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A suspect accused of deliberately starting a fire in a protected archaeological zone around the ancient site of Gordion in Ankara's Polatli district has been arrested, according to information obtained about the incident.
Yunus Emre Guler was taken into custody after the fire broke out in the Yassihoyuk neighborhood and was later arrested by the Polatli Criminal Judgeship of Peace.
Authorities determined that the suspect started the fire with a lighter and had an alcohol level of 2.81 per mille at the time of the incident.
The blaze spread toward the Beylikkopru neighborhood and affected around 250 decares, equivalent to roughly 25 hectares, before firefighters brought it under control.
The fire occurred within a SIT area, a Turkish designation used for legally protected archaeological, historical or natural conservation zones.
The wider area surrounding Gordion carries particular archaeological importance because the site preserves the remains of the ancient capital of Phrygia, an independent Iron Age kingdom that developed in Anatolia.
Set in a rural landscape southwest of Ankara, Gordion includes the Citadel Mound, Lower Town, Outer Town, fortifications and a series of burial mounds, or tumuli, that together shed light on Phrygian architecture, economy, defensive systems and burial traditions.
Gordion was one of the major historical centers of the ancient Near East and stood along trade routes connecting the Aegean and Mediterranean regions with the Near East.
Among its best-known remains is the fortified entrance to the Phrygian citadel, regarded as the best-preserved Iron Age gate complex yet discovered, with surviving stone walls reaching about 10 meters in height.
The site also contains the earliest known colored floor mosaics, while its large Terrace Complex was used for large-scale food preparation and textile production.
Another defining feature of Gordion is the concentration of monumental burial mounds surrounding the settlement. The largest, known as Tumulus MM or the "Midas Mound," rises 53 meters and contains a burial chamber dating to around 740 B.C. that is described as the world's oldest known standing wooden building.
Gordion is protected under Türkiye's cultural heritage legislation and carries the highest level of archaeological conservation designation, while its surrounding landscape is also covered by additional land-use and planning protections.
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