Fieldwork at Gordion

Archaeological markers of agricultural risk management

“…Excavations at the site since the 1950s have produced a wealth of archaeological material, including the furnishings of a major burial tumulus once thought to be the resting place of the historical King Midas, but now redated to c. 740 BCE, decades before his death (DeVries et al, 2003;Voigt, 2009;Young, 1981). Excavations between 1988-2002, under the direction of Voigt, instituted total recovery of faunal remains and extensive sampling of carbonized plant remains from a full variety of contexts spanning the entire occupation sequence of the site (Voigt, 1994(Voigt, , 2002(Voigt, , 2005Voigt et al, 1997;Voigt and Henrickson, 2000;Voigt and Young, 1999). More than 470 flotation samples (Marston, 2010;Miller, 2010) and 13,000 animal bones (Zeder and Arter, 1994) have been analyzed from these recent excavations and form an exemplary dataset for testing questions of long-term change in agricultural risk management practices.…”

Ceramic production and provenience at Gordion, Central Anatolia

“…Young's excavations ended abruptly after his death in 1974. The third and latest phase began in the late 1980s, when excavations and survey resumed at Gordion under Project Director G. Kenneth Sams and Field Director Mary Voigt (Voigt, 1994;Voigt, DeVries, et al, 1997). Voigt's goals were to better define the stratigraphic sequence at the site, establish a more refined absolute chronology, explore non-elite areas of the site, and generally gain a greater understanding of the domestic and industrial side of Gordion's occupations.…”

Alluvial Burial of Gordion, an Iron-Age City in Anatolia

“…Total relief within 20 km of the site is 800 (Young 1968;DeVries 1990;Voigt et al 1997). Excavations have shown that, while the site was occupied at various intensities from the Bronze Age through Roman times and later, the bulk of the Citadel Mound is a walled Phrygian city.…”