Posted on 09/19/2008 7:36:25 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Ancient Troy was much bigger than previously thought, and may have housed as many as 10,000 people, new excavations have revealed. The lower town, in which most of the population would have lived, may have been as large as 40 hectares (100 acres), according to Professor Ernst Pernicka... Excavations by the late Manfred Korfmann showed that this Troy was just the citadel and that a much larger lower town lay south of it enclosed by a rock-cut ditch (The Times, February 25, 2002). Professor Pernicka's continuation of Korfmann's work has confirmed the substantial nature of this defensive work, which was probably backed by a now-vanished rampart. He has traced it for 1.4 kilometres, and showed it to be 4 metres wide and 2 metres deep. The length of the defences may be as much as 2.5 kilometres. "This year we established that the trench continues around the town. We've found a southern gate, a southeastern gate, traces of a southwestern gate and I expect to find an eastern gate. So we have evidence of town planning," he said, noting that the new evidence refuted Korfmann's critics, who claimed that the trench was for drainage and did not indicate any substantial defences.
(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...
see, I was sort of kidding (not entirely) about that:
Recent Finds Prove That Homer’s Stories Were More Than Myth
The Times (UK) | 2-25-2002 | Norman Hammond
Posted on 02/24/2002 4:46:17 PM PST by blam
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/634491/posts
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http://www.utexas.edu/courses/wilson/ant304/projects/projects97/bairdp/homer.htm
The Troy That Homer Knew
The city of Troy (Troy VI-VIIa) which Homer speaks of in his epics, The Iliad and The Odyssey, lasted from 1800 until 1250 B.C.E. In his writings, Homer described Troy using standard epithets - a “well-walled,” “broad” city with “lofty gates” and “fine towers,” one capable of holding a large population. Unfortunately, these descriptions have no unique value to historians; his descriptions are simply stock phrases and are not to be taken seriously.
Some of Homer’s phrasings, however, speak specifically of Troy and lend historical content to the epic. Frequently, Homer refers to the Trojans as “horse tamers” or as “having fine foals,” a description singular among all the cultures Homer describes in his works. Perhaps Homer’s unique characterization of these people reflects beliefs widely held in his day - that the Trojans were excellent horsemen and horse-breeders.
Later in his story, he details the layout of the town, giving explicit locations of Priam’s palace, a temple to Apollo, and an agora where the citizens met. Homer depicts Troy as a sizable city with towering walls and an expansive acropolis. His rendering of Troy should also be taken with a grain of salt, however. The vision of Troy Homer puts forth contradicts the findings of archaeologists and historians.
In reality, the city of Troy was not as grand as the expansive metropolis of which Homer speaks. Troy served as a royal citadel, with approximately 100 people living in the city and just over 1000 living along the perimeter. Ultimately, scientists have concluded that Troy served as little more than a walled palace...
So, who’s gunna tell him the bad news?
Probably destroyed by Heinrich Schliemann, the discoverer of Troy, who excavated right through Homer's Troy to an older, grander version of the city which he mistook for the famous Troy, as I understand it.
I admire him for his tenacity.
Schliemann excavated only on the knoll which had the ancient citadel, cutting a single large trench (which can still be seen) down to bedrock. He destroyed part of the Troy VI / VIIa “splendid” wall circuit, and of course everything vertically above and below, and found every known level of occupation. He didn’t excavate the wider site which is what has been getting done lately.
So do I. His archeological technique left something to be desired, though.
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