News Article

Andrew Goldman, Gonzaga University associate professor of history and chair of the classical civilizations department, will discuss “From Phrygian Capital to Roman Fort: Recent Excavations at Gordion” at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 4 at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture (2316 W. 1st Ave.) in Spokane.

The lecture is a report of Goldman’s archaeological fieldwork project to the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) Spokane society, of which he is currently president.

Excavations at the ancient city of Gordion (Turkey) have uncovered remains from more than 5,000 years of human activity. The site eventually became home to a small village during the Roman period, after the emperor Augustus annexed the region (known as Galatia) around 25 BC. Excavations atop Gordion’s Citadel Mound between 1950 and 1973 uncovered portions of the small Roman-period town, and analyses of the excavated finds have confirmed that it was a moderately prosperous Anatolian community occupied between the early 1st to early 5th centuries AD.

Unresolved questions regarding aspects of the town’s physical plan, the precise span of its occupation, and its function(s) led to initiation of a new 10-week excavation project in 2004 and 2005. Work focused on three separate building complexes, each identified during the earlier excavations and located in a different sector of the town. Among the new finds were the remains of Roman weapons and armor, the first of their type to be discovered in Turkey, and confirmation that the town served during the 1st century AD as a minor military post. 

On Wednesday, May 13 at 5:30 p.m., there will be a dinner and lecture by Tulane University Professor Ken Harl, who will discuss Emperor Constantine the Great and archaeological evidence relating to his reign and early Christianity. This event will be held at Gonzaga’s Bozarth Mansion and is co-sponsored by Marc Manganaro, dean of Gonzaga’s College of Arts and Sciences, and the AIA.
All who wish to sign up for the event, which costs $35 per person, should contact Ruth Gustafson at (509) 747-0734 for reservations, which are required. The deadline to register for the event is April 17. For more information, contact Associate Professor Andrew Goldman at (509) 313-6691 or via e-mail.