Troy in fact and Legend
There is Troy in legend and in fact. Many scholars believed that Troy was a story book place that only existed in the imagination of Homer.
There was one man who believed that this Greek writer was telling stories about a real city. He was a German scholar called Heinrich Schleimann. Many thought he was nuts and disbelieved his theory. Using Homer's book the Iliad as a reference he set out to find Troy. He succeeded and the treasure he found became known as the 'Treasure of Priam.'
It was taken to Germany and in the Second World War the treasure vanished. I believe it has since been located in Russia.
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The Famous Trojan Horse.
The Troy of legend is forever associated with Homer and the Iliad. Here Homer writes the stories of Greek Gods and their influance upon the glory that became the Greek civilization. In the Iliad is an account of the Trogan Wars. These lasted 10 years.
The Greeks had an idea of building a wooden horse and leave it outside the city gates. Unknown to the Trojans there were Greek soldiers hidden inside it. The trick worked and the Trojans pulled the horse inside of the city.
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A model of Troy (Click picture for areial view)
This model shows Troy in the days of Homer's Greece. It was a city that existed for 4000 years.
We now known that the city was rebuilt 9 times.
Troy Vlla is believed to be the city Homer wrote about in the Iliad.
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The Schliemann Excavation
In 1865 an Englishman called Frank Calvert had tried to find Troy. His excavations had been at a small mound called Hisarlik.
Heinrich Schliemann also came to Hisarlik in 1870. He used the Iliad as his primary history source and believed that this was were Troy was.
This is the site of his ruthless excavations. In trying to find gold and silver "treasure" he destroyed much that would have told archeologists about the Trojans and their city.
In 1873 he found the treasure he searched for. This was a collection of silver and gold objects and jewellery. Now known as the Treasure of Priam.
Schliemann sent the finds to Germany. In the Second World War the treasure disappeared. It has been located in Russian. It now lives in the Pushkin Museum in Moscow. |
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The nine cities of Troy
This picture shows that Schliemann realised that Troy had been destoyed several times and then rebuilt. He found evidence of a fire at level 2 and concluded that after the Greeks had sacked Troy they had set fire to the city. Schliemann found two levels but other archeologists have located all 9.
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City Walls
This wall shows that the city walls were constructed from large stone blocks. These were cut to a similar size. They are evidence that Trojan stonemasons were skilled in measurement and had tools to cut and shape the stone blocks. |
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The remains in the 21st Century
These excavations appear to show the outline of buildings. There is a structure that seems to be a well. Other stone objects might be parts of buildings.
It was a difficult exercise to make sense of the many stone blocks which littered the site of Troy.
There were many pieces laid out and marked. This suggested that leading archeologists were trying to piece together the ruins. These would be put together again when all the pieces had been found and identified.
This was certainly a giant size jigsaw puzzle undertaking.
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The fertile countryside.
The countryside around Troy shows why the city flurished here for 4000 years. The land was rich and fertile. The city was in a strategic location. The surrounding countryside could be guarded from the city watch towers.The sea was not far away.Thus allowing trade and commerce to flurish and the city to grow rich and powerful. |
