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Chapter 4.
On the Hill of Hissarlik, November 18th, 1871.
.
Fig.45: Copper Implements and Weapons from the
Trojan stratum (8m depth.). a, Axe of an unusual form; b, c, Battle-Axes of
the common form; d, e, g, Knives; f, a Nail. [95]
SINCE
my report of the 3rd of this month I have continued my excavations with
the greatest zeal, and although interrupted sometimes by the rain, and
sometimes by Greek festivals, and also in spite of the continually
increasing difficulty in removing the rubbish, I have now reached an
average depth of 10 meters or about 33 English feet.[94]
Fig.46: A Mould of Mica-schist for casting Copper Implements (8m depth).
Much that was
inexplicable to me has now become clear, and I must first of all
correct an error made in my last report, that I had come upon the stone
period. I was deceived by the enormous mass of stone implements of all
kinds which were daily dug up, and by the absence of any trace of
metal, except two copper nails, which I believed to have come in some
way from one of the upper strata into the deeper stratum of the stone
period. But since the 6th of this month there have{82} appeared not
only many nails, but also knives, lances, and battle-axes of copper of
such elegant workmanship that they can have been made only by a
civilized people (figs.45,46). Hence I must not only recal my conjecture that I had
reached the stone period, but I cannot even admit that I have reached
the bronze period, for the implements and weapons which I find are too
well finished.
I must, moreover, draw attention to the fact, that the
deeper I dig, from 7 meters (23 feet) downwards, the greater are the
indications of a higher civilization. At a depth of from 4 to 7 meters
(13 to 23 feet) the stone implements and weapons were of a coarse
description; the knives were of flint, generally in the form of small
saws, and rarely in that of a blade; but there were a very great number
of sharp pieces of silex, which must likewise have served as knives.
Since{83} then, however, the stone implements, such as hammers and
axes, are of much better workmanship; there still occur a quantity of
silex knives in the form of saws, but they are much better made than
those of the upper strata, and at a depth below 23 feet double-edged
knife-blades of obsidian, which are so sharp that they might serve as
razors. In these depths, moreover, as I have already said, we again
meet with weapons and quantities of nails, knives, and implements of
copper.
Figs.47-50: Stone Instruments from the Trojan stratum (8m depth)
Nos. 47, 48, 49, of Green Stone, probably Lance-Heads; No. 50, of Diorite, use unknown.
But
what above all other circumstances seems to prove that I never reached
the stone period, and that, after digging further down into the strata
of rude races between 13 and 23 feet, I have again come upon the
remains of a more civilized nation, are two inscriptions, one of which,
found at a depth of 7½ meters (about 25 feet), seems to be Phœnician,
but consists of only about five letters, which have been scratched by a
pointed instrument, into that side of a small terra-cotta disc which
had been painted white, the disc being only about 2-1/3 inches in
diameter. The letters, in any case, must have stood out very distinctly
in the white colour, but the greater portion of it has disappeared,
{84}and thus two of the five written characters cannot G 2 easily be
distinguished. I hope, however, that the inscription may nevertheless
be deciphered.[96]
The other inscription was found at a depth of
8½ meters (27¾ feet) upon one of those small round articles of
terra-cotta with a hole in the centre, which, from a depth of 6½ feet
downwards, occur in immense numbers in the form of the humming-top, the
carrousel, and the volcano. I have already expressed my opinion that
they may have been used as Ex votos, and I may now suggest whether they
might not even have been idols, and especially whether those in the
form of a volcano do not represent Hephæstus? This thought struck me
principally from the great resemblance between these objects and the
colossal sepulchral mounds on the Plain of Troy, which cover the ashes
of the corpses of the heroes, which were burnt by the fire of
Hephæstus.
At all events, the decorations introduced upon all of these
objects—which seem to have been executed with very great care,
especially on those made of immensely hard burnt terra-cotta—and also
the white substance with which these decorations are filled so as to be
more striking to the eye, leave no doubt that they have served
important purposes. It was upon one of these small articles of
terra-cotta, in the form of a top, that I found the second
inscription.[97] It is so admirably engraved, that one is astonished to
find such work possible in terra-cotta. As the writing runs right round
the small whorl, and is formed on both sides alike, it seems to me, in
my complete ignorance of the language, impossible to perceive with
which letter it commences, or which is the upper or lower portion of
it.{85}
Upon an ordinary stone I at the same time found the
character left-leaning L I should be immensely delighted if any one
were able to read these inscriptions, and thus be in a position to give
an explanation about the use of these remarkable objects, about the
people who made them, and about the epoch in which I found myself at
the depth of from 25 to 28 feet.
When, at the time of writing my
last report, I saw stone implements and weapons brought to light, and
none but stone, and was forced to believe that I had penetrated into
the stratum of the people belonging to the stone period, I really began
to fear that the actual object of my excavations, to find here the
Pergamus of Priam, had failed; that I had already reached a period long
anterior to the Trojan war, and that the colossal sepulchral mounds in
the Plain of Troy were perhaps thousands of years older than the deeds
of Achilles. But as I find ever more and more traces of civilization
the deeper I dig, I am now perfectly convinced that I have not yet
penetrated to the period of the Trojan war, and hence I am more hopeful
than ever of finding the site of Troy by further excavations; for if
there ever was a Troy—and my belief in this is firm—it can only have
been here, on the site of Ilium.
I think that my excavations of 1868 on
the heights of Bunarbashi have proved the impossibility of a city or
even a village ever having stood there, except at the extreme end of
Balidagh, where Consul Hahn has made excavations, but where, owing to
the small space, which is limited by precipices, there can only have
been a small town of 2000 inhabitants at most.
Figs. 51-52: Trojan Terra-cottas (8m depth).Fig. 51: A Vase-cover.
Fig.52: A Two-handled Cup.
I
must also add, in regard to the round articles of terra-cotta, that,
after a depth of 7 meters (23 feet), those in the form of the volcano
occur less frequently, and almost all are the shape of the top
(carrousel). At this depth also, the idols of Vishnu, in the form of
the Priapus, are no longer met with.
But I still very frequently find
at a depth below 23 feet the owl’s head on the earthen vessels, which,
although only of one colour and without any decorations, are elegant in
their simplicity, and become the more elegant and finer the deeper I
dig.
Fig.53: Small Trojan Vase (9m depth)
I have to draw especial attention to the bright red cups, which
are sometimes found in the form of a bell with a kind of coronet
below,[98]{87} sometimes in the shape of immense champagne-glasses with
two large handles. In neither form can they stand upon the lower end
like the cups of the present day, but only upon the upper part, just as
we should be obliged to set down a bell, if we used it as a
drinking-cup.
I must next mention the small pots with three little
feet, and the large ones with a neck bent back, then the large vessels
with two handles and two others in the form of upraised arms; and,
lastly, the very large funereal urns, frequently more than a meter (3¼
feet) in height and breadth, which are met with in such numbers that they hinder us in our work, but which have hitherto been so much broken
that I have been unable to save even one of them. It is impossible to
cement together the pieces of these broken urns, as the clay is from an
inch and a half to nearly 2 inches thick.
Figs.54, 55: Trojan Terra-cotta Vases (8m depth).
At a depth below 6
meters (nearly 20 feet) down to the depth of 10 meters (33 feet), we
find a great many pieces of clay an inch and a half thick, from about 4
to 5 inches in height, and from about 3 to 4 inches{88} in breadth,
with a perforated hole, either on the broad upper side or on the narrow
side, and which appear to have been used as weights; we also frequently
meet with cylinders of the same clay, which are from 3-1/3 inches in
length to 2½ inches in breadth. The enormous quantities of stone
weights and hand-mills of lava, continually brought to light, give an
idea of the number of the houses, through the ruins of which I daily
penetrate. I have placed great numbers of these mills and other stone
implements in the niches of the walls in my excavations for the
inspection of the admirers of Homer who may visit the Plain of Troy.
At
a depth of from 8 to 10 meters (26 to 33 feet), I have found numerous
fragments of a substance, about 2¾ inches broad and 1¾ thick, which is
on the inside as hard as stone and of a resinous colour, and on the
outside it has a brilliant gloss, which has evidently been produced
artificially. It has clearly been poured into a mould when in a liquid
state, for it is channelled on all four sides. Doubtless in the
continuation of my excavations I shall obtain an explanation of how
these pieces (the length of which I do not yet know, as I have hitherto
only met with fragments) were made, and what they were used for.[99]
The
numerous house-walls, the ruins of which I have daily to remove, are,
at the depth of from 4 to 7 meters (13 to 23 feet), all built of
ordinary unhewn stones joined with clay; and from 7 to 10 meters (23 to
33 feet) they are made of unburnt bricks, dried only in the sun. The
foundations and the door-cills of these brick houses, however, consist
of large stones, such as we have not met with since 2 meters (6½ feet)
below the surface.
Lastly, as regards the inclination of the
walls of my great cutting, the nature of the débris allowed me only in
three places, each of about 49 feet in length, to make it{89} at an
angle of 85 degrees; in all other places it is at an angle of 67½
degrees. In order to make this more clear, I may add that my walls of
33 feet high at an angle of 85 degrees deviate only about 25½ inches,
but those of 67½ degrees deviate about 8½ feet from the perpendicular.
It would give me much pleasure if, in my next communication, I could report some very interesting discovery.
November
21st.—The heavy rainfall of yesterday and the day before, which
continued till this morning, rendered it impossible to dispatch this
report before the evening; for I am here living in a wilderness at
eight hours’ distance from the nearest post-office, that is, from the
Dardanelles. I hope that the ground will have become sufficiently dry
by to-morrow morning for me to proceed with my work. I intend, at all
events, to continue the excavations till the appearance of winter, and
then to begin again in April.
The constant warm damp weather
produces a very malignant fever, and my services as a doctor are daily
sought. Fortunately, I have a large stock of quinine by me, and can
thus help everyone. But as I do not understand anything about medicine
I should, no doubt, make great mistakes. Fortunately, however, I
remember that once when I was at the point of death with a fever
contracted in the marshes of Nicaragua, the excellent German physician,
Tellkampf of New York, saved my life by a dose of 64 grains of quinine.
Hence I give a similar quantity here, but only in one dose when the
case is a very bad one; the quantity I generally give is four doses of
16 grains. I am also daily called upon not only to cure wounded men,
but camels, donkeys, and horses. I have hitherto been successful in all
cases by using tincture of arnica. I have also, thus far, cured all the
fever patients who have applied for my help. Not one of them, however,
has ever come to thank me; indeed, gratitude does not appear to be one
of the virtues of the present Trojans.{90}
Footnotes:
[93]
The stone implements here described are so similar in form to the
better-made objects of the same sort, exhibited in subsequent
illustrations, that it seems superfluous to engrave them here.—[Ed.]
[94]
This depth of 10 meters, or 33 feet, is that which Dr. Schliemann came
to regard as the lower limit of the ruins of the true heroic Troy. The
depth of 7 meters, or 23 feet, presently mentioned is the upper limit
of the same stratum. (See the Introduction and the later Memoirs.)—[Ed.]
[95] These, like all the objects of copper found at Troy, are coated with verdigris and malachite. (Letter-press to the Atlas.)
[96]
See Plate LI., No. 496. Comp. Chapter IX., p. 138. This is one of the
most important of the inscriptions determined to be such by Professor
Gomperz. It has six characters. (See the Appendix.)
[97] This is
given on Plate XXII., No. 326, from the Photograph, and more accurately
from M. Burnouf’s drawing on Plate XLVIII., No. 482. Dr. Schliemann
supposed that it bore an inscription; but he afterwards recalled the
opinion. (See Chapter IX., p. 137.)—{Ed.}
[98] These cups, as
already observed, are really covers of vases, the “coronet” being the
upper, instead of the under part.—[Ed.]
[99] In these the Author afterwards recognized moulds for casting instruments and ornaments of copper. (See Chapter IX.)—{Ed.}
[Continue to Chapter 5]
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