Excavation of Troy

Heinrich Schliemann was a

German businessman and an AMATEUR archaeologist.

He was the archaeological excavator of Troy, Mycenae and Tiryns

His work made many believe that the Troy of legend reflected actual historical events.

Heinrich Schliemann

The archaeological site of Troy was not in fact

found by Schliemann, but by Frank Calvert. Calvert had claimed he had already found the

historical site of Homeric Troy in Hissarlik. Hissarlik was a region east of Turkey, located

within farmland owned by Calvert’s family.

Frank Calvert and Schliemann

In 1868, Schliemann and

Calvert found a series of ancient cities dating from the Bronze age to the Roman period.

Schliemann, believing that Homeric Troy must’ve been in the lower levels, dug through the upper levels of the site.

Schliemann believed he had found Troy at level 2 of the site.

The excavation

Troy II showed an increase in sophistication

and wealth in Troy. Troy II was destroyed by a huge fire. Precious objects were left in place but no

human bodies were found. Included in the finds were beautiful

craftsmanship of female jewelry and ornaments, indicating high status of females

Imported goods – stone axes, copper and bronze weapons

Schliemann’s Troy II

Schliemann went on to crown his achievement

by unearthing the Treasure of Prima which consisted of golden pendants, earrings, bracelets, rings and two diadems.

Schliemann claimed he saw the treasures, which he then passed on to his wife.

His wife was actually in Athens at the time of the discovery.

Treasure of Priam

Troy II artifacts

Troy II artifacts

Troy II artifacts

Schliemann began excavating Troy before

Archaeology was considered a professional field with standards in placed.

Schliemann employed an extremely destructive way of excavating.

He dug a huge trench through many layers of the stratigraphy, destroying large walls in the process

Accused of ‘salting’ finds. Schliemann was never precise about the location

of his finds.

Schliemann’s errors

Although Schliemann had made mistakes, he

did find evidence of a Bronze age civilisation shrouded in myth.

Some information in Homer had been authenticated by Schliemann’s finds.

Homer described things such as bronze swords, chariots, boar’s tusk helmets and great shields, which Schliemann either found, or found frescoes depicting them.

Importance of Schliemann’s finds

Houses rebuilt in haste, which were crowded in the

streets and beside a great city wall. Fragments of human remains in houses and streets. A twisted skeleton with a crushed skull has been

found. A huge amount of storage jars set in the floors of

houses have been found. Based on pottery found, it is believed to be from

mid to late 13th century – Trojan war 1282. Troy VII was thought to be a hilltop fort

Troy VIIa

Troys

TROY II Well built citadel

with 10 metre high walls.

Period of economic growth.

Development of pottery and metallurgy.

Manny treasures found

Destruction by fire

TROY VI Huge fortress. Stone walls, towers

and palace. Mycenaean pottery

found. Lower town was

surrounded by a ditch and palisade.

Abundant storage jars

Troy was An important city within the region

A Bronze Age city, which in all essentials, as far as the layout of the city and the citadel, as well as the diagnostic finds was orientated towards Anatolia rather than the Aegean

Troy was also known as Wilusa, a regional power which became a vassal of the Hittites in the 13th century BC

Conclusion of Korfmann

After his excavations at Troy, using the work of

Pausanias, an ancient Greek travel writer, Schliemannn excavated Mycenae.

Mycenae was described by Homer as ‘rich in gold’.

Myceane was the home of Agamemnon, leader of the Greeks at the time of the Trojan war..

Within the walls of the Mycenaean citadel he discovered a circle of shaft graves.

Schliemann at Mycenae

Graves consisted of 15 skeletons covered in

gold. Schliemann announced ‘I do not for a moment

hesitate to proclaim that I have found here the sepulchres which tradition attributes to the king of men, Agamemnon’.

SCHLIEMANN WAS WRONG AGAIN Bodies belonged to a much earlier period in

Greek history.

Shaft Graves at Mycenae