Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1922-06-14

do Il in ten minutes. Astonishing! Is
this all there was Of Troy, and did this
little stronghold Withstand n nine
years siege and sr1ll remain unc0n-
quered by forceI Impossible! The
whole Hill Of Iiium may have been
fortified and 20 some extent p0pulat-
ed; otherwise how was the garrison
provisionedl Unpoetic details like
these never troubled Homer. so why
bother about them.
Unearthed BY sehliemann.
Every student knows Of the remark
able work Of Schliemann In unearthing
these ruins and establishing their
identity as those OF the veritable Troy
Of Homer; Of the indefatigable zeal,
the determined search for the location.
the half-willing consent OF the Turkish
government. and the financial and
physical obstacles 20 be overcome. But
the work did begin AZ last. and the
first walls TO appear beneath the spade
were strange walls. not those de-
scribed By Homer. and the order was
10 dig deeper. Stil further ruins Of
city after city were unearthed, TIL
Homer's Troy. all that is left Of II,
was laid bare.
Only the antiquarian can see the
significance OF all these things as he
scrambles up and down within and
among these disordered piles Of what
once was masonry; but even an unin-
formed tourist can see the difference
between the rubble walls OF a later
date and the worthler structures
which preceded them.
There are walls. too. which show the
marks Of a mighty cOnflagration, and
these. IL IS opined, are the same
whence Aeneas
did from the flames Of Troy upon his
shoulder
The old Anchlses bear"
on that last terrible night OF destruc-
ton. one instinctively looks for the
gap in the wall through which the
wooden horse was introduced, but he
Z looks in vain. Earthenware cisterns
Of some - gallons capacity, for hold
I ing oil or wine, were built into the
walls. while bits Of iridescent glass,
/ pieces OF pottery, cobblestones and
clay were filed in around them.
Wall Of Priam Still Stands.
But there is stin left one precious
bit OF Homeric architecture, II the
I archaeologists are correct, raising It's
crown as high as any OF the walls OF
subsequent date. IL is part OF a bas-
ton facing toward the Hin Of Iium
and known as the "Wall OF Priam." IL
was meant 10 stand throughout the
ages. whoever was its builder and
one araentlv wishes 10 give the credit
for its construction TO those times. IL
Is a noble wall, well pointed. well
laid. well preserved. capable yet OF
wlthStanding such assaults as when
Ajax strives some stones vast
weight 70 throw"
From its corner overlooking the
plaln OF Slmois an outside stairway
3 deScends toward the river, possibly a
I later feature. Could this have been the
corner Of the wall where stood the
Scaean Gate; where the venerable
/ Father Priam brought the beautiful
Helen IN order 10 show her the enc
my. her own countrymen and kindred,
\ on the plain below; where he pointed
out the leaders. naming them individ-
4 uallyr-~and there is Menelaus. thy
former husband" II may well have
been the same. and romance at least
Z viii have IL 80.
scattered about are bits Of sculp-
tur.d marble. the remains perhaps OF
7 Roman or Alexandrine occupation. on
IN the dreamy distance lies Tenedos-
sinister Tenedos. not discernibie ex-
cent IN the dearest weather-and by
the shore near where the Dardaneiles
meets the sea. whence Thetis might
NJ any moment arise. Is a tumulus
known as the tomb OF Achilles. and
nearby another. the tomb Of Patro-
/ clus.
The excavations at Troy have re-
vealed that no less than nine layers
exist upon which az various times dur
Ing the past 5000 years. human haDi-
taffons have been built