Archaeology and Heinrich Schliemann 2012

On the beginnings of field archaeology (or “spade research”) - the first regular excavations at Hisarlik: 1871-1873 7from the University of Rostock. The support of theTrojan excavations from 1879 onwards by one of themost distinguished personages of German science, therespected anthropologist and later prehistoric archaeologist,Rudolf Virchow, was certainly of great significance.It is frequently overlooked that Virchow wasnot only a medical doctor, but also a pathologist andpolitician. With regard to prehistoric archaeology Virchowcould also be described as an autodidact. Interestinglyenough, no one dares to put this forward. Incontrast, he is honoured as the “old master of prehistoricresearch”.When Schliemann began his first regular excavationson Hisarlik in 1871, Alfred Götze, the first professionalpre-historian in Germany, was only sixyears old. “Spade research” would be recognized as auseful method for the historical sciences thanks toSchliemann’s excavations, in particular those at Troyand Mycenae. This knowledge was extended not onlyto archaeologists, but also to their financial backers.Thus the Greek and German Royal families took anactive interest in Schliemann’s excavations, as did, tono lesser degree, the British Prime Minister WilliamGladstone. The other “archaeologists” profited fromthis as well. Without Schliemann they would certainlynot occupy their present high rank among thehuman sciences and, in particular, would not enjoytheir present high status in the public consciousness.Although Schliemann’s excavations can be considereda form of Iliad-reaction, his results led to prehistoricarchaeologists almost always perceiving thesignificance of the site as something separate from theIliad. The key function of the site of Troy was recognizedand appreciated. In the professional archaeologicalworld it is not so much the “treasures” or theIliad problems but rather the other “small finds” thatmade Troy the most-cited archaeological site in theworld.The most interesting phenomena at the site are themore than 40 construction phases from nine majorlevels with a height of more than 16 meters, lying atopone another, always in the same order like a historicallayer cake. This alone clearly shows that the sitewas important for over 3.000 years, as does the factthat it was always fortified. The stratified culturalsequence made it possible to separate early and latefinds and contexts, as well as to distinguish exportsand imports in all directions, allowing the distributionof culture-specific articles to be dated relatively aswell as absolutely. It is as a potential mediator of culturalinfluences stemming from Asia Minor, Syria-Palestine, Egypt, Crete and Mycenae that Troy ismost interesting.The construction method employed at Hisarlikexplains why the levels lie over each other in such away that a settlement mound was formed. The buildingmaterial played the critical role. The house wallswere built of sun-dried mud bricks atop stone foundations.This method is common in regions withwarm climates, particularly if wood is not available asa building material. What makes Troy exceptional isthe existence of mud architecture in a climatic borderregion where the technique is not normally practiced.As with all simply-constructed houses, a new buildingis required after one or two generations of use. Incontrast to stone, half-timbered or log houses, thebuilding material from a mud house is not normallyre-used. It is simplest to level the old building anderect a new one atop the debris of the earlier buildingphase. A stratified settlement mound is the end resultand, for the archaeologist, a very welcome one.A chronological system can be worked out whenthe depths of the finds and their stratigraphic associationsare recorded. Schliemann truly made the mostof this opportunity. He expressly stressed: “Up tonow no one has yet found such an accumulation ofruins anywhere in the world”. His recording of theartefacts and their contexts becomes increasingly consistentas time went by. Stratigraphic excavation techniqueswere developed in principle and as a result ahistorical cultural sequence was found immediatelybefore the gates of Europe.The site was continually inhabited due to its economicallyfavourable geographic location, but the factthat it was always defended by powerful walls showsthat it was also continually endangered. These processesbegan in the third millennium BC during theEarly Bronze Age, as the Hisarlik treasures verify,and continued for over a millennia, as the constantrenewal of the fortification system clearly attests.The wealth of the settlements can be traced to extremelocal conditions: the strong winds and stormsthat opposed sea travellers through the Dardanelles.A strong north-easterly wind blows against ships sailingin this region during the summer, the seasonwhen one normally went to sea. Schliemann himselfmentioned these winds, the so-called “Etesians” asbeing very disturbing to his work. Homer attaches