Heinrich Schliemann

Heinrich Schliemann: Famous Architect who discovered Troy.

When Schliemann traveled to Greece in the summer of 1868 he had already determined that he wanted to do archaeology. When he arrived at Ithaca, he went to work finding the Palace of Odysseus. Using Homer and the locals' legends as his guides, he started excavating on the isthmus of the island and uncovered a group of over 20 vases, each filled with ashes that Schliemann was certain were human. They also uncovered a 6-inch long sacrificial knife, a clay goddess figurine, and some animal bones. In his journal, Schliemann wrote "it is quite possible that they [the vases] contain the ashes of Odysseus and Penelope, or their descendants." After finding nothing more at Ithaca, Schliemann set out to find Troy.

On June 18, 1872, Schliemann uncovered a relief of the sun god Apollo riding the four horses of the sun. The work was most likely from the Ptolemaic period, much later than the supposed time of the Trojan War. Though Schliemann had promised to give the Turkish government half of the treasure he found, he and Calvert smuggled the relief out of the country, and it ended up adorning Schliemann's garden for many years.

More progress came in May of 1873 when his crew found two gates 20 feet apart, and the foundation of a large building behind the gates. In typical form, Schliemann interpreted the findings in a way that fit his hopes - he dubbed the entrance the Scaean Gates, and named the building Priam's Palace.

Shortly after that find came one of the most interesting of Schliemann's discoveries. Schliemann himself found a golden treasure near the Scaean Gates, and hoping to keep his find secret, let the crew have the rest of the day off. He and Sophie quietly excavated the hoard themselves, certain that they had found the treasure of King Priam. Among their findings were a copper shield, a copper cauldron, a silver vase, a copper vase, a gold bottle, 2 gold cups, a small electrum cup, a silver goblet, 3 silver vases, 7 double-edged copper daggers, 6 silver knife blades, 13 copper lance-heads, 2 gold diadems, a fillet, 4 gold ear-drops, 56 gold earrings, and 8,750 gold rings and buttons.

Heinrich Schliemann Died on December 26, 1890 in Naples, Italy.