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Troy
Overview
Troy (ancient Ilion/Ilium; Hittite: Wiluša/Taruiša) was a Bronze Age city in northwestern Anatolia, famous as the setting of Homer's Iliad. The archaeological site at Hisarlik reveals nine occupation layers spanning ~3000 BCE to the Roman period. @t[~3000 BCE..~400 CE]
Key Facts
- Location: Hisarlik, Çanakkale Province, Turkey
- Period: ~3000 BCE – Roman era @t[~3000 BCE..~400 CE]
- Excavated by: Frank Calvert (1863), Heinrich Schliemann (1871–1890), Wilhelm Dörpfeld, Carl Blegen (1932–1938), Manfred Korfmann (1988–2005), Rüstem Aslan (2006–present)
- UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998 @t[=1998..]
Archaeological Layers
Troy was repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt over ~4,000 years. Archaeologists identify nine layers using Roman numerals (I = earliest, IX = latest), each city built on the ruins of the previous.
- Troy I–V (~3000–1750 BCE): Early Bronze Age settlements @t[~3000 BCE..~1750 BCE]
- Troy VI (~1750–1300 BCE): Major fortified city; most likely candidate for Homeric Troy @t[~1750 BCE..~1300 BCE] 1
- Troy VIIa (~1300–1180 BCE): Destroyed by fire; primary candidate for the Trojan War destruction layer @t[~1300 BCE..~1180 BCE]
- Troy VIII–IX: Greek and Roman Ilion @t[~700 BCE..~400 CE]
The Trojan War
- Traditionally dated ~1184 BCE (Eratosthenes' calculation) @t[~1184 BCE]
- Homer's Iliad describes a Greek siege of Troy over the abduction of Helen
- Historical basis debated; may reflect Bronze Age conflicts between Mycenaeans and Anatolian powers 2
- True from antiquity — Herodotus (~5th century BCE) and Eratosthenes (~3rd century BCE) both wrote about the Trojan War as historical. @t[~5th century BCE..]
Recent Excavations (2024–2025)
Excavations led by Prof. Rüstem Aslan (Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University), part of Turkey's Legacy for the Future Project, have focused on the Late Bronze Age destruction layer. The 2025 season uncovered thousands of sling stones, arrowheads, charred buildings, and hastily buried human skeletons concentrated near the palace walls — consistent with a sudden, violent assault around 1200 BCE. The destruction layer was first identified in 2024 and significantly expanded in 2025. 3
Review Queue
@q[missing]Line 25: "Both Herodotus and Eratosthenes regarded the Trojan War as a historical event" - what is the source?
Need to verify whether this claim has an explicit source citation in the document footnotes.