Troy: Heinrich Schliemann's first trench

Many years ago I stumbled on the amazing tale of Heinrich Schliemann (1822-1890): a business genius with a love of fame, gold and the Homeric epics.

He made two immense fortunes and then devoted them to archaeology: his life's ambition was to find Troy. Money was needed for permission to undertake archaeological digs, and the digging itself was a long and very expensive operation.

Schliemann learned many languages, and liked to quote verbatim from Homer's Iliad.

So, when faced with the choice of visiting Gallipoli or Troy, both sites of heroic sieges and catastrophic defeats, there was only one possible answer for me.


In today's photograph, looking northwards from the site of Troy, can be seen in the far distance (look at the enlarged photo for this) a strip of water with land behind it. This is the entrance to the Dardanelles strait, and the Gallipoli peninsula can just be discerned behind it.


The Troy site has none of the visual drama of Athens, Pergamon or Rome. The city was destroyed and rebuilt many times. Yet there is a more cerebral drama. The site presents us with remains of nine different cities, spanning a period of three millennia, each built on top of its predecessor.

One extant tall section of city wall leans backwards, expertly designed to minimise earthquake damage. At a much older level, private houses are built of unbaked red clay bricks. It is difficult to keep track of where we are and how long ago it was.

Schliemann was no trained archaelogist, and his many excavations are regarded today as little better than wanton vandalism. He did however succeed in identifying Troy and putting both it and archaeology firmly on the map. Schliemann's plan to identify the Troy of Homer's Iliad never bore fruit: several of the city layers give evidence of destruction by fire, but fire could equally well be the consequence of earthquakes.

Today's photograph is of the enormous first trench at Troy, dug by Schliemann in 1871.


Tomorrow: Istanbul.