The Challis messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1912-current, 1923-01-03

do 1t In ten minutes. Astonishing! Is
this all there was Of Troy. and did this
little stronghold withstand a nine
years siege and still remain uncon-
Quered by force? Impossiblel The
whole Hill of Iium may have been
fortified and to some extent populat-
ed; otherwise how was the garrison
provisioned? Unpoetic details like
these never troubled Homer, so why
bother about them.
Unearthed by schiIemann.
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 to be overcome. But
the work did begin at last, and the
first walls to appear beneath the spade
were strange walls, not those de-
scribed by Homer, and the order was
to dig deeper. Still further ruins Of
city after city were unearthed. till
Homers Troy, all that is left Of 1t,
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 later
date and the wOrthier structures
which preceded them.
There are walls, too, which show the
marks of mighty conflagration, and
these, 1t is opined. are the same
whence AeneaS
Did from the flames Of Troy upon his
shoulder
The old AnchiSes 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
looks In vain. Earthenware cisterns
of some 20 gallons capacity, for hold
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 still left one precious
bit of Homeric architecture, If the
archaeologistS are correct, raising its
crown as high as any of the walls OF
subsequent date. 1t Is part of bas-
ton facing toward the Hill of Ilfum
and known as the wall of Priam." 1t
was meant to stand throughout the
ages, whoever was its builder, and
one ardently wishes to give the credit
for its construction to those times. 1t
is a noble wall, well pointed, well
laid, well preserved, capable yet Of
withstanding such assaults as when
weight to throw"
From its corner overlooking the |
plain of Simois an outside stairway |
descends toward the river, possibly a |
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 to show her the enc
my. her own countrymen and kindred.
on the plain below; where he pointed
out the leaders, naming them individ-
ualIy ?-"and there is Menelaus, thy
former husband" 1t may well have
been the same, and romance at least
will have 1t so.
Scattered about are bits of Sculp-
tured marble. the remains perhaps OF
Roman or Alexandrine occupation. on
in the dreamy distance lies Tenedos-
sinister Tenedos, not discerHible eX-
,ept in the clearest weather-and by
he shore near where the Dardanelles
meets the sea, whence Thetis might
1t any moment arise, Is tumulus
Known as the tomb Of Achilles. and
nearby another, the tomb of Patro.
.lus
The excavations at Troy have re-
-ealed that no less than nine layera
.xist upon which at various times dur
ng the past 5000 years. human habt
atoms have been built