The City Behind the Story
Ancient visitors knew Troy as a real place, while later scholars debated its location and the historical basis of its epic stories. Then Heinrich Schliemann, a German businessman with no archaeological training, used Homer's Iliad as a treasure map and found a real city buried in a hillside in Turkey.
He also found gold — a dazzling hoard he named "Priam's Treasure." Newspapers went wild. The world believed. But Schliemann had dug right through the city he was looking for, identified the wrong layer, and lied about key details of his discovery.
The city was real. The gold was real. But was the war real? That question is still unanswered.
1873
Heinrich Schliemann — a self-taught archaeologist and former merchant — excavated the hill of Hisarlik in Turkey and found gold, silver, and bronze objects he called "Priam's Treasure." He was convinced he had found Homer's Troy.
9 Cities
Nine traditionally numbered major phases, each with smaller stages of occupation and rebuilding.
15,700 lines
The Iliad grew from an oral epic tradition using rhythm, recurring phrases and scenes; composition was more than memorising a fixed book.
~1180 BC
A burned destruction layer and a proposed setting for a historical conflict; it does not identify Homer’s war.
The Evidence
Priam's Treasure
Historical photograph of Sophia Schliemann wearing jewellery from Treasure A, around 1873. Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
Gold earrings, bracelets, a golden headdress, silver cups, and bronze weapons — found by Schliemann in Troy II. He named them after King Priam, but they date to roughly 2550–2300 BC, far earlier than the usual proposed setting for Homer’s war.
Nine Cities Deep
Hisarlik’s traditional nine-phase sequence includes many smaller stages. Schliemann’s trenches damaged later remains while reaching Troy II, much earlier than the usual proposed setting of a historical Trojan conflict.
The Hittite Connection
Ancient Hittite clay tablets mention a place called "Wilusa" (possibly Troy/Ilion) and a people called "Ahhiyawa" (possibly Homer's Achaeans/Greeks) — with diplomatic conflicts between them at the right time period.
Comparing the Clues
The Poem
Homer composes The Iliad, describing a war at Troy roughly 400 years before his own time. It grows from a long oral tradition; the poet’s identity and the history of its written form remain debated.
Calvert's Discovery
British diplomat Frank Calvert buys part of the hill of Hisarlik in Turkey. He studies the landscape and becomes convinced it is the site of ancient Troy.
Schliemann Digs
Heinrich Schliemann begins excavating at Hisarlik on Calvert's advice. He cuts enormous trenches through the mound, hiring over a hundred workers.
"Priam's Treasure"
Schliemann discovers a hoard of gold, silver, and bronze objects. He names it after King Priam and declares he has found Homer's Troy. He smuggles the treasure out of Turkey.
A Different Candidate
American archaeologist Carl Blegen identifies Troy VIIa — destroyed by fire around 1180 BC — as the best candidate for Homer's Troy. Schliemann had dug right through it.
The Bigger City
Manfred Korfmann's excavations reveal a large lower city beyond the citadel walls. The extent and interpretation of that lower settlement become subjects of further research and debate.
The People in This Story
Heinrich Schliemann
A German businessman who retired wealthy and devoted the rest of his life to finding Troy. He found real gold and real cities — but identified the wrong layer, destroyed crucial evidence, and lied about key details.
Frank Calvert
A British diplomat who owned part of Hisarlik and identified it as Troy before Schliemann arrived. He guided Schliemann to the right hill but received almost no credit for over a century.
Carl Blegen
An American archaeologist from the University of Cincinnati who excavated Troy in the 1930s. He identified Troy VIIa — destroyed by fire around 1180 BC — as the most likely candidate for Homer's city.
The Question That Remains
Troy was real. The gold was real. A destruction layer belongs broadly to the period of Trojan War traditions, but does not identify the attackers or establish the events in Homer.
Did the epic preserve memories of one conflict or draw on several? Compare the destruction layers, diplomatic records and poem: which questions can each actually answer?
Read the full book to investigate the key clues and competing explanations — then decide for yourself.
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Ancient cities, remarkable structures, and the communities who built them. Explore the evidence and the living histories behind the ruins.
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Check the evidence
What the evidence supports
Hisarlik preserves a long-lived settlement with many rebuilding episodes conventionally grouped into nine major phases. Schliemann’s Treasure A comes from an earlier period than the usual setting of the Trojan War. Documentary research contradicts his account of Sophia helping at the discovery. Later excavations recorded Late Bronze Age remains and a lower settlement. A 2025 metal study concerns Early Bronze Age sources and workshop practices.
Where to be careful
A fire or destruction layer cannot identify Homer’s attackers or prove a ten-year siege. Wilusa–Ilion and Ahhiyawa–Achaean comparisons are scholarly identifications; a Hittite diplomatic disagreement is not a transcript of the epic. Exact destruction chronologies and the poem’s relationship to particular events remain debated.
Explore the sources
These selected sources support this guide and offer further reading. Some are written for adults; explore them with a parent or teacher.
- University of Tübingen: Troy excavation history
- University of Cincinnati: Troy excavation record
- UNESCO: Archaeological Site of Troy
- Traill: Schliemann’s discovery of Priam’s Treasure, documentary evidence (1984)
- Early Bronze Age copper alloys from Troy: chemistry and lead isotopes (2025)
The story and illustrations are modern retellings. Imagined scene details are not historical evidence. These sources are a starting point, not citations for every narrative detail.
Evidence guide reviewed .