Troy
Photo: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA)
Interest
Settlement Layers
9+ major phases
Date Range
c. 3000 BCE – 500 CE
UNESCO Status
World Heritage Site (1998)
First Excavation
1870 (Schliemann)
“Troy sits at the intersection of archaeology, literature, and cultural memory.”
Troy or Ilion was an ancient city located in present-day Çanakkale, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site, with its multiple settlement layers spanning four millennia, was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1998.
read_wikipedia →overview
Troy (Hisarlık) is located near the western entrance to the Dardanelles in Çanakkale Province. The site contains at least nine major settlement layers (Troy I through Troy IX), spanning from approximately 3000 BCE to the Byzantine period. The identification of Hisarlık with Homer's Troy was proposed by Frank Calvert and dramatically pursued by Heinrich Schliemann, who began excavations in 1870. Schliemann's aggressive digging methods damaged much of the site, but his discoveries — including "Priam's Treasure" (actually from Troy II, over a millennium earlier than the Homeric period) — captured worldwide attention. Troy VI/VIIa (c. 1700–1180 BCE) is the most likely candidate for the city described in Homer's Iliad. Troy VI was a prosperous citadel with impressive fortification walls, while Troy VIIa shows signs of destruction by fire around 1180 BCE, roughly corresponding to the traditional date of the Trojan War. The site was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998.
why_it_matters
evidence
Distinguishing what is well-established from what remains debated.
confirmed
2- Hisarlık contains multiple settlement layers spanning from c. 3000 BCE to the Byzantine period.
- Troy VIIa was destroyed by fire around 1180 BCE.
inferred
1- Troy VI/VIIa is the most likely candidate for the city described in Homer's Iliad.
debated
2- Whether a historical "Trojan War" actually occurred is still debated among scholars.
- The size and significance of the lower city (discovered by Korfmann) is contested by some archaeologists.
excavation
Schliemann's excavations
Led by Heinrich Schliemann
Heinrich Schliemann conducted dramatic but destructive excavations, discovering "Priam's Treasure."
Dörpfeld's work
Led by Wilhelm Dörpfeld
Wilhelm Dörpfeld identified Troy VI as the probable Homeric city.
Cincinnati excavations
Led by Carl Blegen / University of Cincinnati
Carl Blegen established the detailed stratigraphic sequence used today.
Korfmann project
Led by Manfred Korfmann / University of Tübingen
Manfred Korfmann revealed a much larger lower city, showing Troy was bigger than previously thought.
More Photos
Museum Artifacts
location
Related Sites
sources
- Troy and the Trojans — Carl Blegen (1963)
- UNESCO World Heritage — TroyLink