The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1875-04-06

New ExcAvAT1oNs ON THE FIELD OF
TRoY.-The Schliemann excavations
on the field of Troy are about to
be resumed, the German explorer,
according to the Lera,a i1e7 il1a,! sa.d,
having come to an amicable az
rangement with the Porte in regard
to the object discovered by him at
Hissarlik, of the reputed capital of
Priam. By this arrangement the
antiquities conveyed by the doctor
to Athens will remain in his possess
sion, in return for pecuniary in
demnity which he engages to pay
the Turkish Government, and he
will be allowed to continue his
excavations OF Hissarlik, on condi-
ton thut everything he may Disco
yer henceforth shall become the
property of the Turkish Imperial
Museum. The literary war that
has so long been raging between
classic scholars, respecting the po-
sition of the Homeric Troy, will
probably be definitely settled by
DR.. Schliemann in his further
Investigations. In this age of lite
rary, religious md scientific skep-
ticism, it would be strange if the
Trojan war, the existence of Homer,
and Troy itself, were not called in
question. It seems to be the special
vocation of q certain class of writer's
to sap the foundation of oil that
has heretofore been accepted as
historical truth, to impugn the We
racity of the primitive historians,
and to denounce as vain imaginings
the traditional lore of the Greek
and Roman poets. Herodotus
himself, who was long regarded as
the most mendacious of historians,
and unworthy of belief, recent geo.
graphical discoveries have proven
to be remarkably accurate and re-
liable. It would be strange if he
were not, when we recall the fact
that he publicly read the nine
books of his history before critical
audiences at the Olympic games.
We know that the Homeric
poems were recited at the ancient
Greek festivals; that the story of
Troy was familiar TO an the Greek
people, and that the poet himself
was reported to have been born
in the first century after the Tro-
jan war. sCavilers to the contrary,
there. is every reason to believe
that Troy. did exist; that it was be-
sieged and taken by the Greeks,
and that Homer, though he may
have exaggerated, as poets are
wont to do, the exploits of his he
roes, recited historical facts we'll
known in his time. In what part
of the Troad stood "Troy's proud
walls" has for years been a de-
bateable question. It has been
mere speculation, until Dr.. Schlie-
mann, in 1871, began his excava-
tions at Hissarlik, hill about 100
feet high, on the plain of Troy,
which, in the time of Xerxcs and
Alexander, bore the name of Ilium,
apd was honored by them as the
site of the ancient city. It was,
no doubt, traditionally known as
such for ages previous. Here DR..
Schliemann dug through five Sue
cessive strata, every one of which
denotes the existence of different
people and civilization. At six
feet, he unearthed the reinains of
the nium which Alexander saw; ut
thirteen>feet, he came on relics of
the "stone age;" ten feet lower
down on similar materials, and ut
thirty-three feet, upon finely exc
cuted vessels of bronze and archi-
tectural remains, evidencing an ad-
vanced civilization. At fifty-two
feet below the surface, he reached
the solid rock, and here he brought
tor light mass of precious arti-
cles-gold, silver and bronze, ex-
quisitely worked-unearthed the
soAcalled treasury Of 'Priani, and a
shield, which Paris himself might
have borne in his hand-to-hand
fightsT with the Grecian warriors,
and struck the wells and gates of
thersefitahle Troy, of which Homer
sung. These interesting discove-
ries were made In q space of about