How archaeologists found the lost city of Troy

How archaeologists found the lost city of Troy

Troy has been fascinating people for thousands of years. In the 1870s, Heinrich Schliemann’s discovered in turkey, the once believed to be purely mythological, the lost city emerged as a real place in history.

In Turkey, archaeologists have made an amazing discovery now that the ancient city could be 600 years older than was previously believed. This could transform our understanding of the historic city and our past.

The archaeological site of Troy, the specialist has been working on the site, from the Department of Archeology at the University of Canakkale Onsekiz Mart (COMU).

In 2018 the Turkish Government celebrated this ceremony on the 20th anniversary of Troy, which has become the World Heritage Site of UNESCO since 1988. it is located in Turkey’s north-western Çanakkale province. It is located on a mound or tells, Hisarlık overlooking the Aegean.

Through his epic poem, The Iliad, Troy was immortalized by Homer, the legendary Greek poet. In the classical world, The work was a key text in the Classical World and is often regarded as the first work in Western Literature.

The historicity of the city was proven by German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann in the 1870s, who is regarded as one of the founders of modern archaeology.

The BBC reports that Troy was the setting of the ‘‘Greek Trojan War in which Spartan and Achaean warriors from Greece besieged the city in 13th century B.C’’.

When Schliemann found the site, he believed that he had found evidence of the Trojan War that was so famously portrayed in the epic poem The Iliad.

The German even named gold items he found after characters in the Homeric poem, such as ‘ Priam’s treasure’ and ‘Helen’s jewels’. However, there is much more to the history of the city than the reputed Greek and Trojan war.

Troy was destroyed and rebuilt many times over the millennia. It was built on a very strategic site and was as a result possibly attacked many times by invaders. The city may also have been burnt down accidentally. Moreover, earthquakes also may have destroyed the legendary city.

Since the 19 th century, ‘‘a total of 10 layers of settlements were discovered’’ reports Greece High Definition. Experts have called the layers Troy I to Troy XI.

The first layer was found by Schliemann and every layer found since has been numbered and they have yielded many artefacts. These layers all represent settlements from  Bronze Age cultures to the Byzantine Empire.

The new layer which indicates a previously unknown destroyed settlement on the site has been termed Troy 0. Rüstem Aslan of COMU told the BBC. “We found traces of burns, pottery and wooden beams in the Troy 0 layer”. The archaeologists had found evidence for the earliest occupation of the location.

Based on the evidence found previously it was believed that the city was approximately 4,900 years old and dated to the Bronze Age. However, the latest discovery would indicate that the city was first established around 3,500 BC. This means that the settlement to the south of the Dardanelles dates back an astonishing 5,500 years.

According to Greece High Definition, this ‘‘suggests the area may have been used as a  settlement more than six centuries earlier than previously known’’.

Based on the various layers found at the ancient site, it appears the city had a very ancient and complex history.

The latest finds, according to Argophila ‘‘may reshape our view of this fascinating ancient city’’. Historians are hoping the new layer at Troy may also provide new information not only on the evolution of the city but also on Bronze Age societies.

Given the cultural and historic significance of the storied city, any future investigations will be closely followed around the globe.