Things to see at Troy

Things to see at Troy

Let’s take a brief tour around Troy as a preview of the real thing!

As you enter the site, which was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1998, you first see a large billboard showing the layers of Troy superimposed on one another. Avoid looking at this until later – the site is very complex!

On the right you will see something more interesting, a huge replica of the Wooden Horse of Troy, constructed in 1974 AD, surrounded by Greek and Roman era statuary. You can go up the horse and imagine yourself one of the Achaean warriors hidden within. Some people think the horse is a little corny, but it helps set the scene for what is to follow. There is no fee for taking photos or videos at the site.

Excavation House: This low building was built by the University of Cincinnati excavation team in the 1930s but now serves as an Exhibition Centre set up by the German-American team who started re-excavating from 1988 onwards. There are panels showing various aspects of Troy and the surrounding plain and the influence of the Troy legend in ancient times. On the plan showing the layers of the city, Homeric Troy (highlighted in red) is considered the time period when the Trojan War took place. There is no Troy Museum as such at the site (though one is being planned). Artifacts from Troy found can be seen at the Archaeological Museum in Canakkale and Archaeological Museum in Istanbul.

Just outside the “Excavation House” is the Pithos Garden where you can see some giant jars used to store and transport olive oil, wine and grain in the days before the invention of refrigerators. Such pitchers were found all over the site. Alongside you see pipes built by the Romans to bring water from the nearby village of Kemer, where there is aqueduct.

Heading towards the actual site, you can climb up some steps and stand on a viewing platform, which is actually the outer wall of the Greek and Roman Temple of Athena precinct, for a good overview of the site. This gives you an idea of the size of the city and provides another opportunity to take photos to show the folks back home! Here, as at many places around the site, there is an information panel prepared by the archaeologists in English, German and Turkish.

Go back down the same steps and follow the arrows down to the massive sloping limestone East Wall and Tower . Why the walls were sloping, your guide will try to explain. The walls of Troy are 4-5 meters thick and, it is said, were built by the gods (see “Legends of Troy”).

Stroll ahead towards the East Gate. Once you are through, the walls turn a sharp 90 degrees, a cunning design to thwart attackers using battering rams.

At the top of the steps on your left, stop to appreciate the size of one of many large, luxury villas of Troy VI (perhaps Helen and Paris spent their honeymoon in one such villa!). Contrast this with a small roughly-built shanty house (further over, to the left) dating from the succeeding settlement, when Troy was not so well off.

Now it’s time to step onto the marble platform of the terrace of the classical Temple of Athena for a glorious view of the Trojan Plain where you can just about discern the bed of the River Scamander (Kara Menderes) to the right and Simois (Dumrek Su) to the left as they make their way towards the sea. In the distance you can see the mouth of the Dardanelles. On a clear day you can see the island of Bozcaada (Tenedos) and even the island of Samothrace (Samotraki). In ancient times, what are now fields of crops was an estuary. The sea level dropped and the plain silted up. Originally, the Temple of Athena and its surrounding courtyard covered most of the hill of Hisarlik. (“Hisarlik” has been the local name for this hill since Ottoman times.) Where are the remains now? Some lie along the path you will follow in a minute, others were re-used as building material in the villages of Ciplak, Tevfikiye and Kalifatli nearby.

Also on the Greco-Roman temple platform you can look down on the Northeast Bastion from Troy VI, probably a watchtower, which gives you an idea of how strongly-defended the city was. At the bottom is a water well, with steps down from the temple.

Make your way carefully down the wooden steps, past several fine Doric columns tumbled down from the Temple of Athena, and you arrive at the level of Troy I, from about 3000 BC. Troy I was small, very small (but so were other cities back then). Walls and houses from Troy I and II can be seen further on. Some of the unexcavated mounds around you have been left by the archaeologists as a reminder of the height of Hisarlik hill before excavations began.

The path brings you to a covered area. The canopy, erected in 2003 in the shape of the sail of an ancient ship, protects the original and re-constructed mud brick walls of Troy II, and also the remains of a megaron inside. A sign reminds us that “Wind brought wealth to Troy” and it certainly can be very windy at Troy some days. Homer refers to the city as “Windy Troy”.

Exiting from under the shade of the canopy-umbrella, you face the outer Fortification Wall of Troy I. A stele of a helmeted warrior was found here. Contrast this wall with the grand walls of Troy VI seen earlier and you will appreciate how Troy represents different stages in the development of mankind from the Early Bronze Age to late Roman times.

Continuing through the ancient ruins, you find yourself inside the palace compound of Troy II. Feel privileged, for this is where the ruling class lived. The original megarons, some partly re-constructed, have been covered with earth for protection. An information panel gives you an idea what they looked like. Clearly visible is the stone step through the gateway into the palace complex.

Round the corner in the shade of the Fig Tree (quite ancient in itself) is the famous Schliemann’s Trench, 40-m wide and 17-m deep, which he dug right through the mound down to the bedrock. Seeking King Priam’s Troy, he inadvertently destroyed the very city he was looking for and uncovered instead the “long houses” you see down below from Troy I, with their distinctive herring-bone style walls. The terrace wall to the right was constructed in 1988 to protect the houses.

Cross the wooden bridge and you encounter a slice through the original Hisarlik mound showing all the Levels of Troy, some numbered. Here you can really appreciate what an ancient city it was and what a dilemma the archaeologists have in deciding which layers to excavate without removing other remains.

The ramp of Troy II is next, with the walls of that city curving around to the left and right. Restoration has been kept to a minimum, as elsewhere on the site. The ramp, contemporary with the Pyramids in Egypt, led up to the main gateway of Troy II. Such was the intensity of the cataclysmic fire that swept through this city that it left a layer of rubble and ashes two meters deep! Remember that there were no insurance policies in those days! To the left of the ramp is another Troy II city gate and the spot where Schliemann is supposed to have discovered the Treasure of Priam.

Follow the arrows up the steps. You are now outside the walls of Troy II but still inside the city of Troy VI. Before you extends the massive city wall of Homeric Troy, and an enigma. Was this possibly the legendary Scaean Gate? Does this stretch of wall, obviously hurriedly filled-in compared to the solid well-built wall on either side, represent the actual spot where the wooden horse of Troy was dragged into the city? Too small to accommodate the height and size of the horse, was the gateway torn down then rebuilt using rough stones soon after? The pathway to the right (a cul-de-sac) leads to recent excavations.

Following the established route to the left, shortly after you see a Palatial Residence from Troy VI, the walls still intact but the upper level of mud brick wall long ago disintegrated.

Crossing directly over the wide walls of Troy VI, you next arrive at the Sanctuary or Holy Place, built by Greek colonists from the island of Lesbos in about 700 BC. By this time, Troy, or “Ilios”, had become a religious center and tourist attraction. Here was the archaic Temple of Athena, as opposed to the classical Temple of Athena you were standing on earlier. Visible are a succession of sacrificial altars and wells and a grandstand for nobles to watch. The surrounding limestone walls are original.

After this, a diversion to the Cave is possible if you have time. You can’t actually go in but you can see the artificial entrance to the cave, a valuable secondary source of water for Trojans during the hot summers, and probably some frogs among the reeds.

So, best to continue round the hill, noting the remains of the Roman Baths to the right. The floor of the baths was once covered with beautiful mosaics. Now you can enjoy a photo-op at the Greek-Roman era Odeion, a small but cute amphitheater where concerts and speeches were given. You may give a performance on the stage yourself. Other columns from Greek “Ilion” or Roman “Ilium” lie scattered around and the small Bouleuterion (council chamber) lies about 70 m to the right.

A short walk takes you to the last significant sight on this circular tour, the South Gate of Troy VI, probably the main entrance. This is also known as the Dardanus Gate because it opened onto the road leading to Dardania on Mount Ida. The main street has a covered drainage-channel. To the left of the entrance is a tall tower, similar to the one you saw at the beginning of the tour, and stone pedestals on which stood images of the gods.

This is just a brief taste of what is to be seen at Troy, the city where bronze-clad warriors such as Achilles and Hector fought for love and honor, the last great act in an age of heroes before the disintegration of the Mycenaean world. The story goes on. Excavations continue. More finds wait to be discovered in the Lower City and elsewhere on the plateau.

There are many reasons for visiting Troy. One of them is also the richness of wild life. On your way round you may also glimpse squirrels, tortoises, giant snails, maybe a fox and a variety of butterflies and other flora and fauna on the site.