Troy
Troy is without doubt the most confusing archaeological site in the world! Even though I am fairly well versed in the subject I was lost in a sea of confusion at Troy. Once does need a considerable amount of time at the site to get to grips with the place and the layout, but as a tourist that isn’t going to happen. The only thing that is certain is that Troy is well worth visiting. Luckily there are plenty of noticeboards around the site giving information and photos of these can be found below, if one is so inclined to get into detail.
One may think the story of the Trojan War in the Iliad by Homer is nothing but a fable because Troy seems remarkably small, but any amount of studying will tell you that the Troy of the Trojan War – Troy VI – was much bigger than the Troy offered to tourists today. Ground penetrating radar has discovered an outer city wall dating to the correct time period that covers a much wider area, and the outer walls of Troy VI that do remain show clearly what an impenetrable fortress the city was during that time. Archaeological excavations also confirm there was a war dating to the correct time, the location of Troy is exactly where Homer wrote about the city, and the harbour that was supposedly there but today is missing has been clearly proven to have been there by the silted up area heading out towards the current sea line. Everything is in place. The only thing that is missing, archaeologically speaking, is where the Greek army were camped. There must be some evidence of the camp in the surrounding areas and hopefully the new LIDAR will discover such a place when archaeologists finally use it at the site. What will most likely never be proven, however, is the existence of Helen of Troy, a Trojan Horse, and the reason for the wars, unless some historical evidence comes to light. That will be extremely unlikely as finds such as a tomb with the name “Helen of Troy” carved on the front only occur in people’s dreams. I sincerely hope, however, the idea that the story will never be proven will actually be proven wrong some day! As more of the story becomes historical fact, we must begin to accept that Homer’s account was a story of real events. In the meantime, Troy still provides fantasies and dreams of the best kind; of princesses married to kings, who fall in love and elope with handsome princes, followed by those very same kings gathering entire armies to bring her back. It’s the kind of fantasy every little girl loves, and it’s also the foundation of western literature, so let’s hope for sanity’s sake the story is never disproven. Mind you, it’s not exactly the kind of story that promotes faithfulness so probably best not to tell your daughters the Trojan stories at bedtime too often!
Troy is the longest continually inhabited place in the world. The first fortifications date to around 3000 BC and the site was finally abandoned in around 500 AD. At least, that’s the date when any major building projects ceased. Troy seems to have been still in use as a village until well into the Ottoman Empire period, and in the 14th Century it disappears from the record books. Troy has been occupied and abandoned several times and has suffered earthquakes and fires more than any other inhabited place on earth.
In the beginning Troy I was a small fortified mound around 300 feet long and contained many buildings. Lasting for around 400 years until it was redeveloped, the ramp that was built as the main entrance to the village is still clearly intact. The expansion of Troy (Troy II) occurred in 2550 BC and it was then extended to around 1000 feet in length, which was a threefold expansion on the original. The city walls became 12 feet wide and 18 feet high. No doubt a population explosion resulted in the need for a larger encampment, and perhaps outside threats were increasing in which the natives felt a huge outer wall was necessary. Troy II was destroyed 300 years later in a huge fire.
Little is known or remains regarding Troy III and after various building programmes and yet another huge fire, Troy III was destroyed just 50 years after it was started. It seems that war was a constant theme at this time. In 2200 BC, Troy IV, now twice the size of Troy II, enjoyed a lengthy and prosperous time, lasting until 1730 BC. The city seems to have been abandoned and yet another fire caused its destruction. Troy V appears to begin with a new population although few real archaeological finds have surfaced. New cooking techniques were used and the city was amalgamated from Troy IV into Troy V, which dates from 1900 BC to around 1730 BC.
We then see the rise of the famous Troy VI, the Troy of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey and of Virgil’s Aeneid. Various structural alterations were made to the city and it expanded to cover a huge area, an inner citadel surrounded by an outer city which contained a second defensive wall to protect the civilians. Excavations have shown these fortifications were virtually impenetrable, with a wide ditch added beyond the city walls for extra protection, and thus back up Homer’s story of the Trojan wars and the ten-year standoff between the Greeks and the Trojans. The dates in reference to the ten-year Greek siege tend to vary, with some estimates placing the wars sometime between 1260 and 1240 BC, and historical sources giving a date of 1194 to 1184 BC. Astronomical dating of an eclipse mentioned by Homer, however, supposedly give an accurate date of 1188 BC for the use of the horse and the razing to the ground of the great Trojan city. This puts the beginning of the ten-year siege at 1198 BC, but modern sources always seem to promote the date as 1250 BC.
Out of the ashes comes Troy VII, which continues until 950 BC, again ended by another earthquake. At that time the city is abandoned for 250 years. In 700 BC Troy is once again inhabited (Troy VIII, 700 BC to 85 BC), this time by the Greeks, and much of the city was reconstructed. The final stage of Troy – IX, 85 BC to 500 AD – was inhabited by the Romans and the city lives in relative harmony for that period. It was the silting of the river, however, that caused the final nail in the coffin for what has been arguably the most incredible city in the history of humanity.
My personal visit to Troy was a cold, windy day on Thursday 12 March, 2015. The confusion of the inner city part of Troy, which is what visitors will see, is something that will leave your mind spinning. I always try not to have guides or go on tours and I despise the kind of shepherding that occurs at sites while you fight with other tourists who are taking constant selfies and paying no attention to the guide whatsoever… which is something I noticed at Troy! A coach load of Japanese tourists with selfie sticks were the most annoying thing I encountered at Troy and it’s something that will be seen in greater numbers in the near future. I am referring to those horrible selfie sticks, not coach loads of tourists – people seem more interested in taking photos of themselves than paying attention to their tour guide. Troy, however, is one of the few places where, if you really want to understand the archaeology that exists, only a guide will be able to help you fully understand the site. I never had a guide at the site because I’m usually knowledgeable enough not to, but I did wonder on many occasions that perhaps I should have this time around. Troy is also the most bizarre site I have ever visited simply because of the many walls that criss-cross the area. It seems remarkably small, but then a leap of the imagination is required to bring it all to life.
Troy is a must-see place if one is passing through the area and the actual surroundings of Troy are remarkably picturesque. Be warned though, a summer visit would be a struggle for any photographer wishing to get good shots as the erected walkways only allow for a small number of people to pass at any one time. So, if a coach load of tourists with a guide pass through, you’ll have to wait until all 50 of them have gone… and then you’ll get a few moments before the next lot pass you by!
Troy is an extremely unusual and yet magical place. It’s certainly a “must see before I die” place for anyone interested in ancient history.
References:
Akan Atila, I; Pergamon & Troy (new edition); Guney Kartpostal, Antalya, Turkey.
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/849
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/606871/Troy
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- Where else are you supposed to stay when you are visiting Troy the next day? Hotel in nearby Çanakkale
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- Obligatory cat photo
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- The walls of Troy VI and the foundations of a tower
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- Various walls on the outer edge
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- Walls mostly from Troy VI. Under the canopy in the background are the protected mud brick walls of Troy II
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- Information board showing aerial view of (mostly) Troy VI palaces and walls
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- Information board
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- Information board
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- Original steps leading to a modern viewing platform
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- From the platform, Troy VI walls and the tower
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- Troy VI walls and the tower foundations
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- Troy VI walls
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- Troy VI walls. To the right can be seen the outer edge that heads down to the ancient river
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- Is it a bird? A tortoise? No, it’s an unknown photo, probably showing an earlier wall
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- Walls from different time periods
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- Profile of a Troy VI wall
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- Double walls from Troy VI extending from the tower. Probably an entrance even in historical times
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- Probably a water channel
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- The inward sloping walls of Troy VI. Originally they were much higher than today
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- Our hero touching the walls of Troy VI
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- The outer wall
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- Outer walls
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- The path into the city
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- So many walls, things get confusing from here on
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- Steps and a palace wall from Troy VI
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- Troy VI palaces
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- Troy VI palace foundations
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- Troy VI palace
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- Troy VI palace area
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- Looks like a rubbish tip but it’s 5,000 years of history!
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- Further inside, earlier Troy walls appear
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- Solid foundations from Troy IX
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- Walls from various time periods being excavated
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- Information board
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- Information board image of Troy VI tower
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- The thick walls of the tower
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- Many different Troy walls. Note the height from the camera position
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- Centre right can be seen much earlier walls
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- Unmistakeable Roman and Greek-era, Troy VIII and Troy IX, known then as Ilion
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- Stunning view to the flat plain and the now vanished river
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- Troy VIII and IX, Roman foundations
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- Various stones can be seen and different construction methods in these early walls
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- Different building techniques
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- Greek Ionic temple columns scattered amongst the stones
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- Unexcavated mounds from Troy I and a column base, centre left, from Troy VIII – IX
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- Walls from Troy I
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- Perfectly straight…
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- Troy III walls
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- Troy II and Troy III (right)
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- Troy III (left) and Troy II walls
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- Rainfall has damaged the mud brick walls, hence the need for a roof
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- Troy II
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- The best preserved fortifications of Troy II
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- Troy II
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- Original foundation stones of Troy II – III
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- Troy II
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- Troy II
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- Here on in things start to get confusing. Troy walls from many different periods here
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- Several different foundations, Troy II can be clearly seen
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- Unknown walls
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- The mess of Troy I & II
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- Troy II in the background and most likely Troy VIII – IX walls in the foreground
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- Troy II fortifications
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- Unexcavated Troy I and II
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- Looks like one of Schliemann’s trenches and the rubble mounds he created
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- Troy II foundation walls
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- Troy II
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- Information board
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- Troy II in its heyday
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- Troy I and II
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- Heinrich Schliemann’s infamous trench
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- Information board
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- Troy I and II
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- Troy II
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- Troy II
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- Walls from Troy II, III, IV, VI and IX
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- Walls from Troy II, III, IV, VI and IX
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- Information board showing cross section. Troy I at the bottom in faded blue and Troy VIII – IX at the top in light blue
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- Troy II walls
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- Troy II walls
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- Troy II
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- The well-preserved entrance ramp of Troy II
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- Hellenistic well from Troy VIII
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- The entrance ramp
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- The entrance ramp Troy II
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- Troy II walls
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- Information board
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- Picture of original Troy II ramp and outer walls
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- Troy II
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- Troy II walls and entrance ramp
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- Troy II wall
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- Troy II with a Troy VI wall on the left
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- Troy II with a Troy VI wall on the left
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- With the ramp on the right, a view of the inner citadel of Troy II
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- Troy II view from the walls of Troy VI
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- Looking down onto the wall of Troy VI with the outer walls of Troy II in the background
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- Troy II
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- Troy II and Troy VI
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- Troy VI
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- Troy VI and VIII- IX
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- Well built Troy VI walls
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- Troy VI
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- Outer citadel of Troy VI with an unmistakable Roman house layered over the top
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- Impenetrable walls of Troy VI
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- Troy VI
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- Troy VI with a Roman (Troy IX) sanctuary top right
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- Troy VI outer citadel
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- Troy VI house walls
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- Information board
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- Troy VI house
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- Troy VI
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- Troy VI street
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- Troy VI street
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- Troy VIII – IX sanctuary
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- Troy VI walls (right) with Greek and Roman sanctuary
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- Troy VIII – IX
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- Troy VIII – IX
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- Information board
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- Troy VIII – IX. The sanctuary can be clearly seen at the bottom
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- Troy VIII – IX sanctuary
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- Troy VI and Troy VIII – IX
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- Roman pot, probably placed rather than in situ
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- Many different Troy walls
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- Roman period
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- Troy VI – VII houses
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- Troy VI – VII houses
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- Troy VI – VII houses
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- Beyond the citadel, archaeological features can be clearly seen, showing that once the city was much bigger
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- Troy IX Roman building
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- Troy IX Roman walls
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- Troy IX Roman walls
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- Roman temple with column
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- Roman temple
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- Roman temple
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- Roman temple, Troy IX
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- Tiny Roman theatre, Troy IX
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- Troy VI inner citadel walls stretch from the theatre
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- Roman theatre
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- Troy VI
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- Information board of interesting find
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- Diagram of find
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- Troy VI inner citadel defensive walls (left) and Roman wall (centre)
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- Troy VI walls and Roman foundation walls in foreground
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- Troy VI walls and Roman fortifications in foreground
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- The original entrance to Troy VI
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- Troy VI
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- The original entrance to Troy VI
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- Information board
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- Picture of Troy VI showing original entrance (left). The image shows how high and impenetrable the city was
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- Entrance to Troy VI
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- Entrance to Troy VI and city walls
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- Entrance to Troy VI
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- Full circle and back near the access entrance
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- Huge wooden horse in the entrance. It’s possible to climb up the ladder and sit inside
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- The huge wooden horse
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- Artistic version with huge trees
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- Peeking through the trees
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- The big horse
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- Last but not least, obligatory cat has decided to get up
