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The new Middle Phrygian Citadel at Gordion dates to the period after the great fire destruction of the Early Phrygian level/YHSS 6A (Fig. 14.1). The fire is now dated to around 800 BC and the initial rebuilding occurred shortly after that (Voigt 2005:31). As Sams (2005a:18) and Voigt (2005:32–35) have recently highlighted, throughout Phrygian times (Early, Middle, and Late) Gordion was composed of two mounds, an eastern one extensively excavated by Young and the less-explored western mound. The two mounds were divided by a large street that was filled in toward the end of the 4th century, creating the single flat-topped mound of today. Excavations along the southeastern edge of the mound have revealed the remains of two of the most impressive new citadel structures excavated by Rodney Young: Middle Phrygian Building A and the Late Phrygian Mosaic Building (Young 1951:6–10; 1953b:9, 14–17; 1955:1–2; 1965:6–7; Mellink 1988:228–29). These two buildings, which are the focus of this chapter, framed the southwestern edge of the eastern citadel. Although excavations have revealed no indications of Early Phrygian structures lying below Building A, it is possible that the Early Phrygian Citadel extended this far as well. One major feature recognized fairly early on at Gordion is that the structures of the new Middle Phrygian Citadel often reflect older , Early Phrygian buildings below (Young 1962b:10; Edwards 1959:264). In the 1952 campaign, in Early Phrygian strata, Young’s team excavated a wall 8 m thick, located to the northwest of Building A and below the Persian Gate building, which they interpreted as part of an earlier fortification wall of the city (Young 1955:11, pl. 6, fig. 23; 1962a:167–68). The full extent of this part of the earlier citadel fortifications has not yet been determined, although it continues in the direction of Building A and the Mosaic Building (Fig. 14.2). A probable date for this large wall is early 9th century/YHSS 6B. The part of the eastern citadel where Building A and the Mosaic Building are located is a significant one. The material excavated there by Young dates to the Hellenistic, Late Phrygian, and Middle Phrygian periods and provides important information for the history and organization of the new citadel after the Early Phrygian destruction level (DeVries 1990). In the course of several centuries, Phrygian culture at Gordion adopted certain Lydian, Achaemenid, and Hellenistic features, showing that it was fertile ground for other cultural influences to take root (Voigt and Young 1999). Building A is one of the largest structures at Gordion , rivaling the Early Phrygian Terrace and Clay Cut Buildings in scale, and it was in use for quite a long time (Fig. 14.3). Built sometime in the 8th century BC, it remained in use without major modifications until the construction of the Late Phrygian/ Achaemenid Mosaic Building. At that point Building A was dramatically altered, losing the southern two of its original six units with the construction of the Mosaic Building (Fig. 14.4). A heavily modified Building A and the Mosaic Building continue in use at least until the late 4th century BC. The Mosaic Building is a large complex of highly decorated rooms and courts most likely used for 14 The Rebuilt Citadel at Gordion: Building A and the Mosaic Building Complex Brendan Burke 204 THE arCHaEoLoGy of pHryGIan GordIon, royaL CITy of MIdas administration and political receptions, perhaps cult activity. The historical context in which the Mosaic Building was constructed is quite different from the preceding Middle Phrygian period, when the Gordion citadel reached its most elaborate form and largest extent. After the mid-6th century Gordion was part of the Achaemenid Empire and no longer a center of political power in central Anatolia, although it maintained strategic importance and was well equipped with supplies (Briant 2002:705–6). Architecturally, however, the citadel was in decline , with many Middle Phrygian buildings gradually falling out of use (Edwards 1959:266; Voigt and Young 1999). The Mosaic Building is one of the few impressive public structures that we know of on the eastern mound, and recent fieldwork in the area has given us a new perspective on this unusual building. Chronology Building A and the Mosaic Building should first be situated in their historical and archaeological contexts relative to other well-known monuments at the site. Gordion’s chronology had initially been established by relative sequencing of strata...

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