In Search of Troy • Hacker News Board

Re: In Search of Troy

#11

Post by sherr » Fri, Feb 25, 2022, 10:01 AM UTC

AdmiralAsshat wrote: post #6

The article is quite kind to Schliemann. Kinder than many archaeological experts. The excavated area thought to be "Troy" had about nine distinct layers. The "Troy" that everyone is interested was one of the upper layers (like Layer VIII, the second from the top), which Schliemann kept digging through. The one he finally settled on and brought "Priam's Treasure" from was much older, long before the era of the fabled…

Yes, a real disaster for us now. He didn't just "dig" through, but bulldoze to where he thought Homer's Troy should be. Doing this destroyed a lot of the evidence of the actual Troy he was looking for. Some of this has been recovered and pieced together by later and better archeologists but still a great loss.

The best video documentary I've seen on this is Michael Wood's BBC series "In Search of the Trojan War" from 1985. Six parts covering the history of the dig and the background of the war and aftermath. Much of it is on YouTube I think.

Re: In Search of Troy

#12

Post by hecturchi » Fri, Feb 25, 2022, 11:28 AM UTC

Troy is perhaps the most important archaeological site in Turkey (in greek-mithology terms) and one of the worst to visit. While it is amazing to be on the spot, prepare to put lots of imagination on this particular site.

If you happen to visit the area, I would actually recommend to skip it. Go to Assos instead: the citadel, the walls, the theater... all more impressive than Troy. Go the Alexandria Troas and see the baths, the aqueduct, the temple they were digging up a few years ago. Go to see the grandiose Temple of Apollo Smintheum in Gülpinar.

The most impressive thing sadly left in Troy is Schliemann's trench.

Re: In Search of Troy

#13

Post by arethuza » Fri, Feb 25, 2022, 11:29 AM UTC

petermcneeley wrote: post #2

Absolutely amazing documentary with the same title. youtube.com/watch?v=NlpZRBi5xQg&list=PL5rPE79bMQWey_LaeDcJo4F4eslYLTKbg

In case anyone is wondering, it is Michael Wood's excellent In Search of the Trojan War - apparently some of the information is a bit out of date, but overall the series is wonderful - I've watched it many times since it was first broadcast.

Re: In Search of Troy

#14

Post by hecturchi » Fri, Feb 25, 2022, 11:38 AM UTC

AdmiralAsshat wrote: post #6

The article is quite kind to Schliemann. Kinder than many archaeological experts. The excavated area thought to be "Troy" had about nine distinct layers. The "Troy" that everyone is interested was one of the upper layers (like Layer VIII, the second from the top), which Schliemann kept digging through. The one he finally settled on and brought "Priam's Treasure" from was much older, long before the era of the fabled…

At least it mentions Calvert...

> he encouraged Schliemann to pick up where he left off

Yeah, like Schliemann arrived, dismissed Calvert suggestions that it was Troy, and when finally convinced, cheated, stole and took all credit for discoveries from Calvert despite Calvert owning half of the land of the mound and sorting out a ton of practical matters for him (Calvert was consul and well established in the area).

Re: In Search of Troy

#15

Post by devoutsalsa » Fri, Feb 25, 2022, 2:17 PM UTC

hecturchi wrote: post #12

Troy is perhaps the most important archaeological site in Turkey (in greek-mithology terms) and one of the worst to visit. While it is amazing to be on the spot, prepare to put lots of imagination on this particular site. If you happen to visit the area, I would actually recommend to skip it. Go to Assos instead: the citadel, the walls, the theater... all more impressive than Troy. Go the Alexandria Troas and see the…

Just for fun, here’s a site most people visiting Turkey would probably never visit:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaz%C4%B1l%C4%B1kaya,_Eski%C...

I’d never heard of Phrygia before a friend mentioned the Midas Monument to me. If you’re passing through that area, check it out.

Re: In Search of Troy

#16

Post by eadmund » Fri, Feb 25, 2022, 3:20 PM UTC

> But, more than that, he points out that it shows the world was not divided between East and West in quite the way it was long assumed to be. One of the foundational legends of Western culture, it turns out, involved a powerful political actor that lay across the sea from Europe, in what is now Turkey, with influence that extended all the way to central Anatolia.

This is very misleading. Anyone familiar with history knows that Anatolia was part of the West — it was, after all, held by the Roman Empire for centuries. It was only lost during the Arab-Byzantine Wars, and the Arabs were eventually replaced by the Turks. But once upon a time, Anatolia was Western.

Re: In Search of Troy

#17

Post by prox » Fri, Feb 25, 2022, 11:42 PM UTC

thaumasiotes wrote: post #10

prox wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How many carats is pure gold? I only know of 9 and 18 carat gold.

Pure is 24. It's too soft to make good jewelry, so you'd only see 24K gold in an object that was meant to be owned as a conversation piece of some kind, but not worn.

Thank you for the answer!