Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-08-21


of Ilium He saw that the accepted site was
too far from the Hellespont and that the
pursuit of Hector by Achilles thrice around
the walls would have occupied at least nine
hours, which would be an absurdly, long
time.
To satisfy himself. he hired five work
men and began excavations. little dream
ing that they would continue for score
of years with hundreds of men, until the
reality of Troy and the Identification OF
the Homeric landmarks would be deter
mined and accepted by the scholars OF the
world. At the suggestion of Mr.. Frank
Calvert. an American. who owns a large
estate upon the Trojan plain, DR.. Schlie-
mann returned in April. 1870. and the
American minister at Constantinople OBJ
tanned permission from the sultan for eX-
tensive explorations. which were conducted
with great care and thoroughness. In
order to bring Troy itself to light as DR..
Schliemann himself wrote. he felt bound to
dig down to the native rock. naturally, but
unfortunately believing that the Homeric
Iium Of 5000 years ago would be found
at the very bottom. For who could have
preceded the dynasty Of Priam? Was not
Dardanus founder of this dynasty, the son
of Zeus himself? He was soon convinced,
however. that the lowest layer of remains
was from a settlement far more primitive
than the Homeric city.
The Ilium Of Homer.
After the first broad trench had been
cut he did not allow his men to dig below
the remains of the second city. which bore
clear identifcatons of having been de-
stroyed by fire and which he identified with
the Homeric Ilium. Here he brought to
light town walls and massive towers, with
complicated mass of lesser ruins. Later
he believed the third city from the bottom
to have been the Ilium Of Homer but be-
low 1t. in the remains Of the second city
from the bottom. he found in wooden
box, with a copper key, rich collection or
to have been abandoned by the bearer who
was taking 1t to place of safety at the
time the place was destroyed
This was promptly called THE Treasure
Of Priam.' for during his early excavations
Schliemann had a strong tendency to as
cribe to some Homeric hero each important
article that was found. Other gold orna-
ments were found by workmen. but not de-
nine other treasures" were discovered
which served to justify Homer's lines con-
corning the wealth Of Ilium. Ultimately
Schliemann was obliged to admit that the
culture of the early age represented by the
ruins did not agree with that depicted In
the Homeric poems. The civilization Homer
described. he confessed, was later by CEN
turtles than that brought to light in the ex.
cavatons. and he returned to his original
view that the second city from the native
rock was the actual 1lium.
Schliemann continued his excavations to
August. 1890 and expected to renew them
the next spring and carry them to compile
ton with the aid of DR.. \. .lliam Dorpfeld.
who has been now for score Of years the
distinguished head of the Athenian branch
of the German Archaeological Institute and
the highest authority on Greek architec-
ture, but he died In Naples In December.
1890. Madame Schlemann Loyalty and gem
erously carried out the plans of her h,ls-
band, whose companion and helper she had
been throughout the earlier and more labor
iOus and exhaustive explorations. by pro-
viding means for another summers work.
which. in 1893. was conducted by DR.. Dorp-
field He demonstrated the exceedingly In
teresting and unexpected fact that the
Homeric Ilium was neither the second nor
the third city built on the same site, but
the sixth from the bed rock, or the third
layer. reckoned from the present surface
from above. That Schliemann should have
died just before this great discovery was
pathetic. The German emperor granted the
money necessary for the final excavations
Nine Cities on One Site.
Prof. Seymour defines the nine successive
cities which were built one upon the ruins
of another during a period of 5000 years
as follows:
+ 1. Lowest. most primitive settlement of
the Neolithic age 5000 to $500 B. CO.
9. Prehistoric fortified city. with strong
walls for defense, and large houses of sun
dried brick. Thrice destroyed and rebuilt.
With many objects of bronze, gold, silver.
lapis lazuli and crystal. Supposed by DR..
Schliemann to be the Homeric Troy (25OO
to 20G0 B. CO.
3, and 5. Three historic village settle
ments on the ruins of the second city-very
probably Of the same race as that of the
inhabitants Of the second city. Dwellings
built of small stones and sun-dried bricks
(2OO0 to 1900 B. CO.
6. The Homeric city. A fortified town of
the "Mycenaean age" with substantial
walls and great tower. Large houses of
well-wrought stone. Developed monoch-
$500 to 1000 B. CD.
I. Two pre-Hellenic village settlements
with simple stone dwellings and polychrome
pottery. During the second Of these settle
ments foreigners from the north (Cimmer-
ians? seem to have had their habitations
on this hill 1000 to TOO B. CO.
8. Greek Ilium 600 B. c. to the begin
ming of our era). 'F -
.. Acropolis of the Roman Ilium. The top
of the hill is leveled to form a plateau, and
a large part of the citadel is given over to
the sanctuary of Athena. From the begin
ming of to 800 A. d.
whether the destruction of the Homeric
city,, Prof. Seymour goes on to say, was
so complete that none of its inhabitants
manned in the following settlements cannot
be made out from the ruins The shrine of
the Trojan goddess became for the Greeks
temple of Athena and her worship was
maintained. Friendly relations existed be-
tween the Greeks and the Trojans and hon.
were paid to Hector as we'll as to
Achilles and to Ajax.
The Different Strata.
THE stratum of the seventh city, the
Aeolic Ilium.' reaches six feet below the
surface Of the hill as this stood before the
excavations of DIR. Schliemann; to the
sixth city. which he called the Lydian
Ilium.' the explorer assigned only a layer
of six inches on the HILL the remains of the
fifth city reached to depth of thirteen
feet the fourth city to twenty-three feet
the third to thirty-three feet: the second
city to forty-fve feet, and the lowest city
to depth of fifty-two and one-half feet
The native rock stands 1922 feet above the
level of the sea. Clearly rubbish accumu-
lated and the level of the settlement was
raised much more rapidly in the earlier.
sun-dried brick periods. when, as the rude
walls tumbled to the ground they were not
cleared away, but served as the under
pinning for the house. and when the
ashes of the household fire accumulated on
the ground which served as a floor than
when the buildings were more substantial
and much rubbish was removed
The area of the sixth or Homeric city
according to Dorpfeld, is 10000 square
meters. This does not make large city
That Achilles chased Hector three times
around the Trojan city would involve a run
of only about mile in length
''Of the ruins brought to light by Dr.
tn