Gordion Museum

The Gordion Museum is an archaeological museum in Yassıhöyük village, Polatlı district, Ankara Province, Turkey. Established in 1963, it sits adjacent to the ancient city of Gordion, capital of the Phrygian kingdom in Anatolia. The museum serves as a regional repository for excavated materials from one of the most significant archaeological sites in Turkey, operating as a subsidiary of the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara approximately 75 kilometres away. Its rural village setting distinguishes it from most Turkish museums, placing visitors in immediate proximity to the ancient tumuli and settlement remains that constitute the Gordion archaeological zone.

The museum was founded in 1963 as a branch of the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara. In subsequent decades, the institution underwent significant expansion. A 180 square metre stock room and a 150 square metre additional exhibition hall were added, along with a laboratory and conference room. The museum also maintains a 5,000 square metre open-air exhibition area. These additions substantially increased the museum's capacity to store, study, and display materials from ongoing excavations at the Gordion site.

The museum's collections encompass material spanning multiple periods of Anatolian history. The holdings include Bronze Age artifacts, Phrygian objects, and chronological displays of later materials from the Hellenistic and Roman Imperial periods. A dedicated numismatic section presents coins from the region. The museum also displays mosaics in its garden. The collection is particularly strong in materials related to Phrygian culture, reflecting the site's status as the political and cultural centre of the Phrygian kingdom.

The museum's signature holdings relate to King Midas and Phrygian aristocratic burial practice. The most significant nearby tumulus, with a diameter of 300 metres and height of 55 metres, is attributed to King Midas. This burial mound was excavated in 1957, and after structural underpinning works, it was opened to visitors. The museum also displays handmade Phrygian pottery, stone reliefs, architectural elements, and metal tools and textiles from the early Phrygian period. In the garden, visitors can view a reconstructed funerary tumulus that had been subject to illegal excavations in 1954. The museum additionally maintains a section devoted to seals and coins.

The museum occupies a village setting at coordinates 39°39′10″N 31°39′47″E, on the road to Polatlı. Yassıhöyük village was established next to the ancient city of Gordion, and the museum's location within the settlement rather than in an urban centre is unusual among Turkish museums. The facility incorporates both indoor galleries and substantial outdoor exhibition space. The 5,000 square metre open-air area accommodates large architectural elements and the reconstructed tumulus, while the expanded indoor spaces include the original exhibition halls plus the later additions of storage, laboratory, and conference facilities.

The Gordion Museum is located in Yassıhöyük village, Polatlı district, Ankara Province, Turkey. It operates under the umbrella of the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara, which lies approximately 75 kilometres to the east. Visitors can access the Midas Tumulus, which was stabilized and opened after its 1957 excavation. The museum's present role combines the functions of archaeological repository, research facility with laboratory and conference capabilities, and visitor destination for those exploring the Gordion archaeological zone.