Troy
I (c. 3000-2550 BCE): This was simply a small village protected
by stone walls. The excavated pottery and metal that is dated
to this era is like those from Lesbos and Lemnos in the Aegean
and in northern Anatolia. ‘Megarons’, (hall-like
buildings), were found here. These were the main type of housing
in the fortified part of Troy for centuries. Troy I-III were
part of the Early Bronze Age.
Troy II (c. 2550-2300 BCE): This city was approximately 9000
sqm and measured 330m in circumference and shows signs of
being destroyed
by fire at least three times. The presence of gold objects in
this layer led Schliemann to believe that this was Priam’s
city from The Iliad and he called the treasure the ‘treasure
of Priam’. However, there is no proof that this is Homer’s
Troy. The treasure included 60 earrings, 6 bracelets, 2 diadems
and 8750 rings, all of which were made of solid gold.
Troy III - Troy V (c. 2300-1750 BCE): Information regarding
these three cities is scarce, because much was hastily removed
to reach
the levels beneath it. Even though these seemed less prosperous
than the previous layers, there are signs of trade with foreigners
- Anatolian style dome ovens and Minoan pottery. Troy III belonged
to the Early Bronze II culture, and Troy IV and Troy V belonged
to Early Bronze III and Middle Bronze I periods.
Troy VI (c. 1750-1300 BCE): This settlement is the most
likely to be Homer’s Troy.
There are several reasons for this.
The walls - made of limestone blocks- were 5m thick and 8 m in
height and had several towers on top of it. Furthermore, sections
of the wall are slightly offset every 10cm to form a curved wall
so that corners can be avoided– a uniquely Trojan feature.
Troy VI was likely to hold 10,000 inhabitants and excavations
have also unearthed signs of horse rearing, which were missing
from the previous ruins, and which allude to Homer’s description
of the ‘horse taming Trojans’. Interestingly there
are some suggestions of conflict - bronze arrowheads, spear tips
and slingshots, dating to 1250 BCE, have been found on-site and
embedded on the fortification walls. The dates and the
destruction of the site approximately match Herodotus’ dates
for the Trojan War.
Troy VIIa (c. 1750-1300
BCE) – Troy VIIb (c. 1180-950 BCE):
Both cities show signs of regressing and being not as developed
as the previous ruins, which again points to the aftermath of the
sacking of Troy as per Homer. Both cities ultimately got burnt
down.
Troy VIII - Troy IX (c. 950 BCE to 550 CE): Julius Caesar claimed
that Rome was founded by Aeneas (a prince of Troy), making it very
important to the Roman identity. He also claimed that Ascanius,
son of Aeneas, had the surname Ilus, meaning “boy from Ilion”,
which is another name for Troy. In Virgil’s Aeneid, Aeneas
survives the fall of Troy and later founds Rome.
Greek Ilion was the name of Troy VIII and Troy IX was called Roman
Ilium. Though the city never reached its past grandeur, it was
held in high regard as the Persian King Xerxes and Alexander the
Great both visited Troy during this era. A temple to Athena was
established here at the beginning of the 3rd century BCE by Lysimachus,
one of Alexander’s successors
The
above information was found on this website - https://www.academuseducation.co.uk/post/the-nine-cities-of-troy |