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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