Archeologists uncover royal tomb tied to the real King Midas
In 1957, archeologists discovered a royal tomb (also known as a tumulus) at the site of Gordion, Phrygia's ancient capital located about 60 miles southwest of Ankara, Turkey. Analysis later showed the grave dated to around 740 BCE and held the remains of a man believed to be the father of the first King Midas. Years of subsequent excavations at Gordion have yielded remarkable finds, including the oldest known standing wooden building, the earliest colored stone mosaics, and even a gilded ivory sphinx royal statue.
According to Penn Museum researchers in collaboration with the Turkish government, archeologists have found yet another stunningly preserved royal tomb chamber dating to around 750 BCE. And like the one uncovered nearly 70 years ago, this tumulus may have ties to Midas himself—and could revise our understanding of the kingdom's ancient burial practices.
In 2024, researchers, including archeologist Yücel Şenyurt from Ankara's Haci Bayram Veli University, located the latest of the 130 mounds surrounding the Gordion citadel by using remote sensing magnetic prospection equipment. The team then spent four months excavating a massive 21-foot-tall by 196-foot-wide wooden burial chamber.
Designated Tumulus T-26, the space remained impressively well-preserved for thousands of years despite a collapsed roof, and shows no signs of grave robbing. Objects inside the tumulus included a number of relics associated with royal banquets such as bronze cauldrons, jugs, and bowls, as well as additional iron tools. These items were frequently used to serve food and wine during funeral feasts, with many of the vessels still possessing traces of adhering textiles—an artisanal flourish associated with luxury crafting.
Arguably the most striking discovery at T-26 was its interred remains. Instead of skeletal fragments, archeologists found evidence of cremation—a process believed to have popularized at Gordion over a 100 years later.
'The excavation of these tumuli has yielded a wealth of information about the lives of Gordion's rulers and their associates,' C. Brian Rose, Gordion Excavation Director and Curator-in-Charge of the Penn Museum's Mediterranean Section, said in a statement. '… [W]e now know that cremation among the elite was practiced over a century earlier than we thought it was. Moreover, the traces of textiles on the vessels provide evidence for one of Gordion's most important industries.'
It's still unclear if Tumulus T-26 belonged to King Midas himself. But even without a solid gold tomb, its dating and proximity at the very least strongly suggests a direct link to his dynasty.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Miami Herald
3 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Ancient shipwreck hid dozens of treasures — until now. See the finds in Greece
Off the coast of a Greek island sits the Antikythera shipwreck, a 2,000-year-old wreck with a story that inspired an Indiana Jones movie. From its beginnings as an accidental discovery to the recent excavation of its ancient treasures, the wreck's secrets are still being uncovered. Sponge divers happened upon the Antikythera shipwreck, named after the nearby island, in 1900. Initial explorations identified the ship as a trading vessel sunk during the first century B.C. and recovered a geared mechanical device. The mysterious item helped with astronomy calculations and later inspired the 2023 film 'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.' Despite being 'the richest ancient wreck ever discovered,' research on the Antikythera wreck has historically been quite limited, according to the international team leading work at the site. For decades, the shipwreck sat too deep for regular scuba divers but not deep enough for remotely operated vehicles. Marine archaeologists finally began exploring the 2,000-year-old ship in recent years with the aid of specialized technology. One such project began in 2021 and ended this summer, Greece's Ministry of Culture and Sports said in a July 1 news release. Photos shared by Return to Antikythera in a news release show some of the latest artifacts recovered from the wreck. This year, the team focused on bringing a section of the ancient wooden hull back to the surface, officials said. The planks were located in 2024 about 700 feet away from the original wreck and interpreted as possible evidence of a second sunken ship. Researchers did an initial analysis of the wood and tentatively dated it to around 235 B.C., officials said. The newly recovered planks were also thinner than planks from the original wreck site, suggesting they could be from a second smaller ship. Marine archaeologists also identified more fragments of ancient sculptures, including a male standing figure, the ministry said. Most of these artifacts were too encrusted to be removed. A photo shows one statue piece, part of a person's bare foot, that was brought to the surface. Other artifacts found on the Antikythera wreck included some pottery fragments identified as Chian amphorae and one rare type of spouted basin known as a clay mortar, officials said. The clay pot was used for preparing food aboard the ship, so archaeologists hope it will provide more information about the crew's diet and daily life. Researchers plan to continue analyzing their finds. It's unclear if the team plans to do any further excavations. Antikythera Island is roughly 150 miles southwest of Athens and north of Crete. Google Translate was used to translate the news release from Greece's Ministry of Culture and Sports and the Return to Antikythera.
Miami Herald
7 hours ago
- Miami Herald
‘Large' creature seen running ‘rapidly' on rocks in Angola. It's a new species
In a remote region of southwestern Africa, a 'large' patterned creature perched on some rocks until something spooked it. It ran 'rapidly to escape' but couldn't avoid the attention of nearby scientists — and for good reason. It turned out to be a new species. A team of researchers spent eight years doing 'extensive' surveys of 'the less explored coastal regions' of southwestern Angola in search of reptiles, according to a study published June 27 in the peer-reviewed journal Ecology and Evolution. The surveys focused on a 'still poorly understood' group of lizards known as Namib day geckos. Sure enough, between 2017 and 2025, researchers found roughly a dozen 'large' and unfamiliar-looking geckos, the study said. They took a closer look at the animals, analyzed their DNA and realized they'd discovered a new species: Rhoptropus megocellus, or the large-spotted Namib day gecko. Large-spotted Namib day geckos are considered 'large sized,' reaching about 3.5 inches in length, the study said. They have 'raised' scales around their nostrils forming an 'inflated nostril rim' and 'elongated' fingers and toes. Photos show the tan-brown geckos and their spotted pattern. Some of the blotches 'on the neck may be in contact, giving a collar-like appearance,' the study said. Researchers said they named the new species after the ancient Greek word for 'large' and a Latin word meaning 'eye spot' because of its 'distinctive large' markings. Large-spotted Namib day geckos are 'strictly rock-dwelling, always found on large, flattened granitic boulders, where (they) can run rapidly to escape,' the study said. The geckos were 'frequently found hiding under' rock flakes. So far, large-spotted Namib day geckos have been found at several sites in Namibe Province, a coastal region of southwestern Angola that borders Namibia. Angola also borders the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo and Zambia. The new species was identified by its size, scale pattern, coloring and other subtle physical features, the study said. DNA analysis found the new species had at least 13% genetic divergence from other related geckos. The research team included Javier Lobón-Rovira, Matthew Heinicke, Aaron Bauer, Werner Conradie and Pedro Vaz Pinto. The team also discovered two more new species: the cryptic Namib day gecko and the miniature Namib day gecko.
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
Oldest Egyptian DNA Reveals Secrets of Elite Potter From Pyramid Era
For the very first time, scientists have sequenced DNA from the entire genome of an individual who lived in ancient Egypt up to 4,800 years ago – right when the first pyramids were being built. The ancient genome belongs to an older male individual who was probably part of an elite social class and who, based on his ancestry, likely had brown hair, brown eyes, and dark skin. About 80 percent of the man's genome is linked to lineages in North Africa, while the remaining 20 percent is linked to lineages in West Asia. Related: The findings suggest that early Egyptians once lived in a melting pot of cultures, with migrants and traders arriving from other parts of Africa and Mesopotamia – an ancient region that now encompasses parts of Iraq, Türkiye, and Iran. Previous archaeological evidence has also indicated trade and cultural connections between Egypt and other parts of the Fertile Crescent, primarily through the exchange of domesticated plants and animals, writing systems, and technology such as the pottery wheel. But actual human DNA is not as easily preserved in the hot and dry region. This newest discovery is the oldest DNA ever recovered from ancient Egypt, and scientists say the remains provide "direct evidence of genetic ancestry" from Mesopotamia. "Ancient Egypt is a place of extraordinary written history and archaeology, but challenging DNA preservation has meant that no genomic record of ancestry in early Egypt has been available for comparison," says geneticist Pontus Skoglund, who founded the first high-throughput ancient DNA laboratory in the United Kingdom at the Francis Crick Institute. "Building on this past research, new and powerful genetic techniques have allowed us to cross these technical boundaries and rule out contaminating DNA, providing the first genetic evidence for potential movements of people in Egypt at this time." The ancient man's remains were recovered from a necropolis in the ancient city of Nuwayrat, 265 kilometers (165 miles) south of Cairo, where he was buried in a large pottery vessel inside a rock-cut tomb. He died sometime between 2855 and 2570 BCE. In life, the individual was approximately 160 centimeters (5.2 feet) tall, and judging by his heavily worn teeth and severe arthritis, he was likely between 44 and 64 years old – an advanced age for the time. His form of burial suggests he had a high social status, but unexpectedly, his body holds signs of routine physical labor. "His seat bones are expanded in size, his arms showed evidence of extensive movement back and forth, and there's substantial arthritis in just the right foot. Though circumstantial, these clues point towards pottery, including use of a pottery wheel," suggests bioarchaeologist Joel Irish from Liverpool John Moores University. "That said, his higher-class burial is not expected for a potter, who would not normally receive such treatment. Perhaps he was exceptionally skilled or successful to advance his social status." When scientists analyzed the mix of isotopes in the ancient man's second molar, they found evidence that he grew up in the hot and dry Nile Valley, eating animal protein and plants like wheat and barley. This was typical for early Egyptians. "This individual has been on an extraordinary journey. He lived and died during a critical period of change in ancient Egypt, and his skeleton was excavated in 1902 and donated to World Museum Liverpool, where it then survived bombings during the Blitz that destroyed most of the human remains in their collection," says archaeogeneticist Linus Girdland Flink from the University of Aberdeen. "We've now been able to tell part of the individual's story." One individual's story can't tell us everything we would like to know about ancient Egypt, but the findings are an intriguing start. Researchers hope that their technique will allow for a "more detailed and nuanced understanding of ancient Egyptian civilization and its inhabitants" in the future. The study was published in Nature. Zapping Volunteers' Brains With Electricity Boosted Their Maths Skills Ruins of Ancient Temple Belonged to Mysterious Pre-Inca Civilization Does Using Artificial Intelligence Ruin Your Actual Intelligence? Scientists Investigated
