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Celtic Tomb Near Gordium of King Midas

Celtic Tomb Near Gordium of King Midas
Celtic Tomb found at Tumulus 0 near Gordium of King Midas, near Ankara, Turkey.

The Galatian Tomb



In 1955 Prof. Rodney Young excavated a galatian tomb at Kıranharmanı village of Polatli, Ankara, Turkey. Tha tomb had previously been illicitly exposed. Altough it is regretful that the tomb had been robbed. It was nevertheless an important tomb as all the details of its construction technique survived intact until 1955. The tomb demonstrates that the Galatians brought certain aspects of their funeral architecture to Anatolia from the Balkans.

The tomb was complete when first opened in 1955 but since then suffered badly both from human and natural interference. Stones from the ante-chamber and tomb roof were removed by local villagers.

Considering the amount of damage inflicted on the tomb since 1955 it was restored to its original condition and transferred to the garden of Gordium Museum in 1999.

Work began with clearance of the tomb, which was built on a later of breccia. After determination of the original design in detail the blocks of the tomb were individually numbered in a systematic manner. Transport was arranged and heavy machinery from Polatli Municipality removed the blocks in numerical order to the garden of Gordium Museum.

The blocks were then re-assamled in the exhibition area according to the original plan. This special tomb has the unique characteristics of its time and is now suitably protected in the garden of Gordion Museum. The tomb can be dated III-II c. BC.



More on Celts of Anatolia
http://ancient-anatolia.blogspot.com/2007/04/galatia-celtic-anatolia.html

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