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Chapter 16 (p.233)
Pergamus of Troy, March 1st, 1873.
Since Monday morning, the 24th of last month, I have succeeded in increasing
the number of my workmen to 158, and as throughout this week we have
had splendid weather, I have been able to accomplish a good stroke of
work in the six days, in spite of the many hindrances and difficulties
which I had at first to struggle against. Since the 1st of February I
have succeeded in removing more than 11,000 cubic yards of débris from
the site of the temple.
To-day, at last, I have had the pleasure of
uncovering a large portion of that buttress, composed of large unhewn
white stones, which at one time covered the entire north-eastern corner
of the declivity, whereas, in consequence of its increase in size
during the course of many centuries by the ashes of the sacrificed
animals, the present declivity of the hill is 131 feet distant from it
to the north, and 262½ feet distant to the east. To my surprise I found
that this buttress reaches to within 26 feet of the surface, and thus,
as the primary soil is elsewhere always at from 46 to 52½ feet below
the surface, it must have covered an isolated hill from 20 to 26 feet
high, at the north-east end of the (p.234) Pergamus, where at one time
there doubtless stood a small temple.
Of this sanctuary, however, I
find nothing but red wood-ashes, mixed with the fragments of brilliant
black Trojan earthenware, and an enormous number of unhewn stones,
which seem to have been exposed to a fearful heat, but no trace of
sculpture: the building must therefore have been very small. I have
broken through the buttress of this temple-hill at a breadth of 13
feet, in order to examine the ground at its foundation. I dug it away
to a depth of 5 feet, and found that it consists of the virgin soil,
which is of a greenish colour. Upon the site of the small and very
ancient temple, which is indicated by the buttress, I find in two
places pure granular sand, which appears to extend very far down, for
after excavating it to a depth of 6½ feet I did not reach the end of
the stratum. Whether this hill consists entirely, or but partially, of
earth and sand, I cannot say, and must leave it undecided, for I should
have to remove thousands more of cubic yards of rubbish.
 Among the
débris of the temple we found a few, but exceedingly interesting
objects, for instance, the largest marble idol that has hitherto been
found, which is 5¼ inches long and 3 inches broad (fig.163).
Fig.163: One of the largest marble Idols, found in the Trojan Stratum (8m depth).
Further, the lid of
a pot, which is divided into twelve fields by roughly engraved lines.
Ten of the fields are ornamented with little stars, one with two signs
of lightning, and another with six lines (fig.164). There was also a small idol
of terra-cotta with the owl’s head of the Ilian tutelary goddess, with
two arms and long hair hanging down at the back of the head; but it is
so roughly made that, for instance, the eyes of the goddess are above
the eyebrows (fig.165). I also found among the débris of the temple a vase with
the (p.235) owl’s face, two female breasts and a large navel; of the face
only one eye and an ear is preserved. I must draw especial attention to
the fact that both upon the vases with owls’ heads two female breasts
and a navel, and upon all of the others without the owl’s face and
adorned only with two female breasts and a navel, the latter is always
ten times larger than the breasts. I therefore presume that the navel
had some important significance, all the more so as it is frequently
decorated with a cross, and in one case even with a cross and the marks
of a nail at each of the four ends of the cross.[220] We also
discovered among the ruins of the small and very ancient building some
pretty wedges (battle-axes), and a number of very rude hammers made of
diorite; besides a quantity of those small red and black terra-cotta
whorls, with the usual engravings of four or five ?, or of three, four,
or five triple rising suns in the circle round the central sun, or with
other extremely strange decorations.
 Fig.164 (left): Terra-cotta Pot-lid, engraved with symbolical marks (6m depth).
Fig.165 (right):A curious Terra-cotta Idol of the Ilian Athena (7m depth.).
At
a depth of 7 to 8 meters (23 to 26 feet), we also came upon a number of
vases having engraved decorations, and with three feet or without feet,
but generally with rings at the sides and holes in the mouth for
suspension by strings; also goblets in the form of a circular tube,
with a long spout at the side for drinking out of, which
 is always (p.236)
connected with the other side of the tube by a handle; further, smaller
or larger jars with a mouth completely bent backwards (fig.166); small
terra-cotta funnels; very curious little sling-bullets made of diorite,
from only ¾ of an inch to above 1 inch long.
Fig.166: Pretty Terra-cotta jug, with the neck bent back (7m depth).
The most remarkable of all
the objects found this year is, however, an idol of very hard black
stone above 2½ inches long and broad (fig.167), discovered at a depth of 9 meters
(29½ feet). The head, hands, and feet have theform of hemispheres, and
the head is only recognised by several horizontal lines engraved below
it, which seem to indicate necklaces. In the centre of the belly is a
navel, which is as large as the head, but, instead of protruding as in
the case of the vases, it is indicated by a circular depression.
 The
back of the middle of the body is arched, and has the appearance of a
shield, so that in looking at the idol one is involuntarily led to
believe that it represents Mars, the god of war.
No.167: Remarkable Trojan Idol of Black Stone (7m depth).
 At
a depth of from 4 to 7 meters (13 to 23 feet) we also met with
fragments of terra-cotta serpents, whose heads are sometimes
represented with horns (figs.168,169).
Figs.168,169: Heads of Horned Serpents (4m depth).
The latter must (p.237) certainly be a very
ancient and significant symbol of the greatest importance, for even now
there is a superstition that the horns of serpents, by merely coming in
contact with the human body, cure a number of diseases, and especially
epilepsy; also that by dipping them in milk the latter is instantly
turned into cheese, and other notions of the same sort. On account of
the many wholesome and useful effects attributed to the horns of
serpents, they are regarded as immensely valuable, and on my return
here at the end of January one of my last year’s workmen was accused by
a jealous comrade of having found two serpents’ horns in an urn at a
depth of 52½ feet, and of having made off with them.
 All my assurances
that there are no such things as serpents horns could not convince the
men, and they still believe that their comrade has robbed me of a great
treasure.
Fig.170: A Serpent’s Head, with horns on both sides, and very large eyes (6m depth).
The serpents’ heads not ornamented with horns generally
represent the poisonous asp; above the mouth they have a number of
dots, and the head and back are divided (p.238) by cross lines into
sections which are filled with dots.[221] These flat serpents’ heads
have on the opposite side lines running longitudinally like female
hair. We also found terra-cotta cones an inch and a half high, with
three holes not pierced right through. At a depth of from 3¼ to 6½ feet
we have discovered several more terra-cotta vases without the owl’s
face, but with two female breasts and a large navel, and with two small
upright handles in the form of arms.
 In all the strata below 13 feet we
meet with quantities of implements of diorite, and quoits of granite,
sometimes also of hard limestone. Hammers and wedges (battle-axes) of
diorite and of green stone were also found, in most cases very prettily
wrought. The hammers do not all possess a perforated hole; upon many
there is only a cavity on both sides, about 1/5 to 2/5 of an inch deep.
Fig.171: Head of an Asp in Terra-cotta (both sides) (4 M.).
Of
metals, copper only was met with. To-day we found a copper sickle 5½
inches long; of copper weapons we have to-day for the first time found
two lances at a depth of 23 feet, and an arrow-head at 4 meters (13
feet) deep. We find numbers of long, thin copper nails with a round
head, or with the point only bent round. I now also find them
repeatedly at a depth of from 5 to 6 meters (16½ to 20 feet), whereas
since the commencement of my excavations in the year 1871, I only found
two nails as far down as this.[222] (p.239).
I am now also
vigorously carrying forward the cutting which I made on the
south-eastern corner of the Pergamus, for uncovering the eastern
portion of the Great Tower as far as my last year’s cutting, to a
length of 315 feet and a breadth of from 65½ to 78¾ feet. The work
advances rapidly, as this excavation is near the southern declivity of
the hill, and the rubbish has therefore not far to be carted off. I
have made eight side passages for removing it. Experience has taught me
that it is far more profitable not to have any special men for loading
the wheel-barrows, but to let every workman fill his own barrow.
Experience has also shown me that much precious time is lost in
breaking down the earthen walls with the long iron levers driven in by
a ram, and that it is much more profitable and less dangerous to the
workmen always to keep the earthen walls at an angle of 55 degrees, to
dig as occasion requires, and to cut away the rubbish from below with
broad pickaxes.
In this new excavation I find four earthen pipes, from
18¾ to 22¼ inches long, and from 6½ to 11¾ inches thick, laid together
for conducting water, which was brought from a distance of 1½ German
mile (about 7 English miles) from the upper Thymbrius. This river is
now called the Kemar, from the Greek word ?aµ??a (vault), because an
aqueduct of the Roman period crosses its lower course by a large arch.
This aqueduct formerly supplied Ilium with drinking water from the
upper portion of the river. But the Pergamus required special
aqueducts, for it lies higher than the city.
In this excavation
I find an immense number of large earthen wine-jars (p????) from 1 to 2
meters (3¼ to 6½ feet) high, and 29½ inches across, as well as a number
of fragments of Corinthian pillars and other splendidly sculptured
blocks of marble. All of these marble blocks must certainly have
belonged to those grand buildings whose southern wall I have already
laid bare to a length of (p.240) 285½ feet. It is composed of small stones
joined with a great quantity of cement as hard as stone, and rests upon
large well hewn blocks of limestone. The direction of this wall, and
hence of the whole building, is E.S.E. by E.
Three inscriptions,
which I found among its ruins, and in one of which it is said that they
were set up in the “?e???,” that is, in the temple, leave no doubt that
this was the temple of the Ilian Athena, the “p???????? ?e?,” for it is
only this sanctuary that could have been called simply “t? ?e???,” on
account of its size and importance, which surpassed that of all the
other temples of Ilium. Moreover the position of the building, which is
turned towards the rising sun, corresponds exactly with the position of
the Parthenon and all the other temples of Athena. From the very
commencement of my excavations I have searched for this important
sanctuary, and have pulled down more than 130,000 cubic yards of débris
from the most beautiful parts of the Pergamus in order to find it; and
I now discover it exactly where I should have least expected to come
upon it. I have sought for this new temple, which was probably built by
Lysimachus, because I believed, and still believe, that in its depths I
shall find the ruins of the primeval temple of Athena, and I am more
likely here than anywhere to find something to throw light upon Troy.
Of the inscriptions found here, as mentioned above, one is written upon
a marble slab in the form of a tombstone, 5¼ feet long, 17½ inches
broad, and 5¾ inches thick, and runs as follows:—
 "Meleager greets the Council and the people
of Ilium. Aristodicides, of Assos, has handed
to us letters from king Antiochus, the copies of
which
we have written out for you. He (Aristodicides) came to meet us
himself, and told us that though many other cities apply to him and
offer him a crown, just.as we also understand because some have sent
embassies to us from the cities, nevertheless, prompted by his
veneration for the temple (of the I/ian Athené), as well as by his
feeling of friendship for your town, he is willing to offer to you the
land which king Antiochus has presented to him. Now, he will
communicate to you what he claims to be done for him by the city. Thus
you would do well to vote for him every kind of hearty
friendship, and, whatever concession he may make, do you put it on
record, engrave it on a stone slab, ard set it up in the temple, in
order that the concession may be safely preserved to you for ever.
Farewell.
“King Antiochus greets Meleager. We have granted to
Aristodicides, the Assian, two thousand plethra of arable land, for him
to confer on the city of Jliwm, or on the city of Scepsis. Order
therefore that the two thousand plethra of land be assigned to
Aristodicides, wherever you may think proper, of the land which borders
on the territory of Gergis, or on that of Scepsis, and that they be
added to the city of the Ilians, or to that of the Scepsians. Farewell.
“
King Antiochus greets Meleager. Aristodicides, the Assian, came to
meet us, begging that we would give him, in the satrapy of the
Hellespont, Petra, which Meleager formerly had, and in the territory of
Petra one thousand five hundred plethra of arable land, and two
thousand plethra more of arable land bordering
on the portion which
had been given to him first as his share; and we have given Petra to
him, provided it has not yet been given to some one else; and we have
also presented to him the land near Petra, and two thousand plethra
more of arable land, because he is our friend and has supplied to us
all that we required, as far as he could, with kindness and
willingness. Do
you then, having examined if that portion has not
already been given to some one else, assign it to Aristodicides, as
well as the land near it, and order that of the royal domain which
borders on the land first granted to Aristodicides two thousand plethra
be m>asured off and assigned to him, and leave it to him to confer
the land on what town soever in the country or confederacy he pleases.
Regarding the royal subjects in the estate in which Petra is situated,
if for
safety’s sake they wish to live in Petra, we have
recommended Aristodicides to let them remain
there. Farewell.
“King
Antiochus greets Meleager. Aristodicides came to meet us, saying that
Petra, the district and the land with it, which we gave to him in our
former letter, is no longer
disposable, it having been granted to Athenaeus,
the commandant of the naval station; and he
begged that, instead of the land of Petra, the
same number of plethra might be assigned to him
(elsewhere), and that he might be permitted to
confer another lot of two thousand plethra of land
on whichsoever of the cities in our confederacy
he might choose, according as we wrote before.
Now, seeing him friendly disposed and zealous
for our interests, we wish to show great regard
fot the man’s interest, and have complied with
his request about these matters. He says that
his grant of land at Petra amounts to fifteen
hundred plethra. Give order therefore that the
two thousand five hundred plethra of arable
land be measured out and assigned to Aristodicides
; and further, instead of the land
around Petra, another lot of fifteen hundred
plethra of arable land, to be taken from the
royal domains bordering on the estate which we
first granted to him. Let now Aristodicides
confer the land on whichsoever of the cities in
our confederacy he may wish, as we have written
in our former letter. Farewell.”
(pp.241-244)
This
inscription, the great historical value of which cannot be denied,
seems certainly to belong to the third century B.C., judging from the
subject as well as from the form of the letters, for the king Antiochus
repeatedly mentioned must either be Antiochus I., surnamed Soter (281
to 260 B.C.), or Antiochus III., the Great (222 to 186). Polybius, who
was born in 210 or 200 B.C., and died in 122 B.C., in his History
(XXVIII. 1, and XXXI. 21) speaks indeed of a Meleager who lived in his
time, and was an ambassador of Antiochus Epiphanes, who reigned from
174 to 164, and it is quite possible that this Meleager afterwards
became satrap of the satrapy of the Hellespont, and that, in this
office, he wrote to the Ilians the first letter of this inscription.
But in the first letter of Antiochus to his satrap Meleager, he gives
him the option (p.245) of assigning to Aristodicides the 2000 plethra of
land, either from the district bordering upon the territory of Gergis
or upon that of Scepsis. The town of Gergis, however, according to
Strabo, was destroyed by king Attalus I. of Pergamus, who reigned from
241 to 197 B.C., and who transplanted the inhabitants to the
neighbourhood of the sources of the Caļcus in Mysia. These sources,
however, as Strabo himself says, are situated very far from Mount Ida,
and hence also from Ilium. Two thousand plethra of land at such a
distance could not have been of any use to the Ilians; consequently, it
is impossible to believe that the inscription can be speaking of the
new town of Gergitha, which was rising to importance at the sources of
the Caļcus.
I now perfectly agree with Mr. Frank Calvert,[226] and with
Consul von Hahn,[227] that the site of Gergis is indicated by the ruins
of the small town and acropolis at the extreme end of the heights
behind Bunarbashi, which was only a short time ago regarded by most
archęologists as the site of the Homeric Troy. This site of Gergis, in
a direct line between Ilium and Scepsis, the ruins of which are to be
seen further away on the heights of Mount Ida, agrees perfectly with
the inscription. Livy (XXXV. 43) gives an account of the visit of
Antiochus III., the Great. I also find in the ‘Corpus Inscriptionum
Gręcarum,’ No. 3596, that the latter had a general called Meleager, who
may subsequently have become satrap of the Hellespont.
On the other
hand, Chishull, in his Antiquitates Asiaticę, says that Antiochus I.,
Soter, on an expedition with his fleet against the King of Bithynia,
stopped at the town of Sigeum, which lay near Ilium, and that the king
went up to Ilium with the queen, who was his wife and sister, and with
the great dignitaries and his suite. There is, indeed, nothing said of
the brilliant reception which was there prepared{246} for him, but
there is an account of the reception which was arranged for him in
Sigeum. The Sigeans lavished servile flattery upon him, and not only
did they send ambassadors to congratulate him, but the Senate also
passed a decree, in which they praised the king’s actions to the skies,
and proclaimed that public prayers should be offered up to the Ilian
Athena, to Apollo (who was regarded as his ancestor), to the goddess of
Victory and to other deities, for his and his consort’s welfare; that
the priestesses and priests, the senators and all the magistrates of
the town should carry wreaths, and that all the citizens and all the
strangers settled or temporarily residing in Sigeum should publicly
extol the virtues and the bravery of the great king; further, that a
gold equestrian statue of the king, standing on a pedestal of white
marble, should be erected in the temple of Athena in Sigeum, and that
it should bear the inscription: “The Sigeans have erected this statue
to King Antiochus, the son of Seleucus, for the devotion he has shown
to the temple, and because he is the benefactor and the saviour of the
people; this mark of honour is to be proclaimed in the popular
assemblies and at the public games.” However, in this wilderness it is
impossible for me to find out from which ancient classic writer this
episode has been taken.
It is very probable that a similar
reception awaited Antiochus I. in Ilium, so that he kept the city in
good remembrance. That he cherished kindly feelings towards the Ilians
is proved also by the inscription No. 3595 in the ‘Corpus Inscriptionum
Gręcarum.’ But whether it is he or Antiochus the Great that is referred
to in the inscription I do not venture to decide.
Aristodicides,
of Assos, who is frequently mentioned in the inscription, is utterly
unknown, and this name occurs here for the first time; the name of the
place Petra also, which is mentioned several times in the inscription,
is quite unknown; it must have been situated in this neighbourhood, but
all my endeavours to discover it in the modern (p.247)Turkish names of
the localities, or by other means, have been made in vain.
The other inscription runs as follows:—
O??????????
?S??? ??????????SG?????
???G?????????SS???????????????????G?F?????????S??
???????S???????O?????????O????????O??O????????
F?????G?S???????F?????????S????????????S??????S???5
???????G???????S???????????????O???F???????????????
?????O?????????O?????S????O????????O??O????????F????
?G?S??????????????S????S?F??????S???S??????O?S??????S???
??????????????????????????????????????????????S???????
????????O?????S????O?????F???O?????????????????10
??O??F?????????S??????O?S??????S???
???????O???????F??????????O?????????O???
??F????O??O??????????????G?S???????F????
??S??????S???
........................
...................????? t?? ??d....
......?sµe?.........???aµe?a??? ??a???..
?pe????aµe? e?? st???? ?at? t?? ??µ?? ????f???? ?at??s?? (;)
???µat??[228] ??[229] ???µ??µ???? ?p? t?? p??t??e??[230] t?? pe?? ???-
f???? ???s?d?µ??, ?(f)????ta t??? ?at(?) t?? ??µ?? stat??a? d??5
?a? ????????? ???s(???;)?? ?a? ??teµ?d???? Fa??a ?a? ???µ?d??
?p????????, ???µ??µ????? ?p? t?? p??t??e?? t?? pe?? ???f?(???)
???s?d?µ?? ?p? ?µ??a? t?e?? ?f????ta? ??ast?? a?t?? stat??a? d??.
????d?t?? ????d?t?? ?a? ??a??e?d?? ?a? ????d?t?? t??? ??a??e?-
d?? ???µ??µ????? ?p? t?? pe?? Fa????a?ta ??d?µ?? p??t?-10
?e??, ?fe????ta ??ast?? a?t?? stat??a? d??.
??teµ?d???? ????f??t?? ???µ??µ???? ?p? t?? ??-
µ?f?????? t?? pe?? ?ppa???? ???s?d?µ??, ?f????-
ta stat??a? d??.
In
the inscription quoted in the Corpus Inscriptionum Gręcarum under No.
3604, which is admitted to belong to the time of Augustus Octavianus,
Hipparchus is mentioned as a member of the Ilian Council, and as on
line 13 the same name occurs with the same attribute, I do not hesitate
to maintain that the above inscription belongs to the same period. (p.248)
.
Footnotes:
[220] See Cut, No. 13, p. 35.
[221]
The serpents’ heads, found so frequently among the ruins of Troy,
cannot but recal to mind the superstitious regard of Homer’s Trojans
for the reptile as a symbol, and their terror when a half-killed
serpent was dropped by the bird of Jove amidst their ranks (Iliad, XII. 208, 209):—
???e? d’ ??????sa?, ?p?? ?d?? a????? ?f??
?e?µe??? ?? µ?ss??s?, ???? t??a? a????????.
“The Trojans, shuddering, in their midst beheld
The spotted serpent, dire portent of Jove.”
[222] That is, in the strata of the third dwellers on the hill.
[223] sic
[224] sic.
[225] sic.
[226] Archęological Journal, vol. xxi. 1864.
[227] Die Ausgrabungen auf der homerischen Pergamos, s. 24.
[Continue to Chapter 17]
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