Troy, the city described by Homer in the Iliad, is an ancient fortified settlement in Asia Minor, located off the Aegean Sea, near the entrance to the Dardanelles. When holidaying in Turkey, you shouldn't miss the chance to see this grand city. to see this grandiose city and once again remember the events described by Homer. Homer. In the ruins of Troy, you can visit several archaeological areas belonging to specific cultural layers. in the ruins of Troy, you can visit several archaeological zones that belong to specific cultural layers and learn about the life of the people who inhabited the land.
The excavation of the ancient city was started in 1870 by the German amateur archaeologist and entrepreneur Heinrich Schliemann. and entrepreneur Heinrich Schliemann. He had been fascinated by the story of Troy since childhood and was convinced of the existence of this settlement. Excavations began on a hillside, near the village of Hissarlik. The ruins of nine cities were discovered. one beneath the other. The archaeologist found a large number of objects made of bone, stone, copper and precious metals. At the bottom of the hill, Heinrich Schliemann stumbled upon a very ancient fortress, which he called with complete certainty the city of of Priam. After Schliemann's death in 1890, the work was continued by his colleague Wilhelm Dörpfeld. In 1893 and 1894 he excavated a more extensive perimeter of Troy VI. This particular city belongs to the Mycenaean era and therefore it was recognised as Homer's Troy. In the area of this cultural layer, bearing clear traces of the fire, the most intensive excavations are now being the most intensive excavations are being carried out.
In ancient times, Troy played a leading role in the region both militarily and economically. both militarily and economically. It had a large fortress and a defence fort on the seashore, which gave it control over the movement of ships across the Hellespont and the roads linking Asia and Europe by land. The ruler of the city taxed or denied entry of goods. This led to many conflicts in the region that began in the Bronze Age. Economic and cultural ties connected Troy at that time not with the East, but with the West and the Aegean civilisation. the West and the Aegean civilisation. The city was inhabited almost continuously for three and a half millennia. for three and a half millennia.
Thanks to archaeological excavations, it is known that most of Troy's buildings were built on low stone foundations, and their walls were constructed from of raw brick. When the buildings were destroyed, their debris was not cleared away, but rather but only levelled to make way for new buildings. In the ruins of Troy. there are nine main layers with their own subdivisions. The peculiarities of settlements of different epochs can be characterised as follows.
The first city was a small fortress, the diameter of which did not was no more than 90 metres in diameter. The structure had a strong defence wall with square towers and gates. towers and gates. Pottery from this period has a polished surface of grey and black and is moulded without the use of a potter's wheel. There are copper implements.
On the ruins of the first fortress, a large citadel with a diameter of about 125 metres was built. metres in diameter. It also had high thick walls, gates and projecting towers. К Southeast side of the fortress was led by a ramp. The defence wall was twice twice and expanded as the city grew in power and wealth. В in the centre of the fortress are the ruins of a palace with a beautiful portico and a huge main hall. main hall. The palace was surrounded by a courtyard with small dwellings and warehouses. warehouses. The seven phases of Troy II formed overlapping architectural layers. overlapping architectural layers. In the last phase, the settlement perished in a fire so intense. so intense that its heat crumbled the stone and brick and turned it to ashes. to ashes. Judging from the large amount of valuables and household items found. the fire was sudden and the inhabitants of the town had no time to take anything with them. to take anything with them.
The settlements of Troy III, IV and V consist of clusters of small houses, separated by narrow streets. Each is larger in size than the preceding one. These periods are represented by vessels with moulded representations of the human face. Along with local wares, imported goods characteristic of mainland Greece are also found. mainland Greece.
The early stages of settlement VI are marked by evidence of horses. At this At this time, the city was exceptionally rich and powerful. The diameter of its fortress was over 180 metres in diameter and its hewn stone wall was about 5 metres wide. metres wide. There were at least four gates and three towers around the perimeter of the citadel. towers. Inside the settlement, large buildings and palaces with columns rising from the walls were arranged in concentric circles. palaces with columns rising on terraces to the centre of the hill. The end of this was a very strong earthquake that cracked the walls and collapsed the buildings themselves. and collapsed the buildings themselves. In all the later stages of Troy VI, the main type of of local pottery remained the grey Minoan pottery, which was supplemented by a few amphorae brought from Greece and vessels imported in the Mycenaean era.
The area was later repopulated. Again, the remaining parts of walls and building blocks. The houses were now built smaller, they were pressed together so that the fortress could hold many more people. people. The floors of the houses now held large jars for supplies in case of in case of any calamity. The first period of Troy VII burned, but some of the population returned and settled back on the hill. Later, another tribe joined the inhabitants. tribe who brought with them pottery made without a potter's wheel, which points to Troy's links with Europe. It now became a Greek city. Troy was quite prosperous in the early periods, but by the 6th century BC some of the of the population had left the city and it fell into disrepair. On the south-western slope of the acropolis. there are remains of a temple of Athena from that time.
During the Hellenistic period, this place played no role, except for the memories of the heroes of the past. except for the memories of its heroic past. In 334 BC, Alexander the Great made a pilgrimage to the city. His successors and the Roman emperors of the dynasty of Julian-Claudian dynasty carried out a large-scale reconstruction of the city. The top of the hill was cut and levelled so that the VI, VII and VIII layers of Troy were mixed together. Here they built a temple of Athena with a sacred precinct. A little to the south, on a flat the public buildings were erected and walled, and on the northeastern slope, a large theatre was built. In the time of Constantine the Great. the city flourished and the ruler even intended to make it the capital, but the settlement lost its importance again with the rise of Constantinople.
Nowadays, the area around Troy has changed beyond recognition. The silty sediments of the local rivers flowing into the bay have moved the coastline several kilometres north. kilometres to the north. The ruins of the ancient city now sit on a dry. high ground. A team of scientists has dated fossils found in the soil soil from the two river valleys using radiocarbon analyses. Using this data. the researchers were able to determine the topography of the area in the age of Homer. Homeric era.
Now the restoration of the famous Trojan horse has been completed at the excavation site. Trojan horse and tourists visiting Turkey have a unique opportunity to view this wooden masterpiece. this wooden masterpiece, which exactly matches Homer's description. The Trojan The Trojan Horse, which once helped the cunning Achaeans to capture the city, is now an original panoramic platform. the original panoramic platform. Unfortunately, apart from the model of the horse, there's little here to attract the traveller's eye. It's believed to be one of the world's of the world's greatest fairy tales, so it's enough to soak up the atmosphere. into the atmosphere.
