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Chapter 12 (p.200)
Pergamus of Troy, August 4th, 1872.
Referring
to my report of the 13th of last month, I am glad now to be able to
mention that, in excavating the depths of the temple, I found a wall 10
feet high and 6½ feet thick, which, however, has at one time been much
higher, as the quantity of stones lying beside it seem to prove. It is
at a distance of 131 feet from the declivity of the hill, and at a
perpendicular depth of 34 feet.[199] This wall is composed of large
stones joined with earth, and, as is attested by the layers of débris
which extend in an oblique direction below it, it was built originally
upon the steep slope of the hill. Hence, since the erection of the
wall, the hill at this point has increased 131 feet in breadth and 44¼
feet in height by the accumulation of débris. I have not yet been able
to ascertain whether this wall was the foundation of an ancient Trojan
temple, or whether it belongs to the enclosing wall which, says
Homer,[200] was built by Poseidon and Apollo. In the latter case, it
would (p.201) appear strange that it is only 6½ feet thick, and was never
higher than 16½ feet, for it must be remembered that the hill has a
steep incline on the north side, and that it is very precipitous at
this part especially.
Below the wall I found five of those
splendid, brilliant black flat Trojan terra-cottas, which are so like a
wheel, that they can be distinguished at a glance from all the others.
One has six suns in the circle round the central sun; another has four
stars forming a cross round the sun; a third has three double rising
suns in the circle round the central sun; a fourth has four rising suns
with five lines, forming a cross round the sun; a fifth has three
triple rising suns round the sun. I also found below the wall a number
of fragments of black Trojan vessels which are directly recognised by
their fineness, and by the long single or double rings on the sides.
The
wall proceeds from west to east, and consequently obstructs my path,
and I cannot remove the débris from behind it without considerably
widening my trench, which would be a gigantic piece of work between the
enormous earthen walls. In continuing my trench in a horizontal
direction I have arrived at exactly 6½ feet below this wall. It is very
interesting from a perpendicular depth of 15½ meters, or 51-1/3 feet,
to see this mass of primeval Trojan masonry in a depth of 13½ to 10½
meters (44¼ to 34 feet), and the wall beside it which was built by
Lysimachus, and is almost immediately below the surface, standing as it
were in mid air.
On the south side of the hill where, on account
of the slight natural slope, I had to make my great trench with an
inclination of 14 degrees, I discovered, at a distance of 197 feet from
the declivity, a Tower, 12 meters or 40 feet thick, which likewise
obstructs my path, and appears to extend to a great length [201].
 I am busily engaged in making (p.202) large excavations to the right and left
of it, in order to lay bare the whole; for, independently of the mighty
interest attached to this Tower, I must necessarily dig a channel to
allow the waters of the winter rains to run off, as they would
otherwise rush violently down from my platform (197 feet in length, and
with a considerable slope) against the Tower and injure it. I have
uncovered the Tower on the north and south sides along the whole
breadth of my trench, and have convinced myself that it is built on the
rock at a depth of 14 meters or 46½ feet.
Plate VIII: The Great Tower of Ilium. Seen from the S.E. The
top is 8 M. (26 ft.) below the surface of the Hill: the foundation is
on the rock 14 M. (46 ft.) deep: the height of the Tower is 20 feet.
An elevated mass of
calcareous earth, 65½ feet broad and 16½ feet high, rests upon the
north side of the Tower, and is evidently composed of the rubbish which
had to be removed in order to level the rock for building the Tower
upon it. I have of course pierced this hillock, and have convinced
myself that the north side of the Tower, 16½ feet above the rock, does
not consist of masonry, but of large blocks of stone lying loosely one
upon another, and that only the upper part, about a yard high, consists
of actual masonry. This hillock, having the form of a rampart, thus
serves to consolidate the north side of the Tower, and renders it
possible to ascend to the top without steps. The south side of the
Tower, looking out upon the Plain, consists of very solid masonry,
composed of blocks of limestone joined with earth, some of the stones
being hewn, others not. This south side of the Tower rises from the
rock at an angle of 75 degrees.
None but those who have been
present at these works can have any idea of the enormous difficulties
connected with making excavations 46½ feet deep on the right and left
of the Tower, where the débris has to be carried off to a distance of
more than 262 feet. At this great distance it is very fatiguing to work
with wheel-barrows and man-carts; so I now keep seven carts drawn by
horses, which I find a very great relief.
The Tower is at
present only 6 meters (20 feet high), (p.203) but the nature of its
surface, and the masses of stones lying on both sides, seem to prove
that it was at one time much higher.[202] For the preservation of what
remains we have only to thank the ruins of Troy, which entirely covered
the Tower as it now stands. It is probable that after the destruction
of Troy much more of it remained standing, and that the part which rose
above the ruins of the town was destroyed by the successors of the
Trojans, who possessed neither walls nor fortifications. The western
part of the Tower, so far as it is yet uncovered, is only from 121 to
124 feet distant from the steep western slope of the hill; and,
considering the enormous accumulation of débris, I believe that the
Tower once stood on the western edge of the Acropolis, where its
situation would be most interesting and imposing; for its top would
have commanded, not only a view of the whole Plain of Troy, but of the
sea with the islands of Tenedos, Imbros, and Samothrace. There is not a
more sublime situation in the area of Troy than this, and I therefore
presume that it is the “Great Tower of Ilium” which Andromache ascended
because “she had heard that the Trojans were hard pressed and that the
power of the Achæans was great.”[203] After having been buried for
thirty-one centuries, and after successive nations have built their
houses and palaces high above its summit during thousands of years,
this Tower has now again been brought to light, and commands a view, if
not of the whole Plain, at least of the northern part and of the
Hellespont. May this sacred and sublime monument of Greek heroism for
ever{204} attract the eyes of those who sail through the Hellespont!
May it become a place to which the enquiring youth of all future
generations shall make pilgrimage and fan their enthusiasm for
knowledge, and above all for the noble language and literature of
Greece! May it be an inducement speedily and completely to lay bare the
walls of Troy, which must necessarily be connected with this Tower and
most probably also with the wall laid open by me on the north side, to
uncover which is now a very easy matter.
The expenses of
excavating Ilium are, however, too great for private means, and I hope
that a company will be formed, or that some government will decide to
continue my excavations, so that I may proceed to the excavation of the
acropolis of Mycenæ. Meanwhile I shall continue the excavations at my
own expense, but I shall in future confine myself to gradually
uncovering the large surrounding walls, which are sure to be in a more
or less good state of preservation at a great depth below the city wall
built by Lysimachus.
Before I had seen even the smallest ruins
of walls belonging to Ilium, I repeatedly maintained in my reports that
the whole city was built, as it is now proved by the Wall and the Tower
to have been, of stones joined with earth. That this style of building,
if not more ancient, is at least just as ancient as the so-called
cyclopean, is proved by the walls and houses of Thera (Santorin) and
Therassia, which are built in the same way, and which, as is well
known, were discovered beneath three layers of volcanic ashes 68 feet
thick. These ashes were, however, thrown up by a central volcano, which
must have been at least 3800 feet high, and which, as is generally
supposed, sank into the sea at latest 1500 years before Christ.
Upon
the site of the temple I found, at a depth of 6½ feet, a block of
marble 5¼ feet high, and 2¾ feet both in breadth and thickness; it
weighs about 50 tons, and (p.205) contains the following inscription:—
??????????????
????O??????S????
????????????????
??????????????
????G?S????????5
?????????????????
S???S?????????????
??????O????S???
??S????S?..?????
??G???????..???????10
S????????..??S????
??????G?S?..?????S?
G?????S???...??S?S?
??????????..???????
??????S??S???S??15
?????
The
first name occurring in this inscription, of which the syllable ?? is
preserved, is probably ????S. ????????, must certainly be the
family-name, and must indicate the Latin ablative. Whether the other
name, of which ???? remains, is intended for G????, I do not venture
positively to maintain, but I consider it to be probable. For the
inscription, which I read as follows, is written in bad Greek,
especially towards the end: ? ß???? ?a? ? d?µ?? ?????? ?t?µ?sa? ?????
??a?d??? ?a????? G???? ????????? ?????ta ????st?? ?p? t?? ?e??t?t??
a?t????t???? ?a?sa??? ??t?? ?????? ?d??a??? ??t????? Seßast?? ??seß???
?a? p???? ?a? µe???a t? p??e? ?at????sa?ta ?a? pa??s???t? te t?
????ste?? ?a? s???????a?? ??d?a p?s?? t?µ?? ????? ??et?? ??e?e? ?a?
e????a? t?? p??? t?? p????.
The Emperor mentioned in this
inscription is of course Antoninus Pius, whose reign began in the year
138 A.D., and who died in 161 A.D.; it is merely by an error that he is
here called Antonius. He got the name of Hadrian from his adoptive
father, the Emperor Hadrian, and took (p.206) the name of Ælius after the
death of Hadrian’s first adopted son, Ælius Cæsar.
Upon the
upper end of the block of marble there are two foot-marks, the one
considerably in advance of the other. Each of them being 15-1/3 inches
long, they leave no doubt that upon this block the colossal statue of
the Cyzicene, who is praised in the inscription, stood in the attitude
of an orator. In the hinder foot there is a square hole, 1-4/5 inch
square, in which was placed the iron rod for fixing the statue. To
judge from the size of the footmarks, the statue must have been more
than 8 feet high, and, as the marble block is 5¼ feet in height, the
whole must have been at least 13¼ feet high, and hence we may conclude
that the temple in which this work of art stood was very spacious.
The
excavations to the right and left of the Tower have unfortunately to be
made from above, which makes the work slower, but gives me the
advantage of being able again to state with great accuracy at what
depths the various objects are found. Generally the ruins of the Greek
period extend to a depth of 2 meters (6½ feet), but there are places
where the remains of the pre-Hellenic period commence at less than 1
meter (3¼ feet), and this is the case on the east of the Tower, where
at even 3¼ feet below the surface I found a seal made of clay with a
tree and two stars. At the same depth I found one straight and three
crooked copper knives, as well as a large double-edged axe and several
other instruments of the same metal. Almost immediately on the surface
I found, among other coins, an exceedingly remarkable medal, such as I
believe has never before been met with; on one side it has the portrait
of the Emperor Commodus (here written ??????S); upon the other there is
a figure in armour, armed with two lances (probably Minerva) standing
upon the fore part of a ship, which ends in an extremely well-wrought
head of a gazelle; in a semicircle round it is the word ??????S?O?. The
medal{207} therefore comes from the very small island of Elæusa, on the
coast of Cilicia, and it proves the remarkable fact that this small
island, which now scarcely possesses any inhabitants, was anciently so
populous that it struck its own coins.
 The
frequently discussed whorls of terra-cotta, bearing simple or double
crosses with the marks of four nails, or having three, four, or five
double rising suns in the circle round the central sun, are met with to
the east of the Tower quite close below the surface, that is, at a
depth of not quite a foot. At a depth of 1 meter (3¼ feet) I found a
small whorl, upon which the Rosa mystica, with its four petals, forms a
cross round the sun.
Fig.150: Terra-cotta Vase (7m depth).
At as small a depth as 2 meters (6½ feet) I
discovered a small and coarsely made cup, with the owl’s face of the
Ilian tutelary goddess, also very clumsy goblets in the form of
champagne-glasses with two handles; at a depth of 3 meters (10 feet)
small saucers with three little feet, which are adorned with ? and
trees of life. I also found at the same depth small terra-cotta
volcanoes and tops with the ?, and a great number of them at a depth of
4 meters (13 feet). At the latter depth I found, when excavating the
west side of the Tower, an extremely curious cup, nearly 8 inches high,
in the form of a Mecklenburg roll (Plutensemmel), with four divisions,
but round and furnished with two enormous handles; it has a rounded
foot, so that it can only stand on its mouth. In the same place I found
a curious vase, with little rings on the sides for suspension by
strings, and a little spout in the bulge, so that the fluid poured into
the vase would run out again directly.
 Vases with such tubes in the
bulge, but without rings at the sides, are very frequently met with.
Further, at a depth of 4 meters (13 feet) I found goblets in the form
of champagne-glasses, with two large handles; also a curious little
terra-cotta volcano with four ?, the symbol of lightning, and two
sacrificial altars covered with flames. At a depth of 5 meters (16½
feet) (p.208) I found several such pieces with extremely interesting
symbolical signs; one of them had a very fine engraving of the flaming
altar and the tree of life.
Fig.151: Terra-cotta Vase in the form of an Animal, from the Trojan Stratum (10m depth).
In the same stratum I found a neat little
vase with three feet, two handles, and prettily engraved decorations;
lastly, a number of small knives made of silex, in the form of saws. At
a depth of 6 meters (20 feet) we found a vessel, a little more than 9
inches long, which is exactly in the shape of an animal; it has three
feet, a tail, and an upright neck, which is connected with the back by
a large handle. At a depth of 7 meters (23 feet) I found a very pretty
vase, with the owl’s head of the tutelary goddess of Troy, her two
female breasts and navel; the two arms are raised by the side of the
head, and served as handles. From the same depth we brought out a
curious saw made of bone; from a depth of 8 meters (26 feet), idols
with the image of the Ilian Athena, with her girdle, made of very fine
marble; at the same depth some of those earthen funnels which I have
already frequently mentioned, also several terra-cotta balls covered
with engravings of little stars. I also discovered during the last few
days, at depths of from 8 to 11 meters (26 to 36 feet) a number of
large vases and vessels of various forms, with two, three, and four
handles, and, besides these, at 10 meters (33 feet) deep, a vessel in
the form of an animal, with three feet and a tail; a horn, which
projects from the upright neck and serves as a handle, connects the
head with the end of the back. This vessel is not unlike a locomotive
engine. (p.209)
 The
day before yesterday, at the depthof 14 meters (46 feet), we met with
a great number of interesting things; for instance, the neck of a
brilliant red vase with the owl’s head, which has two enormously large
eyes; then a brilliant brown vessel, 8-2/3 inches long, 7 inches high,
and near ly 6 inches thick, in the form of a sow, with a projecting but
closed head of excellent workmanship, and with three feet; the orifice
of the vessel is in the tail, which is connected with the back by a
handle.
Fig.152: Terra-cotta Vessel in the shape of a Pig, from the Lowest Stratum (14m depth). Further, a lance and several instruments, as well as a number
of copper nails, and needles of ivory for embroidering.
 In the ashes of
the same house, which has evidently been burnt, I also found, at a
depth of 13 meters (42½ feet), a tolerably well preserved skeleton of a
woman, of which I think I have collected nearly all the bones; the
skull especially is in a good state of preservation, but has
unfortunately been broken in our excavations; however, I can easily put
it together again; the mouth is somewhat protruding, and shows good but
astonishingly small teeth.
Fig.153: Skull of a Woman, found near some gold ornaments in the Lowest Stratum (13m depth).
By the side of the skeleton I found a
finger-ring, (p.210) three ear-rings, and a dress-pin of pure gold. The
latter is perfectly simple, and has a round head; two of the ear-rings
are of quite a primitive kind, and consist of simple gold wire 0.058 of
an inch thick; as does also the third ear-ring, which, however, is much
more finely wrought and ends in a leaf, which is formed of six gold
wires of equal thickness, riveted together.[204] The finger-ring is
made of three gold wires 0.115 of an inch thick.
All of these objects
bear evidence of having been exposed to great heat. The Trojan woman
must, however, have also worn other ornaments, for by the side of the
skeleton I collected several gold beads only 0.039 of an inch large,
and also a very thin oval ring only a quarter of an inch in length.
Even the colour of the bones leaves no doubt that the lady was
overtaken by fire and burnt alive. With the exception of the skeleton
of the embryo of six months which was found in a vase upon the primary
soil, this is the only human skeleton I have ever met with in any of
the pre-Hellenic strata on this hill.[205] As we know from Homer, all
corpses were burnt, and the ashes were placed in urns, of which I have
found great numbers in the ruins of all the nations which inhabited
this hill before the time of the Greek colony. The bones, however, were
always burnt to ashes; at most I have occasionally discovered a whole
tooth, in no case have I ever met with another entire bone in the urns.
Among
the remains of the same Trojan house, and not far from the skeleton, I
found the fragment of a yellow cup (vase-cover), with a very expressive
man’s face; the nose is long and somewhat aquiline. In addition to this
I found there seven of the round terra-cottas in the shape of a flat
top. Among these was one 2-1/3 inches in diameter, which has the exact
form of a wheel; in the circle round{211} the nave it has five rising
suns. As usual, these decorations are engraved and filled with a white
substance.
Of pillars I have as yet found no trace in Troy;
hence if there existed real pillars, they must in all cases have been
of wood. Moreover, the word “????” is never met with in the Iliad, and
only in the Odyssey. In a house at a depth of 39¼ feet, I found a
prettily carved and very hard piece of limestone in the form of a
crescent, with a round hole 1½ inch deep, and I conjecture that it may
have been used as the support for a door.
 In conclusion, I
flatter myself with the hope that, as a reward for my enormous expenses
and all my privations, annoyances, and sufferings in this wilderness,
but above all for my important discoveries, the civilized world will
acknowledge my right to re-christen this sacred locality; and in the
name of the divine Homer I baptize it with that name of immortal
renown, which fills the heart of everyone with joy and enthusiasm: I
give it the name of “Troy” and “Ilium,” and I call the Acropolis, where
I am writing these lines, by the name of the “Pergamus of Troy.”[206]
Fig.154: Block of Limestone, with a socket, in which the pivot of a door may have turned (12m depth).
Footnotes:
[200] Iliad, VII. 452-453.
[201] The Tower is marked No. 4, and is also named, on Plan II.
[202] This opinion was changed afterwards. See Chapter XXII., p. 318.—[Ed.]
[203] Iliad, VI. 386, 387:—
???’ ?p? p????? ?ß? µ??a? ?????, ???e?’ ????se?
?e??es?a? ???a?, µ??a d? ???t?? e??a? ??a???.
“But to the height of Ilion’s topmost tower
Andromache is gone; since tidings came
The Trojan force was overmatched, and great
The Grecian strength.”
[204] Similar rings are shown among the articles of the Treasure (Chapter XXIII., Plate XX).
[205] Others, even more interesting, were found later (Chapter XX., see p. 279-80).
[206]
This last name was afterwards recalled by Dr. Schliemann, and that of
“Ilium” or “Troy” confined to the Hill of Hissarlik. See Chapter
XXIII., p. 343; and Introduction, p. 18.
[Continue to Chapter 13]
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