge cover

30 VOLUME 44, NUMBER 2 EXPEDITION WWW.MUSEUM.UPENN.EDU/PUBLICATIONS 31 (the apex of similar Greek roofs was covered in an the Lydians at that time. LEFT: Lateral sima (gutter). A long spout jetti- entirely different manner). Roof 2 is equally Anatolian Reanalysis of the excavation accounts confirms a soned water well away from the mud brick and walls below. BOTTOM: A design typical of because the spouted-eaves design does not occur in sixth-century date for both roofs. Elements of Roof 2 central Anatolia, this Gordion roof (Roof 2) can mainland Greece and is quite common in . Both were recovered in the 1950s from a layer of burned be dated stratigraphically (by rock layers) to the roof types also seem to have been mass produced for debris on the Küçük Höyük (a small mound to the mid-sixth century B.C. or earlier. deployment on numerous buildings, in contrast to the southeast of the Citadel Mound), its destruction com- usual Archaic Greek practice of creating a tiled roof for monly dated to the mid-sixth century B.C. Many of the one specific structure, often a temple. extant pieces of Roof 1 were recovered from fifth- Components of both roof designs are known from at century floors (for example, in Building A), but some least four other Anatolian sites: Roof 1 is paralleled at tiles were found stratified at deeper levels, suggesting an Miletus, Didyma, Sardis, and Düver; Roof 2 at Neandria, earlier origin for this roof design. Firm parallels at Sardis Sardis, Düver, and Pazarlı. The highly decorated roof can be dated contextually to before ca. 550 B.C.Roofs 1 shows an especially strong connection to western and 2, then, are probably contemporary, as details of Anatolia and Ionia, while the other seems more at home workmanship also suggest. within Phrygia. In both cases, the tiles are as well made and vividly decorated as contemporary examples THE ART OF GORDION TILES anywhere in Anatolia, revealing that The preceding analysis has great the Gordion tiles were produced by one or two related the religious connotations of Greek tile decoration, Gordion tile makers were fully in vogue bearing on the art historical study of workshops over a limited period of time. Technical Anatolian potentates may have preferred designs thought with the latest styles. There is no Gordion tiles. Roof details thus provide a framework for interpreting the to evoke an air of wealth and prestige. reason to interpret the Gordion reconstruction at many tiles that cannot be assigned to specific roofs: All A second group of tiles at Gordion, adorned with tiles as provincial derivatives of Gordion is made were designed, decorated, and deployed as a program. lozenges, checkerboards, and squares, reflects a deeply Ionian models, as has been possible by consider- The Anatolian tile tradition is well known for its rooted central-Anatolian taste for geometric decoration. suggested by some schol- ing factors such as fab- exuberant decoration, primarily by means of patterns Some scholars have seen such decor as a banal holdover ars. On the contrary, ric, dimension, and painted on pans and covers and relief-molded friezes. from the Early Phrygian period, when arts such as pottery corroborating the design. If applied to all The Gordion tiles show great diversity in decoration, a and inlaid furniture were decorated with intricate geo- evidence of ceram- extant tiles at the site, this mixture of Greek, Near Eastern, and local tastes. While metric patterns. But uncannily similar designs also ics, small finds, and method reveals the entire body of some argue that this eclecticism reflects the Phrygians’ appear at Midas City on a series of rock-cut architectural recent excavation, material to be a closely knit group. Pervasive artistic impotence and lack of originality, a more con- façades thought to be ceremonial backdrops for the cult tiled roofs con- similarities in craftsmanship suggest that most of scious and expressive purpose seems possible. of the Phrygian goddess Kybele. One wonders if the geo- tribute to a pic- Since tile technology first reached western Anatolia metric tiles carried some innate religious symbolism to ture of late Middle CENTER: Raking sima (gutter) with oblique checkerboard and from Greece around 600 B.C., it comes as no surprise to the Phrygians, or if the tiled buildings served cultic as Phrygian Gordion as a attached cover tile; BOTTOM: Identifying and reassembling the find Greek decoration on some of the Gordion tiles. The well as political or residential purposes. Kybele is often prosperous, cosmopolitan, components of this Gordion roof (Roof 1) allow archaeologists stars and scrolls on the raking sima, together with stars depicted in association with lions and bulls, frequently to see the Phrygians’ close cultural ties to western Anatolia. and well-connected regional center. and heraldic felines on some antefixes, are all closely arranged in heraldic poses. Should we then be permitted Roofs 1 and 2 also have close parallels at the Lydian paralleled in Ionian and mainland Greek art. What is capital of Sardis, another site in Anatolia with well- surprising, however, is that the inspiration does not preserved terracottas. Similarities are unusually deep, come from Greek tiles, but from minor arts, such as involving not only decoration but also design and tech- small objects of wood, metal, ivory, bone, or cloth. Many niques of manufacture. Since the Gordion terracottas as of the Gordion designs find close parallels in the deco- a whole exhibit no diachronic development in design, rated borders of metal, paint, or textile often applied to style, size, or decoration, it can be assumed that tiling was Greek statues, furniture, and the like, in order to imported to the site as an already developed tradition. enhance their appearance and worth. In sixth-century Lydian influence seems the most logical explanation. Anatolia, decorated tiles often appeared in a secular Historical and archaeological considerations suggest that context (on palaces and elite residences), rather than a the Lydians expanded into central Anatolia in the early religious one (on temples and treasuries) as in Archaic sixth century B.C. The tiles may help substantiate the Greece, and this may help explain the mimicry of fancy commonly held theory that Gordion was occupied by Greek trimmings. Perhaps rejecting what they saw as

32 VOLUME 44, NUMBER 2 EXPEDITION WWW.MUSEUM.UPENN.EDU/PUBLICATIONS 33 stems from active and purposeful imitation rather than a from passive, provincial conservatism. The decorative FOR FURTHER READING program as a whole seems intended to send a message. Åkerström, Åke. 1966. Die Architektonischen Terrakotten PIECING TOGETHER A LEGACY Kleinasiens, Skrifter utgivna av Svenska institutet i A new approach to the Gordion tiles is leading to a Athen, series prima in 4°, 11, Lund, Sweden. deeper appreciation of Phrygian history and art. By bringing the tiles back into their original groupings, Barnett, Richard D. 1975. “Phrygia and the Peoples of archaeologists are gaining a better understanding of the Anatolia in the Iron Age.” In Cambridge Ancient citadel’s topography and an opportunity to explore con- History, third edition, volume II, part 2, ed. I. E. S. TOP LEFT: Antefix with heraldic felines, a motif with Greek and nections with other regions of Anatolia. Reassembling Edwards, C. J. Gadd and N. G. L. Hammond, pp. 417- Near Eastern connections; BOTTOM: Hunting from a horse- whole roofs is a necessary first step toward understand- 442. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. drawn chariot was a defining prerogative of Near Eastern roy- TOP RIGHT: Antefix with painted star, a design with close par- ing how the Phrygians used decorated tiles, and what alty, whom the Phrygian elite tried hard to emulate. allels in Ionia; OPPOSITE: Frieze panel with antithetical goats meaning they attributed to them. DeVries, Keith. 1988. “Gordion and Phrygia in the Sixth to view a lion-bull panel at Gordion, or the feline antefix, against mythical or hybrid monsters was one of the most In his Histories, the Greek historian wrote Century B.C.” Source VII(3/4): 51-59. as a religious emblem? While these questions must common Near Eastern expressions of a ruler’s physical that Phrygian rulers in the sixth century continued to remain tentative and speculative, they nevertheless signal prowess and right to rule, as epitomized by the many carry the traditional royal names Midas and . It is Glendinning, Matthew R. 1996. “A Mid-Sixth-Century ways that a neglected category of artifact can bring a exploits of Gilgamesh. unclear, however, whether the Phrygians enjoyed real Tile Roof System at Gordion.” Hesperia 59(1): 99-119. fresh perspective to the study of Phrygian history. Civilizations on the periphery of the Near Eastern sovereignty at that time or had become a vassal state of Le Roy, Christian 1967. “Les terres cuites architecturales A third group of terracottas is decorated with figural world often drew inspiration from such traditional the Lydian Empire. Regardless, the decorative tile pro- et la diffusion de l’hellénisme en Anatolie.”Revue motifs ultimately derived from traditional Near Eastern iconography. The Mermnad dynasty at Sardis, for exam- gram at Gordion suggests the appearance, if not the real- archéologique: 127-142. prototypes. Panels depicting hunting from a horse-drawn ple, is thought to have emulated eastern royalty by delib- ity, of continuing local power and authority. chariot, antithetical animals, and a duel often referred to erately incorporating lion imagery into Lydian art. The The Gordion tile makers purposefully draped their Ratté, Christopher. 1994. “Archaic Architectural as Theseus and the Minotaur all draw on a rich heritage medallion featuring confronting lion and bull heads on citadel with the imagery of aristocratic ideology. Terracottas from Sector ByzFort at Sardis.” Hesperia 63: of Syro-Hittite and Assyrian art of the 12th through 8th Lydian staters (coins) was an eastern emblem, Deliberately old fashioned and charged with royal sym- 361-390. centuries B.C. A Helleno-centric viewpoint might inter- adopted as a sort of coat of arms by the Lydian royal bolism, the tile designs served as advertisements for the pret the use of such images in the sixth century as hack- house. The Gordion tiles probably reflect a similar artis- ruling elite by alluding to aristocratic ideals and evoking Rystedt, Eva. 1984. “Architectural Terracottas as neyed, derivative, or old fashioned. From a Near Eastern tic synthesis. Their old-fashioned appearance arguably an air of prestige. The Greek and Near Eastern designs Aristocratic Display — The Case of Seventh-Century perspective such images were often symbolic of royalty. a conjured a suitably cosmopolitan aura, while the geomet- Poggio Civitate (Murlo).” Opus 3: 367-377. Hunting in chariots, for example, was the royal act par AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY ric motifs boasted of the Phrygians’ Anatolian heritage. excellence, as shown by relief sculpture from the ninth- Our ancient visitor, casually wandering among the Sams, G. Kenneth. 1979. “Imports at Gordion. Lydian century palace of Assurnasirpal at Nimrud. Heraldic Matt Glendinning teaches ancient history at buildings of the citadel and awaiting his audience with and Persian periods.” Expedition 21(4): 6-17. Germantown Friends School in Philadelphia. With animal compositions seem to have carried a variety of the ruler, could hardly have missed the implied message: Voigt, Mary M. 1997. “Stratigraphic Sequence, meanings, such as apotropaism and fertility. And combat a Ph.D. in classical archaeology from The legacy of Midas endures. Architecture and Settlement Plan.” In Fieldwork at the University of North Carolina at Gordion: 1993-1995, M. M. Voigt, K. DeVries, R. C. Chapel Hill, Glendinning has exca- Henrickson, M. Lawall, B. Marsh, A. Gürsan-Salzmann, vated both in the United States (in Arizona) and abroad (in Spain, Greece, T. C. Young, pp. 1-14. Anatolica xxiii: 1-59. Matt and his wife, and Turkey) and has taught archaeolo- Katherine, in the fieldfield. Wikander, Örjan. 1988. “Ancient Roof-tiles — Use and gy at both the college and secondary Function.” Opuscula Atheniensia. Acta Instituti levels. His work on the architectural terracottas at Atheniensis Regni Suecia 17: 203-216. Gordion has appeared in the journal Hesperia and in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near Winter, Nancy A. 1993. Greek Architectural Terracottas East. Glendinning is also the director of the Cambridge from the Prehistoric to the End of the Archaic Period. Prep Experience, a summer program for adolescents Oxford: Clarendon Press; New York: University Press. at Cambridge University in England.

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