bronze age environment and economy in the troad - Universität ...

chapter 1: environment and archaeology
Aegean Polis, but rather in the model of “old oriental Palatial
Cities” or Near Eastern “residence and trade towns”, such as
Alişar, Kültepe or Hattusa (also Karahöyük, Açemhöyük,
Maşat Höyük). The periods Troy VI and Troy VII are named
by Korfmann (1996) as the ‛Troian High Culture’.
Troy VI and VIIa do not show differences in the material culture
and only the architecture shows a slight change with
smaller and differently spaced rooms. Differences in building
techniques in Troy VI (i.e. the post buildings of the lower city)
are interpreted as social differences within the population. The
end of Troy VI was interpreted in the earlier excavations as
caused by an earthquake, but this might be under question in
view of the finds of long-range weapons in the new
excavations.
Troy VII domestic architecture was excavated in trench E8. In
this area 13 of the 16 botanical samples were extremely rich.
Also in z7 Troy VII architecture with large stone foundations
were found. Only two samples could be used for statistical
analysis. The samples in their archaeological contexts are discussed
in chapter 3.
The trenches z6-8 and A7-8 were excavated from 1994 on a
larger scale and uncovered more Late Bronze Age domestic
architecture. Several rooms were sampled, with 21 samples
from mainly Troy VIIa layers.
Periods VIIb1-3 (4) are named by Korfmann (1996) as the
“Troian Culture with the imprint of Balkan influences”, which
mainly refers to the ‛Knobbed ware’. A Troy VIIb2 house with
two building phases was excavated in 1995 in the trenches of
E8. The older building was destroyed by fire during the general
conflagration of Troy VIIb2. The newly erected building contained
imported protogeometric pottery amongst the finds.
Another building in E9, belonging to Troy VIIb3 (latest phase
of Troy VIIb) was also sampled. Altogether, 33 samples were
taken from these contexts, discussed in chapter 3. The following
three centuries appear to be of sparse settlement. The find
of a seal, dating around 1100 (i.e. the Dark Ages) with Luwian
hieroglyphs, which might have belonged to a writer,
strengthens Korfmann’s assumption that Troy was culturally
oriented towards Anatolia during the whole second millennium
(Korfmann 1996).
1.2.2.3.4 Post-Bronze Age (Troy VIII/IX)
The investigation of the Troy VIII and IX horizons has been
conducted by Brian Rose and his team from the University of
Cincinnati (Rose 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1995a). Because
the aim of this archaeobotanical study was to understand
Bronze Age environment and economy, the later periods were
not comprehensively studied. In all, 20 samples were taken,
with five from Archaic horizons, three from Classical, eight
from Hellenistic, and only four from Roman contexts. The
results from the analysis of these samples are only used here
for comparative purposes. A detailed study of plant remains
from Post-Bronze Age horizons is the aim of further research.
The focus of the Post-Bronze Age excavations in Troy is on a
“detailed reconstruction of the religious history of the Greek
and the Roman settlement” (Korfmann 1994, Rose 1992). This
research focus evolved in correlation to Troy’s or Ilion’s
political and religious status. After the Archaic period (700-
480 BC), Ilion became the capital of a new league of Troad
cities which was focussed on the cult of Athena Ilias.
Alongside these changes ostentatious buildings were erected in
the early Hellenistic period (331-200 BC), such as the theatre
A and the temple of Athena. In 85 BC the city was destroyed
by the Roman legate Fimbria. With the rebuilding shortly
thereafter Troy IX (85 BC-500 AD) begins. Late Roman/Early
Byzantine habitation is now documented by excavations in the
Lower City, where an orthogonal plan of streets has been
found by geomagnetic prospecting (Rose 1992).
Excavation of trenches in I/K 17/18 uncovered remains of
buildings, and in H16/17 a glass factory was found. Generally
the botanical remains were badly preserved because of their
position close to the surface. Only two samples from these
trenches provided enough remains to work on (H17BP07,
I17BP07). The Post-Bronze Age excavations in the Lower City
also show an apparent discontinuity of settlement between the
end of the Bronze Age (1050 BC) and the Middle Hellenistic
period (c. 200 BC), at least in the excavated sections of the
Lower City (Rose 1993). Archaic and protogeometric pottery
was found in the area of the sanctuary and might in future clarify
the history of the population of Troy at the beginning of the
first millennium BC (Rose 1994).
The sanctuary, i.e. mainly the trenches in A8/9 and z6/7, has
been excavated since 1992. It was founded c. 700 BC, and
continued in use through Archaic and Classical periods. It was
completely rebuilt in early Hellenistic, like the other
monumental architecture, and after Fimbria’s destruction it was
rebuilt on the debris of the former constructions (Rose 1993).
There are three altars from different periods in the Upper
Sanctuary and two additionally in the Lower Sanctuary. Seven
archaeobotanical samples from the Sanctuary contained a
relatively large number of seeds.
1.2.3 Comparative summary of the results from Blegen’s and Korfmann’s excavations
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