![]() Its position was key to its prosperity, as the city could trade by sea as well as by land. Troy was situated at the entrance to the Dardanelles strait, and in ancient times lay much nearer to the sea than it does today – the coastline has changed as river deltas have silted up. By about 2550–2300 BC (Troy II) it had strong walls encircling a citadel that was still relatively small, but remarkably prosperous. The original village of Troy (Troy I) was small, but it flourished and grew. This showed that the mound was made up of the layers of successive settlements. In 1873, Heinrich Schliemann dug a huge trench right through the centre of the mound of Troy. The city sometimes grew, sometimes contracted as its people's fortunes changed. Although they experienced periods of prosperity, life was not always easy for the Trojans – houses and fortifications fell to fire, earthquakes or battles and were built anew. Over the four thousand years of its existence, countless generations have lived at Troy. The site of Troy, in the northwest corner of modern-day Turkey, was first settled in the Early Bronze Age, from around 3000 BC. Although the evidence can't prove that the Trojan War really happened, experts now agree that the settlement Schliemann excavated was the famous city… The city of Troy ![]() Since then, the site that Schliemann claimed was 'Troy' has been the subject of extensive excavation and study. But the real breakthrough came in 1870, when the German businessman and self-taught archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann travelled to Anatolia with the purpose of uncovering the city and proving the Iliad was based on fact. In the 19th century, a Scotsman and an Englishman, Charles Maclaren and Frank Calvert, were the first to link a hill containing ancient remains with the site of ancient Troy. For centuries, pilgrims and travellers made the journey to the Troad to stand on the ground where they believed heroes once walked. ![]() Since antiquity, Troy was believed to be located in an area called the 'Troad' in the northwest corner of modern-day Turkey. While some have argued that the myth of Troy was just that – a myth – the allure of the story has led many to search for the site that, according to Homer's poem, was one of the most important settlements of its time. You can read more about the story in our blog. ![]() This mythical tale of love and war has captured imaginations ever since. 3,000 years ago, the ancient Greek poet Homer told the story of the ill-fated city of Troy and the great Trojan War in his powerful epic, the Iliad. ![]()
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