Priam's Gold

Troy is one of best known stories from Greek mythology. The story of the Trojan War, the Trojan Horse, and Helen of Troy shows up in many different forms from Homer’s epics to movies.

Priam was the king of Troy during the Trojan War and was said to have had a large and opulent place with a lot of treasure. It was his treasure that Schliemann claimed he found.

 

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There are many layers to the site of Troy and each level has its own history.

Troy I (c. 3000-2550 BCE) was a small village settlement surrounded by stone walls. Pieces of pottery and metal match pieces from the islands in the Aegean and in northern Anatolia.

Troy II (c. 2550-2300 BCE) has larger buildings that are mud-brick and have stone fortifications with monumental gates. Schliemann’s ‘treasure’ finds (objects in gold, silver, electrum, bronze, carnelian and lapis lazuli) were found at this level. This treasure includes 60 earrings, six bracelets, two magnificent diadems and 8750 rings, all in solid gold.¹

Troy III – Troy V (c. 2300-1750 BCE) is the most difficult period to reconstruct as the layers were hastily removed in early excavations in order to reach the lower levels. Further excavations have shown that the 3^rd level of Troy turns out to actually be the last phase of level 2. This level had fire damage, stout walls, and 16 hoards (some hoards had valuable objects and others useful everyday objects). ²

Troy VI (c. 1750-1300 BCE) is the period most visible today at the site and is the most likely the besieged city of Homer’s Trojan War. Impressive fortification walls about 5 meters thick and up to 8 meters high, were constructed from large limestone blocks. The walls also included several towers which demonstrated prosperity but also concern for defense. The walls would have been topped by a mud brick and wood superstructure, and with close fitting stonework sloping inwards. Additionally, sections of the walls are slightly offset every 10 meters or so in order to curve around the city without corners which were a weak point in wall. This feature is unique to Troy and displays an independence from both Mycenaean and Hittite influence. ³ Outside the fortified citadel the lower town covers an impressive 270,000 square meters protected by a steep ditch.
There is evidence that Troy VI was partially destroyed but the exact cause is not known beyond evidence of a fire. Bronze arrow heads, spear tips and sling shots have been found and even some were found embedded in the fortification walls, suggesting some sort of conflict. The dates of these (c. 1250 BCE) and the site destruction correlate with Herodotus’ dates for the Trojan War.

Troy VIIa (c. 1300-1180 BCE) and Troy VIIb (c. 1180-950 BCE) both display an increase in the size of the lower town and some reconstruction of the fortifications. There is also evidence that both Troy VIIa and Troy VIIb were destroyed by fires.

Troy VIII and Troy IX (c. 950 BCE to 550 CE) are the sites of Greek Ilion and Roman Ilium respectively. ⁴

In March 2014, it was announced that a new excavation would take place to be sponsored by a private company and carried out by Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University. This will be the first Turkish team to excavate and was planned as a 12-month excavation led by associate professor Rüstem Aslan. ⁵

 

 

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