Excavations at the ancient site of Gordion in Turkey have uncovered a dedicated Phrygian scriptorium, a chamber used by royal record-keepers during the 8th century BCE. The site is notable for the discovery of over fifty inscribed bone and ivory tablets featuring early Phrygian script. Unlike common clay tablets, these bone records appear to detail dynastic genealogies and religious liturgies dedicated to the goddess Cybele.
The scriptorium also contained bronze styluses and remnants of mineral-based pigments used for illuminating manuscripts. Researchers state that the find provides the first direct evidence of a centralized administrative archive for the Phrygian kingdom, shedding light on their complex governance and linguistic evolution. The presence of Lydian and Greek loanwords on the tablets suggests that Gordion was a major center of intellectual exchange in the early Iron Age.