Why the
Ruins of Troy
in Turkey are special

In past centuries, most archaeologists felt that the Trojan War described in Homer's Iliad never existed. And they dismissed the city of Troy (where the major fight occurred) as fictional.

Today, most experts are reasonably confident that the war occurred and that its prolonged battle took place around 1250 BC at the Troy archaeological site.

This makes a visit to the ruins a captivating experience.

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Ruins of Troy
tips & insights

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Schleimann

In the late 19th century, the German amateur archaeologist Heinrich Schleimann was the first to excavate the site. He was positive his finding proved that he discovered Homer's Troy. Later diggings by others proved that:

He explored the wrong levels* and erroneously identified one as being the Troy of Homer.

His amateurish work mutilated other levels including Level 7, the one featured in the Iliad.

* Each time Troy was destroyed by man, fire, or earthquake, a new city was superimposed over the ruins of the previous one. This happened nine times over the course of thousands of years, so there are levels 1 through 9.

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Negatives

The wooden horse replica that visitors climb inside has a theme-park look. And the Troy milieu has become overly commercialized in recent years.

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Wonders of Turkey - Home page

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Turkish Culture and Tourist Office

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Ruins of Troy photo by Britbob - CC BY 2.0

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