University of Cincinnati Date: 2/8/2011 I, Alison L. Fields , hereby submit this original work as part of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Classics. It is entitled: The Late Phrygian Citadel of Gordion, Turkey: A Preliminary Study Student's name: Alison L. Fields This work and its defense approved by: Committee chair: Kathleen Lynch, PhD Committee member: Steven Ellis, PhD Committee member: Gisela Walberg, PhD 1366 Last Printed:3/8/2011 Document Of Defense Form The Late Phrygian Citadel of Gordion, Turkey: A Preliminary Study A thesis submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Classics of the College of Arts and Sciences 2011 by Alison L. Fields B.A. New York University, 2008 Committee Chair: Kathleen M. Lynch, Ph.D Abstract Intensive archaeological research at the site of Gordion, Turkey, the ancient cultural and political capital of the Phrygians, has now reached its sixtieth consecutive year. Large-scale excavations carried out in 1950-1973 under the directorship of Rodney S. Young, in particular, have contributed greatly to our knowledge of Phrygian culture and the history of Gordion. However, Young’s culture-historic approach caused greater scholarly interest of the time periods in which the Phrygian empire was at the peak of its cultural influence, predominantly from the 10th-8th centuries B.C.E. Less attention has therefore been paid to the period in which the site was under Achaemenid rule, the Late Phrygian period (ca. 550-330 B.C.E), as this period represents a decline of Phrygian culture and political dominance. This study seeks to contribute to filling this chronological gap in our knowledge by examining changes in the topography and cultural climate during one of the site’s most complex and interesting periods. As such, this thesis stands as the first in-depth, comprehensive study of the archaeological record of the Late Phrygian period citadel at Gordion. Particular interest was placed on dating the destruction of the traditional, monumental Middle Phrygian (ca. 800-550 B.C.E) structures that is known to have occurred during this period and the subsequent rebuilding program. The gradual, ad hoc replacement of the monumental structures on the citadel with modest industrial and domestic buildings signals a dramatic change in Gordion’s administrative system and the absence of central authority by the mid-4th century B.C.E. ii © 2010 Alison L. Fields iii Acknowledgments First and foremost, I wish to extend my deepest gratitude to my advisor and committee chair, Dr. Kathleen Lynch, who granted me the opportunity to serve as her research assistant at Gordion in 2009. This project came to fruition thanks to the countless hours she sacrificed for discussion, her ever-inspiring mastery of ceramics, her extraordinary attention to detail throughout the editing process, and her shared good humor. The knowledge she has passed on to me (the most important of which, she would argue, being knitting) is invaluable. Please note that all discussions of Greek imported pottery in this thesis, including identification of shapes and dating, were made in consultation with Kathleen Lynch and reference her forthcoming study of the imported pottery at Gordion. Thanks must also be given to Dr. C. Brian Rose, who (for better or for worse) entrusted this project to me, and to Dr. Kenneth Sams and Dr. Mary M. Voigt for continuously unveiling for me the “Mysteries of Gordion.” Your combined support during the data-collection phase of this project is greatly appreciated. I must also acknowledge the support I have received from Dr. Steven Ellis. I thank him for acting as a second reader on such short notice. His comments have greatly improved the methodology section of this thesis, and his insight and experience with legacy data will continue to benefit my work on this project in the future. I also wish to thank the faculty of the Department of Classics at the University of Cincinnati, first, for granting me admission to the best Classics department in the world, and second, for awarding me a Louise Semple Taft Fellowship and a Marian and Dorothy Rawson Fellowship for Archaeology. I am most fortunate to be able to study whatever fascinates me by means of this financial support. Thanks should also be placed to the Burnam Classics Library, iv the resources of which are unparalleled, and to the library staff, namely David Ball, Michael Braunlin, and Jacquelene W. Riley for their research assistance. I also wish to thank Bice Peruzzi and Signe Barfoed, who served as Dr. Lynch’s research assistants at Gordion in years past and who contributed in the photographing of the imported pottery discussed in this thesis. Furthermore, throughout the thesis-writing process, I have been most fortunate to share the friendship of Sarah Lima. I cherish her mentorship in the field and companionship on the track above most things. And to the Cincinnati Rollergirls: I thank each of you for willingly allowing me to take out my thesis frustrations on you. You all inspire me and make me stronger. Last, but certainly not least, I owe an outrageous amount of gratitude to my partner, Emily Joy. I could not have survived this without your love and support. I am so lucky to have found you. v Table of Contents Acknowledgments iv List of Tables vii List of Figures viii Chapter One: Introduction 1 Gordion: Discovery and Excavation 3 Gordion: The History 6 Chapter Two: Project Objectives, Methodology, and Challenges 21 Project Objectives 21 Methodology 25 Project Challenges 31 Chapter Three: The Outer Gate-Court 37 Building C 38 The Painted House 43 Building G 47 Building E 50 Buildings D and F 54 Chapter Four: The Inner Gate-Court 57 Building H 57 Building M 63 Buildings O and Q 67 NCT Building and Building X 71 The Yellow House 74 Chapter Five: Conclusions 76 Analysis 76 Conclusions 80 Bibliography 85 vi List of Tables Table 1. The Yassıhöyük Stratigraphic Sequence (YHSS). After Voigt 2009. vii List of Figures Fig. 1. View of Gordion from the excavation house. Citadel mound at right, Küçük Höyük at center, sheep pasturing in the foreground. Author. Fig. 2. Map of Asia Minor, including major land routes and Persian Royal Road. French 1998, fig. 3, after Levick 1967. Fig. 3. Wooden serving stand (W 82), from Tumulus MM, after cleaning and restoration. DeVries 1990, p. 389, fig. 23. Fig. 4. Alabaster figure (S 100), probably Kybele (Matar), from fill of robbed-out wall of Building X. DeVries 1990, p. 398, fig. 37. Fig. 5. Phrygian tumuli in modern Anatolian landscape. Author. Fig. 6. Modern entrance to the Midas Mound (Tumulus MM). Author. Fig. 7. Plan of Early Phrygian Citadel (Eastern Mound), ca. 850 B.C.E. Stewart 2010, fig. 12. Fig. 8. Plan of Middle Phrygian citadel (Eastern Mound), ca. 500 B.C.E., showing Inner and Outer Gate-Courts and Enclosure Wall. After Stewart 2010, fig. 15. Fig. 9. Map of the occupational zones at Gordion, showing trenches opened during Voigt's excavations. Voigt and Henrickson 2000, fig. 1. Fig. 10. Plan of Achaemenid Mosaic Building and adjacent Late Phrygian Building A. Burke (forthcoming). Fig. 11. Piet de Jong’s reconstruction of “Orpheus and Eurydice” wall painting from the Painted House. Rose (forthcoming). Fig. 12. Plan of Gordion’s trenches, with shading indicating the trenches examined by the author. After Stewart 2010, fig. 6. Fig. 13. Plan of Building C (Phase 1) with central hearth in cella. Young 1955, p. 7, fig. 11. Fig. 14. South foundations of Building C, the Phase 2 wall partially overlying the Phase 1 wall. Young 1955, pl. 3, fig. 13. Fig. 15. Inner face of northeast foundation of Building C, showing beam holes under the masonry of Phase 2 building. Young 1955, pl. 3, fig. 14. Fig. 16. Attic black-glazed Acrocup (P 1665), ca. 475-450 B.C.E. Found in layer pre-dating Building C, Phase 2. Lynch (forthcoming). viii Fig. 17. Proposed plan of Late Phrygian buildings overlying Middle Phrygian Buildings C and G and the Outer Gate-Court enclosure wall. Possible 5th century B.C.E. buildings in dark gray, 4th century B.C.E. buildings in light gray. After Stewart 2010, fig. 15. Fig. 18. Painted House after excavation, looking south; preserved floor in foreground, Building C in background, Building G at lower right. Young 1956, pl. 85, fig. 16. Fig. 19. Deposit of broken plaster overlying the floor of Painted House during excavation. Above, the stone socle of the bronze foundry. Young 1955, pl. 4, fig. 15. Fig. 20. Plan of Building E (Hearth Building), Phase 1. Young 1955, p. 4, fig. 6. Fig. 21. Pebble bedding of hearth in Building E (Hearth Building), Phase 2a. Young 1955, pl. 2, fig. 8. Fig. 22. Northwest corner of Building E (Hearth Building), Phase 2a, showing foundation of beams. Young 1955, pl. 2, fig. 7. Figs. 23a-23b. Ivory stamp-seal in the shape of an owl (BI 218), found embedded in the floor of Building E (Hearth Building), Phase 2a. Young 1955, pl. 2, fig. 9. Fig. 24. Stone coping of hearth and paved floor (top) of Building E (Hearth Building), Phase 2c. Young 1955, pl. 3, fig. 10. Fig. 25. Plan of Outer Gate-Court showing Phase 1 plans of Buildings D and F. Young 1962, pl. 42, fig. 4. Fig. 26. Plan of Outer Gate-Court showing Phase 2 plans of Buildings D and F. Young 1956, pl. 84, fig. 15. Fig. 27. Plans of Building H, Building M, and enclosure wall.