On the Hill of Hissarlik, April 25th, 1872.

SINCE my report of the 5th of this month I have continued the excavations most industriously with an average of 120 workmen. Unfortunately, however, seven of these twenty days were lost through rainy weather and festivals, one day also by a mutiny among my men. I had observed that the smoking of cigarettes interrupted the work, and I therefore forbad smoking during working hours, but I did not gain my point immediately, for I found that the men smoked in secret. I was, however, determined to carry my point, and caused it to be proclaimed that transgressors would be forthwith dismissed and never taken on again. Enraged at this, the workmen from the village of RenkoÏ—about 70 in number—declared that they would not work, if everyone were not allowed to smoke as much as he pleased; they left the platform, and deterred the men from the other villages from working by throwing stones. The good people had imagined that I would give in to them at once, as I could not do without them, and that now I could not obtain workmen enough; that moreover during the beautiful weather it was not likely that I would sit still a whole day. But they found themselves mistaken, for I immediately sent my foreman to the other neighbouring villages and succeeded (to the horror of the 70 RenkoÏts, who had waited the whole night at my door) in collecting 120 workmen for the next morning without requiring their services. My energetic measures have at last completely humbled the RenkoÏts, from whose impudence I had very much to put up with during my last year’s excavations, and have also had a beneficial effect upon all of my present men. Since the mutiny I have not only been able to prohibit smoking, but even to lengthen the day’s work by one hour; for, instead of working as formerly from half-past five in the morning to half-past five in the evening, I now always commence at five and continue till six in the evening. But, as before, I allow half an hour at nine and an hour and a half in the afternoon for eating and smoking.

According to an exact calculation of the engineer, M. A. Laurent, in the seventeen days since the 1st of the month I have removed about 8500 cubic meters (11,000 cubic yards) of dÉbris; this is about 666 cubic yards each day, and somewhat above 5-1/3 cubic yards each workman.

We have already advanced the platform 49 feet into the hill, but to my extreme surprise I have not yet reached the primary soil. The opinion I expressed in my report of the 24th of November of last year, that the thickness of the hill on the north side had not increased since the remotest times, I find confirmed as regards the whole western end of my platform, to a breadth of 45 meters (147½ feet); for it is only upon the eastern portion of it, to a breadth of 82 feet, that I found 6½ and even 10 feet of soil; below and behind it, as far as 16½ feet above the platform, there is dÉbris as hard as stone, which appears to consist only of ashes of wood and animals, the remains of the offerings presented to the Ilian Athena. I therefore feel perfectly convinced that by penetrating further into this part I shall come upon the site of the very ancient temple of the goddess. The ashes of this stratum have such a clayey appearance, that I should believe it to be the pure earth, were it not that I find it frequently to contain bones, charcoal, and small shells, occasionally also small pieces of brick. The shells are uninjured, which sufficiently proves that they cannot have been exposed to heat. In this very hard stratum of ash, at 11 feet above the platform, and 46 feet from its edge, I found a channel made of green sandstone nearly 8 inches broad and above 7 inches high, which probably once served for carrying away the blood of the animals sacrificed, and must necessarily at one time have discharged its contents down the declivity of the hill. It therefore proves that the thickness of the hill at this point has increased fully 46 feet since the destruction of the temple to which it belonged.

No. 72. Fragment of a large Urn of Terra-cotta with Assyrian (?) Decorations, from the Lowest Stratum (14 M.).
No. 72. Fragment of a large Urn of Terra-cotta with Assyrian (?) Decorations, from the Lowest Stratum (14 M.).

Upon the other 147½ feet of the platform I find everywhere, as far as to about 16½ feet high, colossal masses of large blocks of shelly limestone, often more or less hewn, but generally unhewn, which frequently lie so close one upon another that they have the appearance of actual walls. But I soon found that all of these masses of stone must of necessity belong to grand buildings which once have stood there and were destroyed by a fearful catastrophe. The buildings cannot possibly have been built of these stones without some uniting substance, and I presume that this was done with mere earth, for I find no trace of lime or cement. Between the immense masses of stone there are intermediate spaces, more or less large, consisting of very firm dÉbris, often as hard as stone, in which we meet with very many bones, shells, and quantities of other remains of habitation. No traces of any kind of interesting articles were found in the whole length of the wall of dÉbris, 229½ feet in length and 16¼ feet in height, except a small splendidly worked hair-or dress-pin of silver, but destroyed by rust. To-day, however, at a perpendicular depth of 14 meters (46 feet) I found a beautiful polished piece of mica-schist, with moulds for casting two breast-pins, and two other ornaments which are quite unknown to me—all of the most fanciful description. I also found a funereal or water urn, unfortunately completely broken, with decorations in the form of two flat wreaths which run right round it. The urn must have been 5 feet high, and at least 27½ inches in breadth. In both of the wreaths there is an uninterrupted row of cuneiform impressions, which at first sight seem to be Assyrian inscriptions; but on closer examination it is found that they are mere ornaments. The fragments of this vase show a thickness of about ¾ of an inch. Two other enormous urns, but completely broken, either for water, wine, or funereal ashes, with decorations in the form of several wreaths, forming perfect circles, were found on the 22nd and 23rd of this month, at from 19½ to 23 feet above the platform, and therefore, at a perpendicular depth of from 26 to 33 feet. Both must have been more than 6½ feet high, and more than 3¼ feet in diameter, for the fragments show a thickness of nearly 2 inches. The wreaths are likewise in bas-relief, and show either double triangles fitting into one another with circles, or flowers, or three rows or sometimes one row of circles. The last decoration was also found upon the frieze of green stone which Lord Elgin discovered in the year 1810 in the treasury of Agamemnon in MycenÆ, and which is now in the British Museum. Both this frieze, and the above-mentioned urns discovered by me in the depths of Ilium, distinctly point to Assyrian art, and I cannot look at them without a feeling of sadness when I think with what tears of joy and with what delight the ever-memorable German scholar, Julius Braun, who unfortunately succumbed three years ago to his excessive exertions, would have welcomed their discovery; for he was not only the great advocate of the theory that the Homeric Troy must be only looked for below the ruins of Ilium, but he was also the able defender of the doctrine, that the plastic arts and a portion of the Egyptian and Assyrian mythology had migrated to Asia Minor and Greece, and he has shown this by thousands of irrefutable proofs in his profound and excellent work, Geschichte der Kunst in ihrem Entwickelungsgange, which I most urgently recommend to all who are interested in art and archÆology.

Both the urns found at a depth of 46 feet and those at from 26 to 33 feet, as well as all the funereal urns and large wine or water vessels which I formerly discovered, were standing upright, which sufficiently proves that the colossal masses of dÉbris and ruins were gradually formed on the spot, and could not have been brought there from another place in order to increase the height of the hill. This is, moreover, a pure impossibility in regard to the immense numbers of gigantic blocks of stone, hewn and unhewn, which frequently weigh from 1 to 2 tons.

In the strata at a depth of from 7 to 10 meters (23 to 33 feet), I found two lumps of lead of a round and concave form, each weighing about two pounds; a great number of rusted copper nails, also some knives and a copper lance; further very many smaller and larger knives of white and brown silex in the form of single and double-edged saws; a number of whet-stones of green and black slate with a hole at one end, as well as various small objects of ivory.[109] In all the strata from 4 to 10 meters (13 to 33 feet) deep I found a number of hammers, axes and wedges of diorite, which, however, are decidedly of much better workmanship in the strata below the depth of 7 meters (23 feet) than in the upper ones. Likewise at all depths from 3 meters (10 feet) below the surface we find a number of flat idols of very fine marble; upon many of them is the owl’s face and a female girdle with dots; upon one there are in addition two female breasts.[110] The striking resemblance of these owls’ faces to those upon many of the vases and covers, with a kind of helmet on the owl’s head, makes me firmly convinced that all of the idols, and all of the helmeted owls’ heads represent a goddess, and indeed must represent one and the same goddess, all the more so as, in fact, all the owl-faced vases with female breasts and a navel have also generally two upraised arms: in one case the navel is represented by a cross with four nails.[111] The cups (covers) with owls’ heads, on the other hand, never have breasts or a navel, yet upon some of them I find long female hair represented at the back.[112]

The important question now presents itself:—What goddess is it who is here found so repeatedly, and is, moreover, the only one to be found, upon the idols, drinking-cups and vases? The answer is:—She must necessarily be the tutelary goddess of Troy, she must be the Ilian Athena, and this indeed perfectly agrees with the statement of Homer, who continually calls her ?e? ??a???p?? ?????, “the goddess Athena with the owl’s face.” For the epithet “??a???p??” has been wrongly translated by the scholars of all ages, because they could not imagine that Athena should have been represented with an owl’s face. The epithet, however, consists of the two words ??a?? and ?p?, and, as I can show by an immense number of proofs, the only possible literal translation is “with an owl’s face”; and the usual translation “with blue, fiery or sparkling eyes” is utterly wrong. The natural conclusion is that owing to progressive civilization Athena received a human face, and her former owl’s head was transformed into her favourite bird, the owl, which as such is unknown to Homer. The next conclusion is that the worship of Athena as the tutelary goddess of Troy was well known to Homer; hence that a Troy existed, and that it was situated on the sacred spot, the depths of which I am investigating.

In like manner, when excavations shall be made in the HerÆum between Argos and MycenÆ, and on the site of the very ancient temple of Hera on the island of Samos, the image of this goddess with a cow’s head will doubtless be found upon idols, cups and vases; for “??p??” the usual epithet of Hera in Homer, can originally have signified nothing else than “with the face of an ox.” But as Homer also sometimes applies the epithet ??p?? to mortal women, it is probable that even at his time it was considered to be bad taste to represent Hera, the wife of the mightiest of all the gods, with the face of an ox, and that therefore men even at that time began to represent her with a woman’s face, but with the eyes of an ox, that is, with very large eyes; consequently the common epithet of ??p??, which had formerly been only applied to Hera with the meaning of “with the face of an ox,” now merely signified with large eyes.

Of pottery we have found a great deal during the last weeks, but unfortunately more than half of it in a broken condition. Of painting upon terra-cotta there is still no trace; most of the vessels are of a simple brilliant black, yellow, or brown colour; the very large vases on the other hand are generally colourless. Plates of ordinary manufacture I have as yet found only at a depth of from 8 to 10 meters (26 to 33 feet), and, as can be distinctly seen, they have been turned upon a potter’s wheel. All the other vessels hitherto found seem, however, to have been formed by the hand alone; yet they possess a certain elegance, and excite the admiration of beholders by their strange and very curious forms. The vases with a long neck bent back, a beak-shaped mouth turned upwards, and a round protruding body[113]—two of which are in the British Museum, several of those found in Cyprus in the Museum in Constantinople, and several of those discovered beneath three layers of volcanic ashes in Thera and Therassia in the French school in Athens—are almost certainly intended to represent women, for I find the same here at a depth of from 26 to 33 feet, with two or even with three breasts, and hence I believe that those found here represent the tutelary goddess of Ilium. We also find some vases and covers with men’s faces, which, however, are never without some indications of the owl; moreover, the vases with such faces always have two female breasts and a navel. I must draw especial attention to the fact that almost all of the vases with owls’ faces, or with human faces and the indications of the owl, have two uplifted arms, which serve as handles, and this leads me to conjecture that they are imitations of the large idol which was placed in the very ancient temple of the Ilian divinity, which therefore must have had an owl’s face, but a female figure, and two arms beside the head. It is very remarkable that most of the vessels which I find have been suspended by cords, as is proved by the two holes in the mouth, and the two little tubes, or holes in the handles, at the side of the vessels.

Unfortunately, many of the terra-cottas get broken when the dÉbris is being loosened and falls down, for there is only one way in which I can save my men and myself from being crushed and maimed by the falling stones: this is, by keeping the lowest part of the mighty earthen wall on the perpendicular up to 16 feet (not 7 feet, as on the first five days), and the whole of the upper part at an angle of 50 degrees, by always loosening the perpendicular portion, by making shafts, and working with large iron levers in pieces of from 15 to 30 cubic metres (20 to 40 cubic yards). By thus causing the dÉbris and the stones of the upper portion to be loosened with the pickaxe, the stones fall in almost a direct line over the lower perpendicular wall of 16 feet; therefore they roll at most a few paces, and there is less danger that anyone will be hurt. By this means I also have the advantage that the greatest portion of the dÉbris falls down of its own accord, and what remains can be shovelled down with little trouble, whereas at first I spent half of my time in getting it down. As, however, in making shafts and in bringing down the colossal lumps of earth a certain amount of skill and caution is necessary, I have engaged a third foreman at 7 francs a day, Georgios Photidos, of Paxos, who has for seven years worked as a miner in Australia, and was there occupied principally in making tunnels. Home-sickness led him back to his native country, where, without having sufficient means of earning his daily bread, he, in youthful thoughtlessness and out of patriotism, married a poor girl of his own people who was but fifteen years old. It was only after his marriage, and in consequence of domestic cares, that he recovered his senses. He heard that I was making excavations here, and came on speculation to offer me his services. As he had assured me, when I first saw him, that my accepting his services was a question of life and death to him and his wife, I engaged him at once, the more so because I was very much in want of a miner, tunnel-maker, and pitman, such as he is. Besides acting in these capacities, he is of great use to me on Sundays and on other festivals, for he can write Greek, and he is thus able to copy my Greek reports for the newspapers and learned societies in the East; for I had hitherto found nothing more intolerable than to have to write out in Greek three times over my long reports about one and the same subject, especially as I had to take the time from my sleep. To my great regret, the excellent engineer Adolphe Laurent leaves me to-morrow, for his month is up, and he has now to commence the construction of the railroad from the PirÆus to Lamia. He has, however, made me a good plan of this hill. I must add that the Pergamus of Priam cannot have been limited to this hill, which is, for the most part, artificial; but that, as I endeavoured to explain four years ago,[114] it must necessarily have extended a good way further south, beyond the high plateau. But even if the Pergamus should have been confined to this hill, it was, nevertheless, larger than the Acropolis of Athens; for the latter covers only 50,126 square meters (about 60,000 square yards), whereas the plateau of this hill amounts to 64,500 square meters (about 77,400 square yards). I must further mention that, according to Laurent’s calculation, the plateau rises 46 feet above my platform, and that his measurements of its height (about 38 feet on the north and 39 feet on the south) applies to those points where the steep precipice commences. I have just built a house with three rooms, as well as a magazine and kitchen, which altogether cost only 1000 francs (40l.), including the covering of waterproof felt; for wood is cheap here, and a plank of about 10 feet in length, 10 inches in breadth, and 1 inch thick, may be got for 2 piasters, or 40 centimes. (These houses are seen in Plates X. and XI.)

We still find poisonous snakes among the stones as far down as from 33 to 36 feet, and I had hitherto been astonished to see my workmen take hold of the reptiles with their hands and play with them; nay, yesterday I saw one of the men bitten twice by a viper, without seeming to trouble himself about it. When I expressed my horror, he laughed, and said that he and all his comrades knew that there were a great many snakes in this hill, and they had therefore all drunk a decoction of the snake-weed which grows in the district, and which renders the bite harmless. Of course I ordered a decoction to be brought to me, so that I also may be safe from their bites. I should, however, like to know whether this decoction would be a safeguard against the fatal effects of the bite of the hooded cobra, of which in India I have seen a man die within half an hour; if it were so, it would be a good speculation to cultivate snake-weed in India.

The frequently-discussed terra-cottas in the form of the volcano and top (carrousel) are continually found in immense numbers, as far as a depth of from 33 to 36 feet, and most of them have decorations, of which I always make an accurate drawing.[115] On comparing these drawings, I now find that all, without exception, represent the sun in the centre, and that almost the half of the other carvings show either only simple rays or rays with stars between, or round the edge; or again, three, four, six, or eight simple, double, treble, and quadruple rising suns in a circle round the edge.[116] Sometimes the sun is in the centre of the cross with four nails, which, according to the explanations in my sixth memoir, can evidently, and in all cases, represent only the instrument which our Aryan forefathers used for producing the holy fire (Agni), and which some Sanscrit scholars call “Arani” and others “Suastika.” The rising sun must have been the most sacred object to our Aryan ancestors; for, according to Max MÜller ('Essays'), out of it—that is, out of its struggle with the clouds—arose a very large portion of the gods who afterwards peopled Olympus. Upon some pieces the sun is surrounded by 40 or 50 little stars. I also found one upon which it is represented in the centre, surrounded by 32 little stars and three ?; another where one entire half of the circle is filled by the rays of the sun, which, as in all cases, occupies the central point; on the other half are two ? and 18 little stars, of which twice three (like the sword of Orion) stand in a row; and another where even four are seen in a row. As M. Émile Burnouf tells me, three dots in a row, in the Persian cuneiform inscriptions, denote “royal majesty.” I do not venture to decide whether the three dots here admit of a similar interpretation. Perhaps they point to the majesty of the sun-god and of Agni, who was produced out of the ?. Upon some of these terra-cottas the sun is even surrounded by four ?, which again form a cross by their position round it. Upon others, again, I find the sun in the centre of a cross formed by four trees, and each one of these trees has three or four large leaves.[117] Indian scholars will, perhaps, find these tree-crosses to represent the framework upon which our ancestors used to produce the holy fire, and the repeatedly-recurring fifth tree to be the “Pramantha.” I find representations of this same tree several times, either surrounded by circles or standing alone, upon small terra-cotta cones of from 1½ to 2-1/3 inches in diameter, which, in addition, have the most various kinds of symbols and a number of suns and stars. Upon a ball, found at the depth of 8 meters (26 feet), there is a tree of this kind, surrounded by stars, opposite a ?, beside which there is a group of nine little stars.[118] I therefore venture to express the conjecture that this tree is the tree of life, which is so frequently met with in the Assyrian sculptures, and that it is identical with the holy SÔma-tree, which, according to the VÊdas (see Émile Burnouf, Max MÜller, Adalbert Kuhn, and Fr. Windischmann), grows in heaven, and is there guarded by the Gandharvas, who belong to the primeval Aryan period, and subsequently became the Centaurs of the Greeks. Indra, the sun-god, in the form of a falcon,[119] stole from heaven this SÔma-tree, from which trickled the Amrita (ambrosia) which conferred immortality. Fr. Windischmann[120] has pointed out the existence of the SÔma-tree worship as common to the tribes of Aryans before their separation, and he therefore justly designates it an inheritance from their most ancient traditions.[121] Julius Braun[122] says, in regard to this SÔma-tree: “Hermes, the rare visitor, is regaled with nectar and ambrosia. This is the food which the gods require in order to preserve their immortality. It has come to the West from Central Asia, with the whole company of the Olympian gods; for the root of this conception is the tree of life in the ancient system of Zoroaster. The fruit and sap of this tree of life bestows immortality, and the future Messiah (Sosiosh, in the Zend writings) will give some of it to all the faithful and make them all immortal. This hope we have seen fully expressed in the Assyrian sculptures, where the winged genii stand before the holy tree with a vessel containing the juice and fruit.”

Just now two of those curious little terra-cottas, in the form of a volcano, were brought to me, upon one of which three animals with antlers are engraved in a circle round the sun;[123] upon another there are four signs (which I have hitherto not met with) in the shape of large combs with long teeth, forming a cross round the sun.[124] I conjecture that these extremely remarkable hieroglyphics, which at first sight might be imagined to be actual letters, can by no means represent anything else than the sacrificial altar with the flames blazing upon it. I do not doubt moreover, that in the continuation of the excavations I shall find this comb-shaped sign together with other symbols, which will confirm my conjectures.

I must also add that the good old Trojans may perhaps have brought with them from Bactria the name of Ida, which they gave to the mountain which I see before me to the south-east, covered with snow, upon which Jove and Hera held dalliance,[125] and from which Jove looked down upon Ilium and upon the battles in the Plain of Troy, for, according to Max MÜller,[126] Ida was the wife of Dyaus (Zeus), and their son was Eros. The parents whom Sappho ascribes to Eros—Heaven and Earth—are identical with his Vedic parents. Heracles is called ?da???, from his being identical with the Sun, and he has this name in common with Apollo and Jove.

To-morrow the Greek Easter festival commences, during which unfortunately there are six days on which no work is done. Thus I shall not be able to continue the excavations until the 1st of May.

CHAPTER VIII.

On the Hill of Hissarlik, May 11th, 1872.

SINCE my report of the 25th of last month I have only been able to have ten days’ digging, owing to the various Greek festivals, for even the poorest Greek of this district would not work on a church festival even if he could earn 1000 francs in an hour. Turkish workmen were not to be had, for they are at present occupied with field work. The weather has been and still is very favourable for making excavations, as the heat during the day does not yet rise above 20° RÉaumur (77° Fahrenheit) in the shade, and then it never rains here from the beginning of May till October, except during thunderstorms, and they rarely last more than half an hour at a time. Moreover, the Plain of Troy is at present still healthy; the notorious Trojan fevers do not actually begin till July, when the many stagnant waters have evaporated, and the pestilential miasma arises from the decomposition of the millions of dead frogs, and from the dried-up marshes, the ground of which cracks with the heat of the sun. My wife and I have therefore still six weeks before us, with the precaution of taking quinine to guard against fever.

I have cleared out the Roman well, which has been repeatedly mentioned, to a depth of 20 meters (65½ feet), and I find that it is walled only as far as 52½ feet below the surface of the hill, and then runs into the limestone rock which forms the native soil. I have caused Georgios Photidas to make a small tunnel in this rock from the well, and have now become quite convinced that the ground—upon which, according to Homer, the Trojan king Dardanus, who had up to that time lived at the foot of many-fountained Ida, built the town of Dardania (Troy) in the Plain[127]—is covered with a layer of dÉbris about 16 meters, or 52½ English feet, thick. I must here remind the reader that the ruins of the Greek colony, which settled on the spot, scarcely extend to a depth of 6½ feet; that consequently if, with Strabo (XIII. 1, 43) we suppose the establishment of this colony to have taken place under the Lydian dominion, that is about 700 B.C., and calculate the duration of the reigns of the six kings (Dardanus, Erichthonios, Tros, Ilus, Laomedon, and Priam) who, according to the Iliad (XX. 215-240), preceded the destruction of Troy, at 200 years, and thus presume the town to have been founded about 1400 years before Christ, the accumulation of dÉbris must in this place have amounted to 14 meters, or 46 feet, during the first 700 years.

I am firmly convinced that, on a glance at my excavations, every one of the remaining advocates of the antiquated theory that Troy is to be looked for at the back of the Plain, upon the heights of Bunarbashi, will at once condemn that theory, for the Acropolis and town which once stood upon those heights, and the small area of which is accurately defined by the ruins of the surrounding walls and by the precipices, is scarcely large enough to have contained a population of 2000 souls; the accumulation of dÉbris moreover is extremely small. In many places, even in the middle of the Acropolis, the naked rock protrudes, and between the area of this small town and Bunarbashi the ground—in some places pointed, in others abrupt, but in all parts irregular—shows that no village, much less a town, can ever have stood upon it. Immediately above Bunarbashi, and in fact wherever there was any earth at all, I and my guide, with five workmen, made (in August 1868) a long series of borings at distances of 100 meters (328 feet) apart, as far as the Scamander, but we found the primary soil in all cases directly, and the rock at quite an insignificant depth; and nowhere was there a trace of fragments of pottery or other indications that the place could ever have been inhabited by human beings. Even in Bunarbashi itself I found the primary soil at a depth of less than 2 feet. Besides this, if Troy had been built at the back of the Plain, upon the heights of Bunarbashi, Homer (Iliad, XX. 216-218) would not have expressly said that previous to its foundation by Dardanus it had not yet been built in the Plain.

The primary soil of Hissarlik is indeed less than 20 meters (65½ feet) above the Plain, immediately at the foot of the hill; but at all events the Plain itself, and especially that part bordering upon the hill, has increased in height considerably in the course of 31 centuries. But even if this had not been the case, still the Troy built upon this hill running out into the Plain would, on account of its high and imposing position, deserve the Homeric epithets of ?f???essa, a?pe???, and ??e?essa, especially the latter; for one of my greatest troubles here is the continual high wind, and it cannot possibly have been otherwise in Homer’s time. It is assuredly time that the Bunarbashi theory, which stands in direct contradiction with all the statements of the Iliad, should now at last come to an end. The theory, in fact, would never have arisen had its advocates, instead of spending one hour, remained a whole day on the heights, and made investigations even with the aid of a single workman.

As I observed in my last report, I here find the sun represented in the centre of all the innumerable round ornamented terra-cottas in the form of the volcano and top (carrousel), and yesterday I even found one upon which the central sun was surrounded by five other suns, each of them with twelve rays.[128]

I know very well that some would derive the name of the town of Ilium (????? or ?????) from the Sanscrit word vilÛ, “fortress,” and ????? from a lost masculine form of Se????, probably Se?????, and the thought involuntarily forces itself upon me, when looking at the above-mentioned terra-cottas with the five suns in a circle round the central sun, that the image of the Sun which occurs thousands and thousands of times must be connected with the name of Troy, namely ?????, for ????? only occurs once in Homer (Iliad, XV. 71); he always elsewhere speaks of ?????, and always uses this word as a feminine. Homer, it is true, always says ?????? instead of ?????, but in my opinion the root of both is ??? or e???, from the verb a????, the aorist of which is e????. In Germany, according to the Erasmian pronunciation e??? is certainly pronounced heila, and e????, heilon; but in the modern Greek pronunciation e??? is ili; e????, ilon; and ?????, ilios. There are a number of proofs that the Erasmian pronunciation is radically wrong, and that the modern Greek is the correct one. Among these I will only mention that all the Greek words which passed over into the Russian language, when Russia embraced Christianity 900 years ago, are pronounced in Russian exactly as they still are in Greece; and moreover that those who decipher the Assyrian cuneiform inscriptions (especially, I believe, J. Oppert, in Paris), have pointed out that the Greek names, which occur in these inscriptions from the time of the SeleucidÆ, are represented in the cuneiform writing exactly according to the modern Greek pronunciation. Now, if out of the word e???, ???, or e????, there has arisen ?????? and ?????, then surely by the sameness of the pronunciation there may have arisen out of one of the first three words in pre-Homeric times ????? in the feminine for p???? ????? or ?????, signifying “Sun-castle,” for the earlier meaning of p???? was certainly castle, fortress, or acropolis, as for instance in the Iliad, VI. 88, 257, 317, XXII. 383. Although I am well aware that Egyptian scholars have hitherto found no relationship between the hieroglyphic and Sanscrit languages, yet I cannot help mentioning that three years ago, in the Institute of France, I heard a lecture by the Vicomte de RougÉ, who had found in a papyrus the names of the powers leagued against Rameses III., and among these the state of Arouna or Aruna, which he without hesitation identified with Ilium, as he thought that this was the only way in which the latter word could be rendered in the hieroglyphic language. Now, curiously enough, according to Max MÜller[129] and Adalbert Kuhn,[130] the Sanscrit word Aruna signifies “charioteer of the sun.” I leave it to Egyptian and Sanscrit scholars to judge whether and how far this may serve to confirm what I have said above.

Although since Easter I have been obliged to pay my men 1 piaster more per diem, which makes their wages 10 piasters or 2 francs a day, still I am now working with 130 men; and I firmly hope by the 1st of October to have carried my great platform through the entire hill, preserving exactly the same breadth; for while my wife and I, with 85 workmen, are busy on the platform on the north side, Georgios Photidas and 45 men have for 10 days been working towards us from a second platform on the south side. Unfortunately, however, the slope of the hill on the south side is so slight, that we were forced to begin this work 16¼ feet below the surface, in order to have room and freedom for removing the dÉbris; we have, however, given it a dip of 14°, so that it must reach the primary soil at a length of about 75 meters (246 feet). This southern platform is under the sole direction of Georgios Photidas, for he has proved himself to be a very skilful engineer, and he works forward very quickly through his cleverly devised side terraces. He has hitherto, however, had only light dÉbris to remove, and has not yet come upon that very hard, tough, damp dÉbris which I have on my platform at the depth of 10 to 16 meters (33 to 52½ feet). To-day he has brought to light a splendid bastion, composed of large finely-hewn blocks of limestone, not joined by either cement or lime, which, however, does not seem to me to be older than the time of Lysimachus. It is certainly very much in our way, but it is too beautiful and venerable for me to venture to lay hands upon it, so it shall be preserved.

On the south side the accumulation of dÉbris from the Greek period is much more considerable than on the north side and upon the plateau; and thus far Georgios Photidas constantly finds Greek pottery and those terra-cottas with two holes at one end, which, in my excavations hitherto, ceased entirely at a depth of 2 meters (6½ feet). The greater portion of these round articles have the potter’s stamp already mentioned, representing a bee or fly with outspread wings above an altar. (See Cuts, Nos. 37-40, p. 65.)

I have also given the platform on the north side an inclination of 10° in a length of 66 feet, so as to be able to work forward on the primary soil, without the indescribable trouble of lowering it another 6½ feet, and of thus having to remove 4000 cubic yards of dÉbris. This primary soil sufficiently proves that all those enormous masses of immense stones, generally more or less hewn, with which, as already said, I had continually to battle at a depth of from 10 to 14 meters (33 to 46 feet), are the remains of large buildings, which in the course of centuries have been erected successively upon the ruins of others. For it does not appear conceivable to me that even a large palace, were it six storeys high, could leave such colossal ruins, which, as they reach down to the rock, are nearly 20 feet in height.

For some days these masses of stone have diminished in number, but we continually find many single large blocks. Instead of the stone strata, however, we now have before us, upon the whole breadth of the platform (230 feet), and to the height of 20 feet (hence at a depth of from 10 to 16 meters, 33 to 52½ feet), a damp wall as hard as stone, composed of ashes mixed with small shells, bones, boars’ tusks, &c., exactly like that which we before found at the east end. This mass is so tough, that it is only by making shafts, and breaking down the walls by means of huge iron levers, that we manage to get on at all.

The signs of a higher civilization increasing with the greater depth—which I mentioned in my last report when speaking of the large urn with Assyrian inscriptions—continue down to the native soil. Close above it I find a great quantity of fragments of brilliant black and sometimes red or brown pottery, with engraved decorations, of a quality more excellent than I have hitherto met with even in the highest strata, among the ruins of the Greek period. I also found several fragments of cups, the lower part of which likewise forms a cup, but not a large one, and hence I do not doubt that these are fragments of double cups (d?pa? ?f???pe????). In Homer it indeed seems as if all double cups were made of gold or silver with a gilt rim,[131] but I do not doubt that there were at the same time also double cups made of clay.[132]

The other vessels, of which I found fragments, were made so as to be carried by strings, as is proved by the two rings projecting beside one another on either side. I also found upon the primary soil the head of a brilliant black pitcher, with a beak-shaped mouth bent back; also the fragment of a vessel painted white, but divided into two compartments by black lines drawn horizontally; the upper compartment contains undulating black lines, which are perhaps meant to represent water, the lower one is filled with a row of arrow-shaped decorations, with square pointed heads, in the centre of which there is always a dot.

At the same depth I found fragments of large water or funereal urns with engraved ornaments of various descriptions; also a square piece of terra-cotta painted black and ornamented all round with lines and four rows of dots filled with a white substance. As appears from the upper and the lower side, and from the two perforations, it must have been the setting and decoration of a wooden jewel-casket. It is made with so much symmetry and looks so elegant, that I at first thought it was ebony inlaid with ivory.

At the depth of 8 meters (26 feet) I found a terra-cotta seal an inch and a half in length, with a hole for suspending it; there are a number of signs upon it resembling the ancient Koppa—like that stamped upon Corinthian coins.[133]

At a depth of 5 meters (16¼ feet), I found to-day a very pretty jar with three feet, which is evidently intended to represent a woman, probably the Ilian Athena, for it has two breasts and a navel.

The snakes seem to have been enticed out of their winter quarters by the warm weather which has set in; for it is ten days since I have seen any.

Amid all the fatigues and troubles of the excavations there is this among other pleasures, that time never hangs heavy on one’s hands.

No. 78ª. Terra-cottas with Aryan Emblems.
No. 78ª. Terra-cottas with Aryan Emblems.

CHAPTER IX.

On the Hill of Hissarlik, May 23rd, 1872.

SINCE my report of the 11th instant there have again been, including to-day, three great and two lesser Greek church festivals, so that out of these twelve days I have in reality only had seven days of work. Poor as the people are, and gladly as they would like to work, it is impossible to persuade them to do so on feast days, even if it be the day of some most unimportant saint. ??? d???e? ? ????? ("the saint will strike us”) is ever their reply, when I try to persuade the poor creatures to set their superstition aside for higher wages.

In order to hasten the works, I have now had terraces made at from 16 to 19 feet above the great platform on its east and west ends; and I have also had two walls made of large blocks of stone—the intermediate spaces being filled with earth—for the purpose of removing the dÉbris. The smaller wall did not seem to me to be strong enough, and I kept the workmen from it; in fact, it did not bear the pressure, and it fell down when it was scarcely finished. Great trouble was taken with the larger and higher wall: it was built entirely of large stones, for the most part hewn, and all of us, even Georgios Photidas, thought it might last for centuries. But nevertheless on the following morning I thought it best to have a buttress of large stones erected, so as to render it impossible for the wall to fall; and six men were busy with this work when the wall suddenly fell in with a thundering crash. My fright was terrible and indescribable, for I quite believed that the six men must have been crushed by the mass of stones; to my extreme joy, however, I heard that they had all escaped directly, as if by a miracle.

In spite of every precaution, excavations in which men have to work under earthen walls of above 50 feet in perpendicular depth are always very dangerous. The call of “guarda, guarda” is not always of avail, for these words are continually heard in different places. Many stones roll down the steep walls without the workmen noticing them, and when I see the fearful danger to which we are all day exposed, I cannot but fervently thank God, on returning home in the evening, for the great blessing that another day has passed without an accident. I still think with horror of what would have become of the discovery of Ilium and of myself, had the six men been crushed by the wall which gave way; no money and no promises could have saved me; the poor widows would have torn me to pieces in their despair—for the Trojan women have this in common with all Greeks of their sex, that the husband, be he old or young, rich or poor, is everything to them; heaven and earth have but a secondary interest.

Upon the newly made western terrace, directly beside my last year’s excavation, we have laid bare a portion of a large building—the walls of which are 6¼ feet thick, and consist for the most part of hewn blocks of limestone joined with clay. (No. 24 on Plan II.) None of the stones seem to be more than 1 foot 9 inches long, and they are so skilfully put together, that the wall forms a smooth surface. This house is built upon a layer of yellow and brown ashes and ruins, at a depth of 6 meters (20 feet), and the portion of the walls preserved reaches up to within 10 feet below the surface of the hill. In the house, as far as we have as yet excavated, we found only one vase, with two breasts in front and one breast at the side; also a number of those frequently mentioned round terra-cottas in the form of the volcano and top, all of which have five or six quadruple rising suns in a circle round the central sun.[134] These objects, as well as the depth of 6 meters (20 feet), and the architecture of the walls described above, leave no doubt that the house was built centuries before the foundation of the Greek colony, the ruins of which extend only to a depth of 6½ feet. It is with a feeling of great interest that, from this great platform, that is, at a perpendicular height of from 33 to 42 feet, I see this very ancient building (which may have been erected 1000 years before Christ) standing as it were in mid air. To my regret, however, it must in any case be pulled down, to allow us to dig still deeper. As I said before, directly below this house there is a layer of ruins consisting of yellow and brown ashes, and next, as far as the terrace, there are four layers more of ashes and other dÉbris, each of which represents the remains of one house at least. Immediately above the terrace, that is 13 feet below the foundation of that very ancient house, I find a wall about 6 feet thick, built of large blocks of limestone, the description of which I must reserve for my next report, for a large portion of the building I have mentioned, and immense masses of the upper strata of dÉbris, as well as the high earthen wall of the terrace (26 feet thick and 20 feet high) must be pulled down, before I can lay bare any portion of this wall and investigate how far down it extends. If it reaches to or even approaches the primary soil, then I shall reverently preserve it. (See No. 25 on Plan II.) It is a very remarkable fact, that this is the first wall built of large stones that I have hitherto found at the depth of from 10 to 16 meters (33 to 52½ feet).[135] I cannot explain this, considering the colossal masses of loose stones which lie irregularly beside one another (especially at a depth of from 36 to 52½ feet), in any other way than by supposing that the houses of the Trojans were built of blocks of limestone joined with clay, and consequently easily destroyed. If my excavations are not interrupted by any accident, I hope, in this at all events, to make some interesting discoveries very soon, with respect to this question.

Unfortunately during the last twelve days I have not been able to pull down much of the lower firm earth-wall, for, in order to avoid fatal accidents, I have had to occupy myself especially in making and enlarging the side terraces. I have now, however, procured enormous iron levers of nearly 10 feet in length and 6 inches in circumference, and I thus hope henceforth to be able at once to break down, by means of windlasses, the hardest of the earth-walls, which are 10 feet thick, 66 broad, and from 16 to 26 feet high. In the small portion of the earth-wall pulled down during these last days, I repeatedly found the most irrefutable proofs of a higher civilization; but I will only mention one of these, a fragment of a brilliant dark grey vessel which I have at present lying before me, found at a depth of 15 meters (49 feet). It may probably have been nearly 2 feet in diameter, and it has decorations both outside and inside, which consist of engraved horizontal and undulating lines. The former are arranged in three sets in stripes of five lines, and the lowest space is adorned with eight and the following with five undulating lines, which are probably meant to represent the waves of the sea; of the next set no part has been preserved; the thickness of the clay is just 3/5 of an inch.

No. 79. Fragment of a brilliant dark-grey Vessel, from the Lowest Stratum (15 M.). a Inside; b Outside.
No. 79. Fragment of a brilliant dark-grey Vessel, from the Lowest Stratum (15 M.). a Inside; b Outside.

In my report of the 25th of last month,[136] I mentioned the discovery of one of those terra-cottas upon which were engraved three animals with antlers in the circle round the central sun. Since then four others of these remarkable objects with similar engravings have been discovered. Upon one of them, found at a depth of 6 meters (20 feet), there are only two animals with antlers in the circle round the sun, and at the end of each antler, and connected with it, is an exceedingly curious sign resembling a large candlestick or censer, which is certainly an especially important symbol, for it is repeatedly found here standing alone.[137] Upon a second, there is below a rough representation of a man who seems to be praying, for he has both arms raised towards heaven; this position reminds us forcibly of the two uplifted arms of the owl-faced vases; to the left is an animal with but two feet and two trees on its back.[138] Indian scholars will perhaps find that this is intended to represent the falcon, in which shape the sun-god stole the sacred sÔma-tree from heaven. Then follow two animals with two horns, probably antelopes, which are so frequently met with upon ancient Greek vases, and which in the RigvÊda are always made to draw the chariot of the winds. Upon a third terra-cotta there are three of these antelopes with one or two rows of stars above the back, which perhaps are intended to represent heaven; then five fire-machines, such as our Aryan ancestors used; lastly, a sign in zigzag, which, as already said, cannot represent anything but the flaming altar.[139] Upon the fourth whorl are four hares, the symbols of the moon, forming a cross round the sun. They probably represent the four seasons of the year.[140]

At a depth of 14 meters (46 feet) we found to-day two of those round articles of a splendidly brilliant black terra-cotta, which are only 3/5 of an inch in height, but 2-1/3 inches in diameter, and have five triple rising suns and five stars in the circle round the central sun. All of these decorations, which are engraved, as in every other case, are filled in with a very fine white substance. When looking at these curious articles, one of which is exactly the shape of a carriage-wheel,[141] the thought involuntarily strikes me that they are symbols of the sun’s chariot, which, as is well known, is symbolized in the RigvÊda by a wheel, and that all and each of these articles met with in the upper strata (although their form deviates from that of a wheel on account of their greater thickness) cannot be anything but degenerated representations of the sun’s wheel. I conjecture this all the more, because not only is the sun the central point of all the round terra-cottas, but it is almost always surrounded by one, two, three, four or five circles, which may represent the nave of the wheel. At a depth of 16 meters (52½ feet) we found a round terra-cotta, which is barely an inch in diameter, and a fifth of an inch thick; there are five concentric circles round the central point, and between the fourth and fifth circle oblique little lines, which are perhaps meant to denote the rotation of the wheel.

I must here again refer to the round terra-cotta mentioned in my report of the 18th of November, 1871,[142] and to my regret I must now express my firm conviction that there are no letters upon it, but only symbolical signs; that for instance the upper sign (which is almost exactly the same as that upon the terra-cotta lately cited)[143] must positively represent a man in an attitude of prayer, and that the three signs to the left can in no case be anything but the fire-machine of our Aryan ancestors, the ? little or not at all changed. The sign which then follows, and which is connected with the fourth and sixth signs, I also find, at least very similar ones, on the other, cited in the same report, but I will not venture to express an opinion as to what it may mean.[144] The sixth sign (the fifth from the figure in prayer) is very like the Phoenician letter “Nun,” but in my opinion cannot be a letter, for how would it be possible to find a single Semitic letter, between Aryan religious symbols? Its great resemblance to the zigzag sign of other examples,[145] which I recognise to be lightning, leads me to suppose that it likewise can only represent lightning.

All the primitive symbols of the Aryan race, which I find upon the Trojan terra-cottas, must be symbols of good men, for surely only such would have been engraved upon the thousands of terra-cottas met with here. Yet these symbols remind one forcibly of the “s?ata ?????” and “???f???a,” which King Proetus of Tiryns gave to Bellerophon to take to his father-in-law in Lycia.[146] Had he scratched a symbol of good fortune, for instance a ?, upon the folded tablet, it would assuredly have sufficed to secure him a good reception, and protection. But he gave him the symbol of death, that he might be killed.

The five [six] characters found on a small terra-cotta disc at a depth of 24 feet, and which in my report of November 18th, 1871,[147] I considered to be Phoenician, have unfortunately been proved not to be Phoenician, for M. Ernest Renan of Paris, to whom I sent the small disc, finds nothing Phoenician in the symbols, and maintains that I could not find anything of the kind in Troy, as it was not the custom of the Phoenicians to write upon terra-cotta, and moreover that, with the exception of the recently discovered Moabite inscription of King Mesha, no Phoenician inscription has ever been found belonging to a date anterior to 500 years B.C.

No. 82. Two fragments of a great Mould of Mica-schist for casting Copper Weapons and Ornaments (14 M.).
No. 82. Two fragments of a great Mould of Mica-schist for casting Copper Weapons and Ornaments (14 M.).

I may also remark, with regard to my last year’s excavations, that I have now found quadrangular pieces of mica-schist and chlorite slate, from nearly 6 inches to nearly 11 inches long, and from about 1¼ to 3½ inches thick, which have on all four sides, and several of them on six sides, forms or moulds for casting weapons and instruments; and further, that the channelled pieces, spoken of in the report of November 18th, 1871,[148] are nothing but fragments of similar stone-moulds; the brilliant, glossy appearance of the slate seems to have been produced by simple polishing.

Of cellars, such as we have in civilized countries, I have as yet found not the slightest trace, either in the strata of the Hellenic or in those of the pre-Hellenic period; earthen vessels seem everywhere to have been used in their stead. On my southern platform, in the strata of Hellenic times, I have already had ten such vessels dug out in an uninjured condition; they are from 5¾ to 6½ feet high, and from 2 to 4½ feet in diameter, but without decorations.[149] I sent seven of these jars (p????) to the Museum in Constantinople.

In the strata of the pre-Hellenic period I find an immense number of these p????, but I have as yet only succeeded in getting two of them out uninjured, from a depth of 26 feet; these are about 3½ feet high and 26¾ inches in diameter; they have only unimportant decorations.

In my last communication, I was able to speak of a lesser number of the blocks of stone obstructing the works upon the great platform; to-day, however, I have again unfortunately to report a considerable increase of them.

At a distance of scarcely 328 yards from my house, on the south side, and at the part of the plateau of Ilium in a direct perpendicular line below the ruined city wall, which seems to have been built by Lysimachus, I have now discovered the stone quarry, whence all those colossal masses of shelly limestone (Muschelkalk) were obtained, which the Trojans and their successors, down to a time after the Christian era, employed in building their houses and walls, and which have given my workmen and me such inexpressible anxiety, trouble, and labour. The entrance to the quarry, which is called by the native Greeks and Turks “lagum” ("mine” or “tunnel,” from the Arabic word ???, which has passed over into Turkish), is filled with rubbish, but, as I am assured by all the people about here, it was still open only 20 years ago, and, as my excavations have proved, it was very large. The town, as seems to be indicated by a continuous elevation extending below the quarry, had a double surrounding wall at this point, and this was in fact necessary, for otherwise the enemy would have been able, with no further difficulty, to force his way into the quarry below the town-wall, as the entrance to the quarry was outside of the wall.

Unfortunately, without possessing the slightest knowledge of medicine, I have become celebrated here as a physician, owing to the great quantity of quinine and tincture of arnica which I brought with me and distributed liberally, and by means of which, in October and November of last year, I cured all fever patients and wounds. In consequence of this, my valuable time is now claimed in a troublesome manner by sick people, who frequently come from a distance of many miles, in order to be healed of their complaints by my medicine and advice. In all the villages of this district, the priest is the parish doctor, and as he himself possesses no medicines, and is ignorant of their properties, and has besides an innate dislike to cold water and all species of washing, he never uses any other means than bleeding, which, of course, often kills the poor creatures. Wrinkles on either side of the lips of children from 10 to 12 years of age show that the priest has repeatedly bled them. Now I hate the custom of bleeding, and am enthusiastically in favour of the cold-water cure; hence I never bleed anyone, and I prescribe sea-bathing for almost all diseases; this can be had here by everyone, except myself, who have no time for it. My ordering these baths has given rise to such confidence, nay enthusiasm, that even women, who fancied that it would be their death to touch their bodies with cold water, now go joyfully into the water and take their dip. Among others, a fortnight ago, a girl of seventeen from Neo-Chori was brought to me; her body was covered with ulcers, especially her face, and one terrible ulcer on the left eye had made it quite useless. She could scarcely speak, walk or stand, and, as her mother said, she had no appetite; her chest had fallen in, and she coughed. I saw immediately that excessive bleeding and the consequent want of blood had given rise to all her ailments, and therefore I did not ask whether she had been bled, but how many times. The answer was, the girl had taken cold, and the parish priest had bled her seven times in one month. I gave her a dose of castor oil, and ordered her a sea bath every day, and that, when she had recovered sufficient strength, her father should put her through some simple passive gymnastic exercises—which I carefully described—in order to expand her chest. I was quite touched when early this morning the same girl appeared on the platform, threw herself on the ground, kissed my dirty shoes, and told me, with tears of joy that even the first sea bath had given her an appetite, that all the sores had begun to heal directly, and had now disappeared, but that the left eye was still blind, otherwise she was perfectly well, for even the cough had left her. I, of course, cannot cure the eye; it seems to me to be covered with a skin which an oculist might easily remove. The girl had come on foot from Neo-Chori, a distance of three hours, to thank me, and I can assure my readers that this is the first case, in the Plain of Troy, in which I have received thanks for medicines or medical advice; but I am not even quite sure whether it was a feeling of pure gratitude that induced the girl to come to me, or whether it was in the hope that by some other means I might restore sight to the blind eye.

The heat has increased considerably during the last few days; the thermometer stands the whole day at 25° RÉaumur (88¼° Fahrenheit) in the shade.

PLATE VI.

Page 143. TROJAN BUILDINGS ON THE NORTH SIDE, AND IN THE GREAT TRENCH CUT THROUGH THE WHOLE HILL.
Page 143.
TROJAN BUILDINGS ON THE NORTH SIDE, AND IN THE GREAT TRENCH CUT THROUGH THE WHOLE HILL.

CHAPTER X.

On the Hill of Hissarlik, June 18th, 1872.

SINCE my report of the 23rd of last month I have been excavating, with the consent of my honoured friend, Mr. Frank Calvert, on that half of the hill which belongs to him, on condition that I share with him the objects I may find. Here, directly beside my large platform, and at a perpendicular depth of 40 feet below the plateau, I have laid out a third platform about 109 feet broad, with an upper terrace 112 feet broad, and I have seventy men digging there. Immediately beside the edge of the steep northern declivity I found a square depression in the ground about 112 feet long and 76 feet broad, which can only have been caused by excavations made by the Turks hundreds of years ago, when searching for pillars or other kinds of marble blocks suitable for tombstones: for all of the old Turkish cemeteries in the Plain of Troy and its vicinity, nay even as far as beyond Alexandria Troas, possess thousands of such marble blocks, taken from ancient buildings. The innumerable pieces of marble, which cover the whole of Mr. Frank Calvert’s part of the plateau, leave no doubt that the field, at least that part of it with the square depression, has been ransacked by marble-seeking Turks.

I had scarcely begun to extend this third platform horizontally into the hill, when I found a block of triglyphs of Parian marble, about 6½ feet long, nearly 2 feet 10 inches high, and nearly 22 inches thick at one end, and a little over 14 inches on the other. In the middle there is a piece of sculpture in high relief, a little above 2 feet 10 inches long and nearly the same height, which represents Phoebus Apollo, who, in a long woman’s robe with a girdle, is riding on the four immortal horses which pursue their career through the universe. Nothing is to be seen of a chariot. Above the splendid, flowing, unparted, but not long hair on the head of the god, there is seen about two-thirds of the sun’s disc with ten rays 2-1/3 inches long, and ten others 3½ inches long. The face of the god is very expressive, and the folds of his long robe are so exquisitely sculptured that they vividly remind one of the masterpieces in the temple of ???? ?pte??? in the Acropolis of Athens. But my admiration is especially excited by the four horses, which, snorting and looking wildly forward, career through the universe with infinite power. Their anatomy is so accurately rendered that I frankly confess that I have never seen such a masterly work. On the right and left of this metopÉ are Doric triglyphs; there is a third triglyph on the left side of the marble block, which is nearly 22 inches thick, whereas the right side (14 inches thick) contains no sculpture. Above and below the block, iron clamps are fastened by means of lead; and from the triglyphs on the left side I presume that this metopÉ, together with another sculpture which has a Doric triglyph on the right side as well, adorned the propylÆa of the temple. (See Plate IV., p. 32.)

It is especially remarkable to find the sun-god here, for Homer knows nothing of a temple to the Sun in Troy, and later history does not say a word about the existence of such a temple. However, the image of Phoebus Apollo does not prove that the sculpture must have belonged to a temple of the Sun; in my opinion it may just as well have served as an ornament to any other temple.

As early as my report of the 11th of May,[150] I ventured to express the conjecture that the image of the Sun, which I find represented here thousands and thousands of times upon the whorls of terra-cotta, must be regarded as the name or the emblem of the town, that is ?????. I now venture to express the opinion, that in like manner this Sun-god shone in the form of a woman upon the PropylÆa of the temple of the Ilian Athena as a symbol of the Sun-city (t?? ?????). I have heard a learned friend express the opinion that this masterpiece belonged to the period between Pericles and Alexander the Great, because the Sun-god’s outstretched hand is very similar to that of Phoebus Apollo on the coins of Rhodes of the same period. But, according to Strabo (XIII. I), Alexander the Great, on his visit to Ilium, found there a little temple (e?te?? ?a??) of the Ilian Athena; and a little temple, of course, cannot have possessed such excellent works of plastic art. Besides this, the head of the Sun-god appears to me to have so much of the Alexandrian style, that I must adhere to history and believe that this work of art belongs to the time of Lysimachus, who, according to Strabo (XIII. I), after the death of Alexander the Great, built here the new temple of the Ilian Athena, which Alexander had promised to the town of Ilium after the subjugation of the Persian Empire.[151]

The discovery of this work of art upon the steep declivity of the hill—whereas it must necessarily have stood on the opposite side above the entrance to the temple—can only be explained by the fact that the Turks who came here in search of monumental pillars despised this sculpture because it represented living creatures, the imitation of which is strictly forbidden in the Koran.

Beneath the ruins of this temple I hope to discover the remains of that little temple which Alexander the Great found here. I do not, however, think it likely that I shall discover in its depths the old Trojan temple in which Hecuba caused the priestess Theano to lay her costly robes on the knees of Athena.[152] To judge from the dÉbris of the ashes of animal sacrifices, which is as hard as stone, and which gives me such exceedingly great trouble along an extent of 82 feet at the eastern end of my large platform, the area of the very ancient temple cannot possibly be identical with the one built by Lysimachus; it must certainly be somewhat more to the west, and must commence somewhere near its western end.

After my report of the 23rd of last month, I began to loosen the lower earthen wall, which is as hard as stone, by means of those immense iron levers which I have already described. However, I was unfortunate; for, after having worked for three hours with 40 men and with the huge levers and windlasses in loosening an earthen wall 16 feet high, 16 broad and 10 thick, which had been already prepared by shafts and mines, only just succeeded after the strongest chains had given way several times, when the adjoining earth-wall fell of its own accord, and buried Georgios Photidas and a workman who were engaged in the lower excavations, believing that they were perfectly safe under thick logs of wood 23 inches high and 10 thick, which were covered with planks 3 inches thick. All of us naturally thought that the two men must have been crushed beneath the enormous mass of 100 cubic yards of stone and earth, which had dashed the thick planks to pieces. Our fright was terrible, but without losing a moment we set to work to rescue the unfortunate men. We had scarcely begun when we heard them moaning beneath the weight of earth, for the logs had only been upset, and, lying lengthwise, they still partly supported the vault, so that the men had breathing space left. But their release could not be effected without the greatest danger, owing to several large gaps in the cracked earthen wall, and the men had to be cut out. I myself cut out Georgios Photidas with my knife; the other man was cut out by my men.

In consequence of this accident, I have decided in the first place to cut a trench 98 feet broad at the top and 65 below, commencing at the platform, which is to be carried along the primary soil through the entire hill, and not to cut through the other portion of the great platform until this is finished; for I shall then be in a position to judge how we can best accomplish the former work. I am having the whole length of this trench commenced at the same time on a breadth of 98 feet, and I hope thus to have it ready in two months. In digging this trench I found that, at about 69 feet from the steep side of the hill, the primary soil gradually rises about 2 meters (6½ feet), and as the cutting must necessarily follow the primary soil, I have from this point again had the dÉbris thrown upon the great platform, and have thus formed an embankment 65½ feet broad and 6½ feet high, as far as the steep slope.

Objects of Metal from the Lowest Stratum (11-15 M.). No. 83. A real Copper Nail. Nos. 84, 85. Copper Dress-Pins (too long and thin for nails). No. 86. A gilt Copper Knife. No. 87. A Silver Dress-Pin. No. 88. A Copper Bracelet. Nos. 89, 91. Copper Knives. No. 90. A Silver Crescent.
Objects of Metal from the Lowest Stratum (11-15 M.).
No. 83. A real Copper Nail. Nos. 84, 85. Copper Dress-Pins (too long and thin for nails). No. 86. A gilt Copper Knife. No. 87. A Silver Dress-Pin. No. 88. A Copper Bracelet. Nos. 89, 91. Copper Knives. No. 90. A Silver Crescent.

Nos. 92-101. Ivory Pins, Needles, &c., from the Lowest Stratum (11-15 M.).
Nos. 92-101. Ivory Pins, Needles, &c., from the Lowest Stratum (11-15 M.).

Were it not for the splendid terra-cottas which I find exclusively upon the primary soil and as far as 6½ feet above it, I could swear that, at a depth of from 8 meters down to exactly 10 meters (26 to 33 feet), I am among the ruins of the Homeric Troy.[153] For at this depth I have again found, as I found last year, a thousand wonderful objects; whereas I find comparatively little in the lowest stratum, the removal of which gives me such unspeakable trouble. We daily find some of the whorls of very fine terra-cotta, and it is curious that those which have no decorations at all, are always of the ordinary shape and size of small tops or like the craters of volcanoes, while almost all those possessing decorations are flat and in the form of a wheel.[154] Metals, at least gold, silver and copper, were known to the Trojans, for I found a copper knife highly gilded, a silver hair-pin, and a number of copper nails at a depth of 14 meters (46 feet); and at a depth of 16 meters (52½ feet) several copper nails from 4 to 6¼ inches in length. There must have been also copper weapons and tools for work, though I have as yet not found any; but I found many small instruments for use as pins; also a number of ivory needles, likewise a small ivory plate, almost the shape of a playing-card, with six little stars or small suns, also a curious piece of ivory covered with the same decorations, in the form of a paper-knife, and a still more curious one in the form of an exceedingly neat dagger.[155] The ornaments on both sides of this dagger seem certainly to represent the Ilian Athena with the owl’s head. We also discovered some ivory and copper rings, likewise a pair of bracelets of copper. One-edged or double-edged knives of white silex in the form of saws, from above 1¾ inch to nearly 2 inches in length, were found in quantities; also many hand millstones of lava about 13 inches long, and 6-2/3 inches broad, in the form of an egg cut in half longitudinally. All of the terra-cottas were brought out in a broken condition; however, I have got all or almost all the pieces of a number of vases and of several jars, so that I can restore them. I must specially mention a large yellowish bowl 13-1/3 inches high and nearly 17 inches broad, which in addition to a handle has three large curled ram’s horns; then a black vase with a round bottom, with two rings on either side for hanging it up; a beautiful red vase with four handles; also a very fine red cup: further, an exceedingly curious red vessel in the form of two jugs with long perfectly upright beak-shaped mouths, the two jugs being connected with each other at the bulge, as well as by a handle; further, a brilliant black vase, 9½ inches high, with rings on the sides for hanging it up, and a very wide neck in the form of a chimney; the lower portion of the vase is ornamented with signs in the form of lightning, the upper part with dots. Of a pair of brilliant black Trojan deep plates I have so nearly all the pieces, as to be able to put them together; these plates are very remarkable, for on two sides at the edge they have long horizontal rings for suspension by strings; the large dishes have such rings very large. I have the fragments of several black double cups, but not enough of any one to restore it.

Nos. 102, 103. Hand Mill-stones of Lava from Lowest Stratum (14-16 M.).
Nos. 102, 103. Hand Mill-stones of Lava from Lowest Stratum (14-16 M.).

No. 104. A splendid Vase with Suspension-rings, from the Lowest Stratum (15 M.).
No. 104. A splendid Vase with Suspension-rings, from the Lowest Stratum (15 M.).

No. 106. Black Vase of Terra-cotta from the lowest Stratum (14 or 15 M.).
No. 106. Black Vase of Terra-cotta from the lowest Stratum (14 or 15 M.).

Unfortunately, the tremendous weights of stone in the lowest stratum have broken or crushed to pieces all the terra-cottas; but all the splendid earthen vessels that I have been able to save bear witness of wealth and art, and it is easily seen at a first glance that they were made by a people quite distinct from the one to which the next stratum belongs (at the depth of from 7 to 10 meters, 23 to 33 feet). I must draw especial attention to the great similarity in the quality of the terra-cotta of the black Trojan vessels to that of the vessels found in the Etruscan tombs; but their forms and decorations are wholly different. In those found here the patterns have always been engraved upon the clay when it was still in a soft state. Most of the Trojan terra-cottas are indestructible by moisture; some of them, however, have become limp by damp, and I found, for instance, upon the primary soil at a depth of 15½ meters (51 feet), in a small private burial-ground, formed and protected by three stones 25½ inches long and 18 inches broad, two vessels of a very remarkable form with three long feet and filled with human ashes. The vessels had suffered so from moisture that in spite of every care and precaution I could not get them out without breaking them completely. I have, however, collected all the pieces of both vessels, and shall be able to restore them. In one of them I found among the human ashes the bones of an embryo of six months, a fact which I can only explain by the mother’s having died in pregnancy and having been burnt, while the bones of the embryo, being surrounded by the membrane which enclosed it, were protected and remained uninjured. Yet it seems wonderful that these small bones should have been preserved, for the bones of the mother are burnt to ashes and I found only small fragments of them. I have most carefully collected the bones of the Trojan embryo, and shall have the little skeleton restored by a skilful surgeon. The celebrated Doctor Aretaios, of Athens, has just written to me that the preservation of the bones of the embryo is only possible on the supposition that the mother had brought forth the child and then died, that her body was burnt and the unburnt embryo was put into the funereal urn with her ashes, where I found it.

No. 108. a, Hand Millstone of Lava (15 M.). b, Brilliant black Dish with side Rings for hanging it up (14 M.). c,c,c,c, Small decorated Rings of Terra-cotta (10-14 M.).
No. 108. a, Hand Millstone of Lava (15 M.). b, Brilliant black Dish with side Rings for hanging it up (14 M.).
c,c,c,c, Small decorated Rings of Terra-cotta (10-14 M.).

In the deepest strata we also meet with simple black cups, resembling our drinking-glasses; likewise black cups (vase-covers) with a handle below, so that they can only stand upon their mouth. I also find on the primary soil weights made of granite, the exact specific weights of which I shall state in a separate table;[156] hammers and axes, as well as a number of large and small wedges of diorite, of splendid workmanship; sometimes also small beautifully-cut instruments in the form of wedges, made of very beautiful transparent green stone.[157] Besides these, we come upon quantities of round black and red terra-cotta discs, generally nearly 2 inches in diameter, with a hole in the centre; and stone quoits (d?s???), about 6 inches in diameter, with a hole in the centre for throwing them. Further, a number of idols of very fine marble, which form the only exception to the rule that at an increasing depth the objects are of much better workmanship than those above. In fact, the idols met with in the Trojan [pre-Trojan] strata of dÉbris from 2 to 4 meters (6½ to 13 feet) above the primary soil, that is, at a depth of from 12 to 14 meters (39¼ to 46 feet), are so coarsely wrought, as may be seen from the drawings (on page 36), that one might be inclined to believe that they were the very first attempts of an uncivilized people at making plastic representations of a deity. There was only one mutilated idol of terra-cotta found among these ruins, a drawing of which I give; all the others are of very fine marble. I must also mention another Priapus, of fine marble, which was discovered at a depth of 13 meters (42½ feet).

In these depths we likewise find many bones of animals, boars’ tusks, small shells, horns of the buffalo, ram, and stag; as well as the vertebrÆ of the shark.

The houses and palaces, in which the splendid terra-cottas were used, were large and spacious, for to them belong all those mighty heaps of large stones hewn and unhewn, which cover them to the height of from 13 to 20 feet. These houses and palaces were easily destroyed, for the stones were only joined with earth, and when the walls fell everything in the houses was crushed to pieces by the immense blocks of stone. The primitive Trojan people disappeared simultaneously with the destruction of their town, for in none of the succeeding layers of dÉbris do we find the style of architecture to consist of large blocks of stone joined with earth; in none do we find the terra-cottas—with the exception of the round articles in the form of tops and volcanoes—to possess any resemblance with the excellent and artistic earthenware of the people of Priam.[158]

Upon the site of the destroyed city new settlers, of a different civilization, manners and customs, built a new town; but only the foundation of their houses consisted of stones joined with clay; all of the house-walls were built of unburnt bricks. Many such walls may be seen at a depth of from 7 to 10 meters (23 to 33 feet) in the earthen sides of my excavations; they have been preserved through the very fact that the houses were burnt out, and the walls of unburnt bricks, through the great heat, received a sort of brick-crust, or became actually burnt bricks.

In my memoir of the 23rd of last month, I spoke of a stone wall, found at a depth of 33 feet, which I hoped would extend down to the primary soil. Unfortunately, however, it proved to be merely the foundation of a house belonging to the immediate successors of the ancient Trojans, and these foundations only extended to a depth of 1¾ foot.

The remains of the ruined walls belonging to ancient Troy had, of course, to be levelled by the new settlers, whose mode of life and style of architecture were entirely different. This explains how it is that, with the exception of a small wall in the northern entrance of my large trench, I have hitherto not been able to point out a single wall belonging to ancient Troy; and that, until now, I have only been able to present archÆology with a few splendid urns, vases, pots, plates, and dishes, and with but one bowl (crater). (See Cut, No. 41, p. 74.) Yet I have found thousands of fragments of other excellent vessels, the sad memorials of a people whose fame is immortal.

I cannot conclude the description of the lowest stratum without mentioning that among the huge blocks of stone, at a depth of from 12 to 16 meters (39½ to 52½ feet), I found two toads; and at a depth of 39½ feet a small but very poisonous snake, with a scutiform head. The snake may have found its way down from above; but this is an impossibility in the case of the large toads—they must have spent 3000 years in these depths. It is very interesting to find in the ruins of Troy living creatures from the time of Hector and Andromache, even though these creatures are but toads.[159]

I must also draw attention to the fact that I have found the ? twice on fragments of pottery, one of which was discovered at a depth of 16 meters (52½ feet), the other at 14 meters (46 feet). The primitive Trojans, therefore, belonged to the Aryan race, which is further sufficiently proved by the symbols on the round terra-cottas.

Nos. 111, 112. Double-handed Vases of Terra-cotta, from the Trojan Stratum (9 M.).
Nos. 111, 112. Double-handed Vases of Terra-cotta, from the Trojan Stratum (9 M.).

The existence of the nation which succeeded the Trojans was likewise of a long duration, for all the layers of dÉbris at the depth of from 10 to 7 meters (33 to 23 feet) belong to it. They also were of Aryan descent, for they possessed innumerable Aryan religious symbols. I think I have proved that several of the symbols were common to our ancestors at a time when Germans, Pelasgians, Hindoos, Persians, Celts, and Greeks still formed one nation. I found no trace of a double cup among this people, but instead of it, those curious cups (vase-covers) which have a coronet below in place of a handle; then those brilliant red fanciful goblets, in the form of immense champagne-glasses, with two mighty handles on the sides: they are round below, so that they also can only stand on their mouths. Further, those small covers, from about 4 to 4¾ inches high, with owls’ faces, with a kind of helmet on the lower end, furnished with a high button or tuft, which is, no doubt, intended to represent the crest of a helmet and served as a handle. This cup likewise can only stand on its mouth.[160] Further, all those splendid vessels of burnt earthenware—as, for instance, funereal, water, or wine urns, 5 feet high and from 1¾ to 3¼ feet in diameter; also smaller funereal urns, plates, dishes, and vases, of exceedingly fanciful forms, and from about 8 to 10 inches in height, with the owl’s face of the tutelary goddess of Troy, two female breasts, and a navel, besides the two upraised arms on each side of the head, which served as handles; further, all of those vessels with a beak-shaped mouth, bent back, and either short or long. Most of these vessels are round below, so that they cannot stand; others have three feet; others, again, are flat-bottomed. The neck of many is so much bent backwards that it resembles a swan or a goose. To this class also belong all of those globular and egg-shaped vessels, small and large, with or without a neck like a chimney, which have a short ring on either side, and a hole in the same direction in the lip, through which was passed the string for suspending them; many have in addition three little feet. All are of uniform colour, either brown, yellow, red, or black; some have rows of leaves or twigs as decorations. I also meet with very curious vases, in the shape of animals, with three feet. The mouth of the vessel is in the tail, which is upright and very thick, and which is connected with the back by a handle. Upon one of these last-mentioned vases there are decorations, consisting of three engraved stripes of three lines each. I formerly found the Priapus only at a depth of 7 meters (23 feet); but a short time ago I found one at a depth of 13 meters (42½ feet). I now find it again at 8 meters (26 feet) that is, among the ruins of the nation of which I am at present speaking. In these strata we also meet with an immense quantity of those round terra-cottas (the whorls), which, it is true, deviate from the wheel-shape of the articles found on the primary soil owing to their greater thickness, and are also not of such excellently-burnt clay as those; but, as anyone may convince himself by examining the drawings, they are embellished with uncommonly beautiful and ingenious symbolical signs. Among these the Sun-god always occupies the most prominent position; but the fire-machine of our primeval ancestors, the holy sacrificial altar with blazing flames, the holy sÔma-tree or tree of life, and the rosa mystica, are also very frequently met with here. This mystic rose, which occurs very often in the Byzantine sculptures, and the name of which, as is well known, is employed to designate the Holy Virgin in the Roman Catholic Litanies, is a very ancient Aryan religious symbol, as yet, unfortunately, unexplained.[161] It is very ancient, because I find it at a depth of from 7 to 10 meters (23 to 33 feet) in the strata of the successors to the Trojans, which must belong to a period about 1200 years before Christ.[162]

The sign which resembles the Phoenician letter “Nun” I found represented sixteen times[163] upon one of those round terra-cottas from a depth of 8 meters (26 feet); for these signs stand in groups of four, and by their position form a cross round the sun, or, if my present supposition is right, round the nave of the wheel representing the chariot of the sun. I also find the symbol of lightning in all the higher strata up to 10 feet below the surface. In all the strata, from a depth of 33 feet up to 1¾ feet below the surface, I find engravings of the sun with its rays innumerable times upon the round terra-cottas, exactly as it is represented on the head of the Sun-god on the metopÉ which I discovered when excavating the temple; but more frequently still in circles of three, four, five, six or eight double, treble or quadruple rising suns, and in by far the greater number of cases it stands in the centre of four treble rising suns, which form a cross round it. Hundreds of times I find the sun surrounded by stars in the centre of a double or treble cross, which has a large dot on every one of the four ends. These dots probably denote the four nails which fixed the wooden frame by which the holy fire was prepared. At the depth of from 10 to 7 meters (33 to 23 feet) I also found although more rarely, five mystic roses in a circle round the sun. One with signs, which may probably prove to be not merely symbols, but actual letters, I found at a depth of 7 meters (23 feet).[164] I have still to mention those round articles from the same depth, which have three mystic roses and two sheaves of sun-rays in the circle round the sun. Further, from a depth of 9 meters (29½ feet) I have several round pieces, upon which there are 14 crooked sheaves of three sun-rays each, resembling the sails of a windmill, which radiate in all directions from the sun, while the compartments between the sheaves of rays are filled with stars. This representation must indicate the rotation of the wheel in the course of the sun’s chariot in the heavens, that is, if the supposition I before ventured to make, that the round objects represent the wheel, is correct. Another, found at the same depth, has on one side three holy sacrificial altars covered with flames, and a group of stars; on the other side three similar altars, and a suastika forming a cross round the sun.[165] There also occur some with only four curved sheaves of rays, or two ? and two flaming altars in a cross round the sun; there is again another upon which two crosses stand opposite each other, and all the rest of the space round the sun (or round the nave of the wheel) is filled with stars. All the whorls met with at a depth of from 10 to 7 meters (33 to 23 feet) are made of clay, for the most part of black or red clay, and as hard as stone, which, in comparison with that of the whorls in the higher strata, is distinguished by its fineness. We also find in these strata some whorls made of lead or fine marble, but they have no decorations.

In the strata of the same nation I found also copper battle-axes, lances, arrows, knives, and implements of different kinds, as well as a number of moulds of schist and chlorite slate for casting these and many other objects, some being of forms quite unknown to me. Seals of terra-cotta, with crosses and other ornaments, are not peculiar to these strata, but occur also at a depth of from 33 feet as far up as 1¾ feet below the surface. We have also brought to light hand mill-stones of lava, which are oval on one side and flat on the other, and some also of granite; large and small hammers, axes, and balls with a hole through the centre; further, mortars and pestles of diorite, and weights of granite; quoits made of granite and other kinds of stone, with a hole through the centre for throwing them. Sling-bullets made of loadstone, and great quantities of knives made of white or yellow silex in the form of saws, sometimes also knives of volcanic glass and lances of diorite are met with among the ruins of this people, but all these instruments are much better finished than in the strata above a depth of 7 meters (23 feet).

No. 117. A Trojan Hand Mill-stone of Lava (10 M.).
No. 117. A Trojan Hand Mill-stone of Lava (10 M.).

No. 118. A Piece of Granite, perhaps used, by means of a wooden Handle, as an upper Mill-stone (10 M.).
No. 118. A Piece of Granite, perhaps used, by means of a wooden Handle, as an upper Mill-stone (10 M.).
No. 119. A massive Hammer of Diorite (10 M.).
No. 120. Piece of Granite, probably used as a Pestle. From the lowest Stratum (11-16 M.)

I likewise find in these strata numerous idols of very fine marble, and upon a number of them are engraved the owl’s face of the Ilian Athena and her girdle. At a depth of 8 meters (26 feet) we discovered a terra-cotta idol of the same tutelary goddess; four horizontal strokes on the neck seem to denote her armour; only one of the arms has been preserved, which is in an upright position; two lines proceeding from the arms and crossing each other over the body give her a warlike appearance; her breasts are indicated by two points; her long hair is distinctly marked at the back of the head.

No. 121. Idol of Athena (8 M.). a. Front; b. Back.
No. 121. Idol of Athena (8 M.). a. Front; b. Back.

At a depth of 9½ meters (30½ feet) among the yellow ashes of a house which was destroyed by fire, I found a large lump of thick wire, which I believed to be copper wire, and therefore laid carelessly upon my table; but when the lump was knocked down accidentally, a silver wire, which held the packet together, broke, and out fell three bracelets, one of which is simple, the second double, and the third treble: within the last is a very artistic ornament and an ear-ring formed of six wires, and these things must have been welded to the bracelet by the heat of the conflagration, for it cannot possibly have been worn on the arm as it is now.[166] The packet further contained a very pretty gold ear-ring, which has three rows of little stars on both sides; then two bunches of ear-rings of various forms, most of which are of silver and terminate in five leaves. But the packet also contained several ear-rings of the same form made of electrum (??e?t???): three of the ear-rings I know positively to be of electrum; there are, however, probably several others of electrum among the two bunches which I dare not attempt to loosen for fear of breaking the silver ear-rings which have suffered very much from rust.

According to Pliny (H.N. XXXIII. 23), and Pausanias (V. 12, §6) electrum was an artificial compound of metals, four parts of gold and one of silver. The most ancient Lydian coins are likewise made of electrum.

Nos. 122, 123, 124. Balls of fine red Agate; from the Trojan Stratum (9 M.).
Nos. 122, 123, 124. Balls of fine red Agate; from the Trojan Stratum (9 M.).

At the same depth I not unfrequently find balls of serpentine or porphyry of nearly 2 inches in diameter, and with a hole through the centre. Besides these we find spoons made of bone or terra-cotta, and great quantities of instruments of ivory and bone for use as pins. I also found a very artistically carved piece of ebony, which is certainly part of a musical stringed instrument. I must also mention having found, not only in these depths, but also up to 6 meters (20 feet) below the surface, round pieces of terra-cotta with a hole running longitudinally through them, 2¾ inches long and 2-1/3 inches broad; and also pieces of terra-cotta from 2¾ to nearly 4 inches broad, flat below and rounded off at the top, with two holes at the edge of the broad surface, or with only one hole above running through from the side. All of these articles have probably served as weights. In all of the strata we discovered a number of the vertebrÆ of sharks, boars’ tusks, antlers, and great quantities of the shells of small sea-mussels, of which the Trojans and their successors at all times must have been very fond.

I now come to the strata of dÉbris at a depth of from 7 to 4 meters (23 to 13 feet), which are evidently also the remains of a people of the Aryan race, who took possession of the town built upon the ruins of Troy, and who destroyed it and extirpated the inhabitants; for in these strata of 10 feet thick I find no trace of metal beyond two nails and a small piece of silver wire, and the structure of the houses is entirely different. All the house-walls consist of small stones joined with clay; in the larger buildings the stones are more or less hewn, but in the smaller they are altogether rough. Visitors to the Plain of Troy can see in the earthen walls of my excavations, at these depths, a number of larger or smaller house-walls of this description. Among others are the remains of those huge walls 6¼ feet thick, of which I spoke in my report of the 23rd of last month. The foundations lie at a depth of 20 feet, and they extend to within 10 feet below the present surface;[167] for as, with the exception of excavating the temple, I only intend to make the trench through the hill 98 feet broad above, it has not been necessary to pull down the building entirely.

No. 127. A small Terra-cotta Vase, with two Handles and three feet (6 M.).
No. 127. A small Terra-cotta Vase, with two Handles and three feet (6 M.).
No. 128. Terra-cotta Vase of a frequent form (6 M.).

In these strata (at a depth of from 23 to 13 feet) not only are all the stone implements much rougher, but all the terra-cottas also are of a coarser quality. Still it cannot be denied that with all their simplicity they possess a certain elegance, and I must especially mention the very pretty black or red vases in the form of hour-glasses with two large handles, the red ones being nearly 4 inches high, the black ones 5½ inches high; the small jars in the form of cups with large handles, the larger jars with one or two handles; but above all the frequently occurring covers with the owl’s face of the tutelary goddess of Troy, which are, it is true, almost like those from a depth of from 30 to 23 feet in size, but considerably inferior in quality.

The terra-cotta balls found in these strata are especially remarkable, owing to their most varied symbols. I will describe two of these, found at a depth of 5 meters (16½ feet). The surface of the one is divided by lines into eight equal parts;[168] in one of these is a sun with ten rays, of which only four are straight, all of the others seem to represent religious symbols. One ray has the form of the Phoenician letter “Nun,” and must denote lightning; another ray has the form of a serpent; another again the form of the numeral III.; a fourth is the shape of a sign-post; and the remaining two in the form of fishing-hooks; beside the sun is a star. In the next division is a tree with eight branches, a quadrangle with two stars, and a triangle with four stars. The third field contains a tree with twelve branches; a circle with a star; and, beside and above a stroke, twelve stars, one of which has a dot in the centre. The twelve little stars may possibly denote the twelve signs of the zodiac, which, being the twelve stations of the sun, are personified in the RigvÊda by the twelve Adityas, sons of Aditi, the indivisible and infinite space. The fourth field contains a tree with only six branches, a triangle with three compartments, in one of which is a stroke, and also two squares. The fifth field has again a sun with six crooked rays and one straight ray. The sixth field has five divisions: in the first there are five, in the second four, and in the third seven little stars; the fourth division contains a sign resembling the numeral II., together with three stars; in the fifth division there is a simple cross. In the seventh field is a tree with ten branches. In the eighth field there is a figure like a serpent, and a star.

Upon the second terra-cotta ball there is a sun with thirteen straight rays; further there are, between two ?, three groups of three stars each, and four straight lines; lastly, below the sun three similar lines and three stars.[169] We also frequently find in these strata terra-cotta balls completely covered with stars; likewise an immense number of the round terra-cottas in the form of tops and volcanoes, more than half of which are adorned with the most various symbolical signs. We have also discovered here many weapons of diorite and hard green stone, as well as a number of whetstones of black and green slate with a hole at one end.[170] The use of these whetstones is not very clear to me, for, as I have already said, in the depths of from 7 to 4 meters (23 to 13 feet) I have found no trace of any metal beyond the two nails and the piece of silver wire. However, we came upon a few fragments of moulds for casting instruments, and hence it is probable that copper was known. In any case, however, it was rare and costly, for otherwise I should not have found such colossal masses of stone instruments.

I found in these depths a large number of curious large vases, and among them several beautiful urns with the owl’s head of the Ilian Athena, her two female breasts, navel, and the two upraised arms beside the head. Upon one of the navels is a cross and four holes, which are doubtless intended to represent the four nails employed by our Aryan ancestors to fasten the two pieces of wood which were laid crosswise for producing the holy fire.[171] In these strata I also discovered a number of those cups in the form of champagne-glasses with two handles, which however, as may be seen from the drawings, become clumsier, smaller, and inferior in quality at every yard the higher we ascend. Cups with coronets below (vase-covers) also occur, likewise many small red jars with three feet and two handles, and several hundreds of uncoloured jars, with a handle from nearly 4 to 4¾ inches high. There are also enormous masses of large clumsy hammers and other instruments of diorite; I also found a Priapus of diorite, which is above 12½ inches high and 7¾ inches thick.

There is a well belonging to this nation, built of good hewn stones cemented with clay; its opening is at a depth of 13 feet. I have had it cleared out almost as far as the primary soil; one wall of this well is still to be seen on the left side of the northern entrance of my great cutting. Hand mill-stones of lava are also found in immense numbers in these strata.

No. 130. Terra-cotta Vessel (4 M.).
No. 130. Terra-cotta Vessel (4 M.).
No. 131. A small Terra-cotta Vase with two Rings for suspension (2 M.).

Nos. 132, 133. Owl-faced Vase-covers (3 M.). The second is of an unusual form.
Nos. 132, 133. Owl-faced Vase-covers (3 M.). The second is of an unusual form.

Nos. 134, 135. Two-handled Cups from the upper Stratum (2 M.).
Nos. 134, 135. Two-handled Cups from the upper Stratum (2 M.).

No. 136. Terra-cotta Vase (2 M.).
No. 136. Terra-cotta Vase (2 M.).
No. 137. Perforated Terra-cotta (2 M.).

A new epoch in the history of Ilium commenced when the accumulation of dÉbris on this hill had reached a height of 4 meters (13 feet) below its present surface; for the town was again destroyed, and the inhabitants killed or driven out by a wretched tribe, which certainly must likewise have belonged to the Aryan race, for upon the round terra-cottas I still very frequently find the tree of life and the simple and double cross with the four nails. In these depths, however, the form of the whorls degenerates; they become more elongated and pointed; I also find many in the form of cones about 1-1/5 inch to 1½ inch in height, which never occur in the lower strata; most of them are without decorations. Of pottery much less is found, and all of it is much more inartistic than that in the preceding strata. However, an exceedingly fanciful goblet, found at a depth of 13 feet, deserves to be specially mentioned; its body, which rests upon three little feet, is a tube, out of which three small cups stand up. We still frequently meet with cups (vase-covers) bearing the owl’s face of the Ilian Athena, and a kind of helmet, but they continue to become more and more rude.[172] In like manner the cups in the form of champagne-glasses continue to be inferior in quality, they are always smaller and coarser, and are now only about 5 inches high, whereas at a depth of 33 feet they were 12-2/3 inches high. Several vases with female breasts, navel, and upraised arms, occur at a depth of 4 meters (13 feet), one at a depth of 2½ meters (about 8 feet). Small red vases in the form of hour-glasses with a handle are still frequently met with; two were found at as small a depth as 2 meters (6½ feet). A very great number of small ordinary jars were found at a depth of 4 and 3 meters (13 to 9¾ feet), but they almost entirely cease to be found at 2 meters (6½ feet) below the surface. At the depths of 4, 3, and even 2½ meters (13, 9¾, and 8 feet) I also found very many idols of the Ilian Athena, made of fine marble; upon several there are engravings of her owl’s head and girdle.

Nos. 138, 139. Deep Plates (paterÆ) with Rings for suspension, placed (a) vertically or (b) horizontally (1 and 2 M.).
Nos. 138, 139. Deep Plates (paterÆ) with Rings for suspension, placed (a) vertically or (b) horizontally (1 and 2 M.).

No. 140. a. Front. No. 140. b. Back. No. 141. Idols of the Ilian Athena (3 M.).
No. 140. a. Front. No. 140. b. Back. No. 141. Idols of the Ilian Athena (3 M.).

At a depth of 3 meters (10 feet) I also found a terra-cotta idol, which represents this same goddess with the owl’s face and two enormous eyes; she has two female breasts and long hair hanging down behind. Three horizontal lines on the neck seem to denote armour. At the same depth I also found a small and splendid sacrificial basin of terra-cotta, with three feet; in the basin there are engraved a suastika, a tree with twenty-four branches, and a caterpillar.[173]

Copper was known to this people, for I discovered here knives, lances, and nails made of this metal. The form of the nails is often curious, for occasionally I find them with two heads, one beside the other, sometimes with no head at all, but merely two pointed ends, so that a kind of head had to be made by bending over about 2/5 of an inch at one of the ends. Another proof of their knowledge of metals is furnished by the moulds in mica-schist.

We find scarcely any stones in these strata, and the masses of charred ruins and wood-ashes leave no doubt that all the buildings of this tribe were made of wood. I find in these strata of 6½ feet thick some few stone weights, also a couple of hand-mills of lava, but otherwise no implements of stone except knives of silex in the form of saws, which seem often to have been made with great care. Thus, for instance, at a depth of 6½ feet I found a saw made of silex 4¾ inches in length and 1·3 in breadth, which was so exquisitely made that I at first thought it must be a comb. The upper portion of the saw bore the clearest marks of having been encased in wood.

With the people to whom these strata belonged—from 4 to 2 meters (13 to 6½ feet) below the surface—the pre-Hellenic ages end, for henceforward we see many ruined walls of Greek buildings, of beautifully hewn stones laid together without cement, and in the uppermost layer of all even the ruins of house-walls, in which the stones are joined with lime or cement. Moreover, the painted and unpainted terra-cottas, occasionally found at a depth of 2 meters (6½ feet), leave no doubt that a Greek colony took possession of Ilium when the surface of this hill was still that much lower than it is now. It is impossible to determine exactly when this new colonization took place, but it must certainly have been much earlier than the visit of Xerxes reported by Herodotus (VII. 43), which took place 480 years before Christ. According to Strabo (XIII. 1. 42) the town was built under Lydian dominion, and hence this event may have taken place about 700 B.C., for the commencement of the Lydian dominion is assigned to the year 797 B.C. Fluted jars, which archÆologists believe to belong to a period 200 years anterior to Christ, are found immediately below the surface, at a depth of from 1¾ to 3¼ feet. The Greek colony does not appear by any means to have at all extirpated the inhabitants of Ilium, for I still find a great deal of pre-Hellenic pottery at a depth of 6½ and even of 5 feet. At all events those round lamp-shaped terra-cottas with a potter’s stamp and two holes at the edge, found as far down as 6½ feet, seem to me to be of Greek manufacture. The round articles with one hole through the centre, without or with decorations representing the sun and its rays, or the sun with stars, or four double or treble rising suns forming a cross, or even the sun in the centre of a simple or double cross, occur in numbers as far up as a depth of 3¼ feet; but in these uppermost strata the quality of the clay of which these articles are made is very bad, and the symbolical signs are very coarsely and inartistically engraved. My wife, who is enthusiastic about the discovery of Ilium, and who helps me assiduously in the excavations, found, in a cutting which she and her maid had opened close to our house, the same round terra-cottas, with or without decorations, even quite close to the surface. How these exceedingly remarkable objects, which are adorned with the most ancient religious symbols of the Aryan race, can have continued to be used for more than 1000 years by the four tribes which successively held possession of Ilium, and even by the civilized Greek colony, is to me a problem as inexplicable as the purpose for which they were used. If, as I now conjecture, they represent the wheel, which in the RigvÊda is the symbol of the sun’s chariot, they were probably used as Ex votos, or they were worshipped as idols of the sun-god, Phoebus Apollo. But why are there such enormous numbers of them?

The well, which I last year discovered at a depth of 6½ feet, built of hewn stones with cement, belongs of course to the Greek colony; so also do all those enormous water and wine urns (p????), which I met with in the uppermost strata. I find all of these colossal urns, as well as all those met with in the deeper strata, standing upright, which is the best proof, if indeed any were needed, that the mighty masses of dÉbris cannot have been brought here from another place, but that they were formed gradually in the course of thousands of years, and that the conquerors and destroyers of Ilium, or at least the new settlers after its conquest and destruction, never had the same manners and customs as their predecessors. Consequently, for many centuries, houses with walls built of unburnt bricks stood upon the mighty heaps of stone, from 13 to 20 feet thick, belonging to the enormous buildings of the primitive Trojans; again, for centuries, houses built of stones joined with clay were erected upon the ruins of houses of brick; for another long period, upon the ruins of these stone houses, wooden houses were erected; and lastly, upon the charred ruins of the latter were established the buildings of the Greek colony, which at first consisted of large hewn stones joined with clay or cement. It can thus no longer seem astonishing that these masses of ruins, covering the primary soil, have a thickness of from 14 to 16 meters (46 to 52½ feet) at the least.

I take this opportunity of giving a translation of the answer I made to an article published by M. G. NikolaÏdes in No. 181 of the Greek newspaper ‘?f?e??? S???t?se??,’ in which the author endeavours to prove that I am giving myself unnecessary trouble, and that the site of Troy is not to be found here, but on the heights of Bunarbashi.[174]

“M. NikolaÏdes maintains that the site of Troy cannot be discovered by means of excavations or other proofs, but solely from the Iliad. He is right, if he supposes that Ilium is only a picture of Homer’s imagination, as the City of the Birds was but a fancy of Aristophanes. If, however, he believes that a Troy actually existed, then his assertion appears most strange. He thereupon says that Troy was situated on the heights of Bunarbashi, for that at the foot of them are the two springs beside which Hector was killed. This is, however, a great mistake, for the number of springs there is forty, and not two, which is sufficiently clear from the Turkish name of the district of the springs, ‘KirkgiÖs’ (40 eyes or springs). My excavations in 1868, on the heights of Bunarbashi, which I everywhere opened down to the primary soil, also suffice to prove that no village, much less a town, has ever stood there. This is further shown by the shape of the rocks, sometimes pointed, sometimes steep, and in all cases very irregular. At the end of the heights, at a distance of 11½ miles from the Hellespont, there are, it is true, the ruins of a small town, but its area is so very insignificant, that it cannot possibly have possessed more than 2000 inhabitants, whereas, according to the indications of the Iliad, the Homeric Ilium must have had over 50,000. In addition to this, the small town is four hours distant, and the 40 springs are 3½ hours distant, from the Hellespont; and such distances entirely contradict the statements of the Iliad, according to which the Greeks forced their way fighting, four times in one day, across the land which lay between the naval camp and the walls of Troy.

“M. NikolaÏdes’s map of the Plain of Troy may give rise to errors; for he applies the name of SimoÏs to the river which flows through the south-eastern portion of the Plain, whereas this river is the Thymbrius, as Mr. Frank Calvert has proved. In his excavations on the banks of that river, Mr. Calvert found the ruins of the temple of the Thymbrian Apollo, about which there cannot be the slightest doubt, owing to the long inscription which contains the inventory of the temple. Then on the map of M. NikolaÏdes I find no indication whatever of the much larger river Doumbrek-Su, which flows through the north-eastern portion of the Plain of Troy, and passed close by the ancient town of Ophrynium, near which was Hector’s tomb and a grove dedicated to him.[175] Throughout all antiquity, this river was called the SimoÏs, as is also proved by Virgil (Æn. III. 302, 305). The map of M. NikolaÏdes equally ignores the river which flows from south to north through the Plain, the Kalifatli-Asmak, with its enormously broad bed, which must certainly at one time have been occupied by the Scamander, and into which the SimoÏs still flows to the north of Ilium. The Scamander has altered its course several times, as is proved by the three large river-beds between it and the bed of the Kalifatli-Asmak. But even these three ancient river-beds are not given in the map of M. NikolaÏdes.

“In complete opposition to all the traditions of antiquity, the map recognises the tomb of Achilles in the conical sepulchral mound of In-TÉpÉ, which stands on a hill at the foot of the promontory of Rhoeteum, and which, from time immemorial, has been regarded as the tomb of Ajax. During an excavation of this hill, in 1788, an arched passage was found, about 3¾ feet high, and built of bricks; as well as the ruins of a small temple. According to Strabo (XIII. 1. p. 103), the temple contained the statue of Ajax, which Mark Antony took away and presented to Cleopatra. Augustus gave it back to the inhabitants of the town of Rhoeteum, which was situated near the tomb. According to Philostratus (Heroica, I.), the temple, which stood over the grave, was repaired by the Emperor Hadrian, and according to Pliny (H. N., V. 33), the town of Aianteum was at one time situated close to the tomb. On the other hand, throughout antiquity, the tomb of Achilles was believed to be the sepulchral mound on an elevation at the foot of the promontory of Sigeum, close to the Hellespont, and its position corresponds perfectly with Homer’s description.[176]

PLATE VII.

A.—MOUND OF IN-TÉPÉ, The traditional Tomb of Ajax, with the Ruins of his Temple. B.—MOUND CALLED THE TOMB OF ACHILLES. Page 178.
A.—MOUND OF IN-TÉPÉ,
The traditional Tomb of Ajax, with the Ruins of his Temple.
B.—MOUND CALLED THE TOMB OF ACHILLES.
Page 178.

“The field situated directly south of this tomb, and which is covered with fragments of pottery, is doubtless the site of the ancient town of Achilleum, which, according to Strabo (XIII. 1. p. 110), was built by the MitylenÆans, who were for many years at war with the Athenians, while the latter held Sigeum, and which was destroyed simultaneously with Sigeum by the people of Ilium. Pliny (H. N., V. 33) confirms the disappearance of Achilleum. The Ilians here brought offerings to the dead, not only on the tomb of Achilles, but also upon the neighbouring tombs of Patroclus and Antilochus.[177] Alexander the Great offered sacrifices here in the temple of Achilles.[178] Caracalla also, accompanied by his army, offered sacrifices to the manes of Achilles, and held games around the tomb.[179] Homer never says anything about a river in the Greek camp, which probably extended along the whole shore between Cape Sigeum and the Scamander, which at that time occupied the ancient bed of the Kalifatli-Asmak. But the latter, below the village of KumkÖi, is at all events identical with the large bed of the small stream In-tÉpÉ-Asmak, which flows into the Hellespont near Cape Rhoeteum.

“M. NikolaÏdes further quotes the following lines from the Iliad (II. 811-815):—

M. NikolaÏdes gathers from this, that in front of Ilium there was a very high hill, upon which the Trojan army of 50,000 men were marshalled in battle-array. I, however, do not interpret the above lines by supposing that the mound of Batiea was large and spacious, nor that 50,000 were marshalled upon it in battle-array. On the contrary, when Homer uses the word ‘a?p??’ for height, he always means ‘steep and lofty,’ and upon a steep and lofty height 50,000 Trojans could not possibly have been marshalled. Moreover, the poet expressly says that the steep hill is called by the gods the tomb of the nimble-limbed Myrina, while ‘Batiea,’ the name which men gave the hill, can signify only ‘the tomb of Batiea.’ For, according to Apollodorus (iii. 12), Batiea was the daughter of the Trojan King Teucer, and married Dardanus, who had immigrated from Samothrace, and who eventually became the founder of Troy.[180] Myrina was one of the Amazons who had undertaken the campaign against Troy.[181] Homer can never have wished us to believe that 50,000 warriors were marshalled upon a steep and lofty tumulus, upon whose summit scarcely ten men could stand; he only wished to indicate the locality where the Trojan army was assembled; they were therefore marshalled round or beside the tumulus.

“M. NikolaÏdes goes on to say, that such a hill still exists in front of Bunarbashi, whereas there is no hill whatever, not even a mound, before Ilium Novum. My answer to this is that in front of the heights of Bunarbashi there are none of those conical tumuli called ‘s?ata’ by Homer, that however there must have been one in front of Hissarlik, where I am digging, but it has disappeared, as do all earthen mounds when they are brought under the plough.[182] Thus, for instance, M. NikolaÏdes, during his one day’s residence in the Plain of Troy in the year 1867, still found the tumulus of Antilochus near the Scamander, for he speaks of it in his work published in the same year. I, too, saw the same tumulus in August, 1868, but even then it had considerably decreased in size, for it had just begun to be ploughed over, and now it has long since disappeared.

“M. NikolaÏdes says that I am excavating in New Ilium. My answer is that the city, whose depths I am investigating, was throughout antiquity, nay from the time of its foundation to that of its destruction, always simply called Ilium, and that no one ever called it New Ilium, for everyone believed that the city stood on the site of the Homeric Ilium, and that it was identical with it. The only person who ever doubted its identity with Ilium, the city of Priam, was Demetrius of Scepsis, who maintained that the famous old city had stood on the site of the village of the Ilians (?????? ???), which lies 30 stadia (3 geog. miles) to the south-east. This opinion was afterwards shared by Strabo, who however, as he himself admits, had never visited the Plain of Troy; hence he too calls the town ‘t? s?e????? ?????,’ to distinguish it from the Homeric Ilium. My last year’s excavations on the site of the ?????? ??? have, however, proved that the continuous elevation on one side of it, which appeared to contain the ruins of great town walls, contains in reality nothing but mere earth. Wherever I investigated the site of the ancient village, I always found the primary soil at a very inconsiderable depth, and nowhere the slightest trace of a town ever having stood there. Hence Demetrius of Scepsis and Strabo, who adopted his theory, were greatly mistaken. The town of Ilium was only named Ilium Novum about 1000 years after its complete destruction; in fact this name was only given to it in the year 1788 by Lechevalier, the author of the theory that the Homeric Ilium stood on the heights of Bunarbashi. Unfortunately, however, as his work and map of the Plain of Troy prove, Lechevalier only knew of the town from hearsay; he had never taken the trouble to come here himself, and hence he has committed the exceedingly ludicrous mistake, in his map, of placing his New Ilium 4¼ miles from Hissarlik, on the other side of the Scamander, near Kum-kaleh.

“I wonder where M. NikolaÏdes obtained the information that the city which he calls Ilium Novum was founded by AstypalÆus in the sixth century B.C. It seems that he simply read in Strabo (XIII. 602), that the AstypalÆans, living in Rhoeteum, built on the SimoÏs the town of Polion (which name passed over into Polisma), which, as it had no natural fortifications, was soon destroyed, and that he has changed this statement of Strabo’s by making the AstypalÆans build Ilium Novum in the sixth century B.C. In the following sentence Strabo says that the town (Ilium) arose under the dominion of the Lydians, which began in 797 B.C. Whence can M. NikolaÏdes have obtained the information that the foundation of the town was made in the sixth century?

“M. NikolaÏdes further says that Homer certainly saw the successors of Æneas ruling in Troy, else he could not have put the prophecy of that dynasty into the mouth of Poseidon.[183] I also entertained the same opinion, until my excavations proved it to be erroneous, and showed undoubtedly that Troy was completely destroyed, and rebuilt by another people.

“As a further proof that the site of the Homeric Ilium was on the heights of Bunarbashi, M. NikolaÏdes says that the Trojans placed a scout on the tumulus of Æsyetes, to watch when the AchÆans would march forth from their ships, and he thinks that, on account of the short distance from the Hellespont, this watching would have been superfluous and unreasonable if, as I say, Troy had stood on the site of Ilium, which M. NikolaÏdes calls Ilium Novum. I am astonished at this remark of M. NikolaÏdes, for, as he can see from his own map of the Plain of Troy, the distance from hence to the Hellespont is nearly four miles, or 1½ hour’s walk, whereas no human eye can recognise men at a distance of 1 mile, much less at a distance of four. M. NikolaÏdes, however, believes the tumulus of Æsyetes to be the mound called Udjek-TÉpÉ, which is 8 miles or 3½ hours’ journey from the Hellespont. But at such a distance the human eye could scarcely see the largest ships, and could in no case recognise men.

“In like manner, the assertion of M. NikolaÏdes, that there is no spring whatever near Hissarlik, is utterly wrong. It would be unfortunate for me if this were true, for I have constantly to provide my 130 workmen with fresh water to drink; but, thank God, close to my excavations, immediately below the ruins of the town-wall, there are two beautiful springs, one of which is even a double one. M. NikolaÏdes is also wrong in his assertion that the Scamander does not flow, and never has flowed, between Hissarlik and the Hellespont; for, as already stated, the Scamander must at one time have occupied the large and splendid bed of the Kalifatli-Asmak, which runs into the Hellespont near Cape Rhoeteum, and which is not given in the map of M. NikolaÏdes.

“Lastly, he is completely wrong in his statement that the hill of Hissarlik, where I am digging, lies at the extreme north-eastern end of the Plain of Troy; for, as everyone may see by a glance at the map, the Plain extends still further to the north-east an hour and a half in length and half an hour in breadth, and only ends at the foot of the heights of RenkoÏ and the ancient city of Ophrynium.

“It will be easily understood that, being engaged with my superhuman works, I have not a moment to spare, and therefore I cannot waste my precious time with idle talk. I beg M. NikolaÏdes to come to Troy, and to convince himself with his own eyes that, in refuting his erroneous statements, I have described all I see here before me with the most perfect truth.”

CHAPTER XI.

On the Hill of Hissarlik, July 13th, 1872.

MY last report was dated the 18th of June. As the great extent of my excavations renders it necessary for me to work with no less than 120 men, I have already been obliged, on account of the harvest season, to increase the daily wages to 12 piasters since the 1st of June; but even this would not have enabled me to collect the requisite number of men, had not Mr. Max MÜller, the German Consul in Gallipoli, had the kindness to send me 40 workmen from that place. In consequence of this, even during the busiest harvest season, I have always had from 120 to 130 workmen, and now that the harvest is over, I have constantly 150. To facilitate the works, I have procured, through the kindness of the English Consul in Constantinople, Mr. Charles Cookson, 10 “man-carts,” which are drawn by two men and pushed by a third. The same gentleman also sent me 20 wheel-barrows, so that I now work with 10 man-carts and 88 wheel-barrows. In addition to these I keep six more carts with horses, each of which costs 5 francs a day, so that the total cost of my excavations amounts to more than 400 francs (16l.) a day. Besides battering-rams, chains, and windlasses, my implements consist of 24 large iron levers, 108 spades, and 103 pickaxes, all of the best English manufacture. From sunrise to sunset all are busily at work, for I have three capital foremen, and my wife and I are always present at the works. But for all this I do not think that I now remove more than 400 cubic yards of dÉbris in a day, for the distance is always increasing, and in several places it is already more than 262 feet. Besides this, the continual hurricane from the north, which drives the dust into our eyes and blinds us, is exceedingly disturbing. This perpetual high wind is perhaps explained by the fact that the Sea of Marmora, with the Black Sea behind it, is connected with the Ægean Sea by a strait comparatively so narrow. Now, as such perpetual high winds are unknown in any other part of the world, Homer must have lived in the Plain of Troy, otherwise he would not have so often given to his ????? the appropriate epithet of “??e?essa” (the “windy” or “stormy”), which he gives to no other place.

As I have already said, at a perpendicular depth of 12 meters (39½ feet) below the summit of the hill (on the site of what is probably the temple built by Lysimachus) I have dug a platform, 102 feet broad below and 112 feet wide at the top: it already extends to a length of 82 feet. But to my great alarm I find that I have made it at least 5 meters (16½ feet) too high; for, in spite of the great depth and the great distance from the declivity of the hill, I am here still in the dÉbris of the Greek colony, whereas on the northern declivity of the hill I generally reached the ruins of the preceding people at a depth of less than 6½ feet. To make the whole platform 16½ feet lower would be a gigantic piece of work, for which I have no patience at present, on account of the advanced season of the year. But in order as soon as possible to find out what lies hidden in the depths of this temple, I have contented myself with making a cutting 26 feet broad above and 13 feet wide below, exactly 16¼ feet below the platform and in the centre of it. This cutting I am having dug out at the same time from below and on two terraces, so it advances rapidly.

Since the discovery of the Sun-god with the four horses, many blocks of marble with representations of suns and flowers have been found, but no sculptures of any importance. As yet very few other objects have been brought to light from the excavation of the temple; only a few round terra-cottas with the usual decoration of the central sun surrounded by three, four, or five triple or quadruple rising suns; knives of silex in the form of saws, a few pretty figures in terra-cotta, among which is a priestess with very expressive Assyrian features, with a dress of a brilliant red and green colour, and a red cloth round her head; also a small bowl, the lower end of which represents the head of a mouse. The mouse, it is well known, is a creature inspired by the vapours of the earth, and, as the symbol of wisdom, was sacred to Apollo. According to Strabo (XIII. p. 613) Apollo is said to have caused mice to show the Teucrians, who migrated from Crete, the place where they were to settle. However, the bowl with the head of a mouse is no more a proof that the temple built here by Lysimachus was dedicated to Apollo than is the metopÉ representing the Sun-god with four horses.

In the other parts of my excavations, since my last report, we have again brought to light an immense number of round terra-cottas, and among them, from a depth of from 4 to 10 meters (13 to 33 feet), a remarkable number with three, four, or five ? round the central sun.[184] One, from a depth of 23 feet,[185] shows the central sun surrounded by six suns, through each of which a ? passes; upon another, found at a depth of 33 feet, the central sun has 12 trees instead of rays;[186] upon a third, brought from a depth of 16½ feet, the sun has seven rays in the form of fishing-hooks, one in the form of the figure three and two in the shape of the Phoenician letter Nun, then follow 12 sheaves of rays, in each of which are four little stars; upon a fourth terra-cotta, which I found at a depth of 16½ feet, there are four rising suns and a tree in the circle round the sun.[187] I very frequently find between the rising suns three or four rows of three dots running towards the central sun,[188] which, as already said, according to É. Burnouf, denote “royal majesty” in the Persian cuneiform inscriptions. It is certain that this symbol is here also intended to glorify the Sun-god. At a depth of from 7 to 10 meters (23 to 33 feet) we also find round terra-cottas, upon which the entire surface round the sun is filled with little stars, and in addition only one ?.

During the last few days we have also found, in the strata next above the primary soil, at a depth of from 46 to 36 feet, a number of round brilliant black terra-cottas of exquisite workmanship; most of them much flatter than those occurring in the higher strata, and resembling a wheel; many are in the shape of large flat buttons.[189] But we also meet with some in the form of tops and volcanoes, which differ from those found in the higher strata only by the fineness of the terra-cotta and by their better workmanship. The decorations on these very ancient articles are, however, generally much simpler than those met with above a depth of 10 meters (33 feet), and are mostly confined to the representation of the sun with its rays, or with stars between the latter, or of the sun in the centre of a simple cross, or in the middle of four or five double or treble rising suns. At a depth of 6 meters (20 feet) we again found a round terra-cotta in the form of a volcano, upon which are engraved three antelopes in the circle round the sun.

At a depth of from 5 to 8 meters (16½ to 26 feet) a number of terra-cotta balls were found, the surface of each being divided into eight fields; these contain a great many small suns and stars, either enclosed by circles or standing alone. Most of the balls, however, are without divisions and covered with stars; upon some I find the ? and the tree of life, which, as already said, upon a terra-cotta ball found at a depth of 26 feet, had stars between its branches.

No. 143. Terra-cotta Ball, representing apparently the climates of the globe (8 M.).
No. 143. Terra-cotta Ball, representing apparently the climates of the globe (8 M.).[190]

Among the thousands and thousands of round terra-cottas in the form of the volcano, the top, or the wheel, which are found here from the surface down to a depth of from 14 and 16 meters (46 to 53 feet)—that is, from the end of the Greek colony down to the ruined strata of the first inhabitants, I have not yet found a single one with symbolical signs, upon which I could discover the slightest trace that it had been used for any domestic purpose.[191] On the other hand, among those which have no decorations I find a few, perhaps two in a hundred, of those in the form of volcanoes, the upper surfaces of which show distinct traces of rubbing, as if from having been used on the spinning-wheel or loom. That these articles, which are frequently covered with the finest and most artistic engravings, should have served as weights for fishing-nets, is utterly inconceivable, for, apart from all other reasons opposed to such a supposition, pieces of terra-cotta have not the requisite weight, and of course are directly spoilt by being used in water.

M. É. Burnouf writes to me, that these exceedingly remarkable objects were either worn by the Trojans and their successors as amulets, or must have been used as coins. Both of these suppositions, however, seem to me to be impossible. For amulets they are much too large and heavy, for they are from above 1 inch to nearly 2 inches, and some even 2-1/3 inches, in diameter, and from 3/5 of an inch to nearly 2 inches high; moreover, it would be most uncomfortable to wear even a single one of these heavy pieces on the neck or breast. That they were used as coins appears to me inconceivable, on account of the religious symbols; moreover, if they had been so used, they would show traces of wear from their continual transfer. The white substance with which the engravings are filled seems also to contradict their having been used as coins; for in their constant passage from hand to hand it would have soon disappeared. Lastly, such an use is inconsistent with the fact that they also occur in the strata of the Greek colony, in which I find a number of copper and some silver coins of Ilium. However, the latter belong for the most part to the time of the Roman emperors, and I cannot say with certainty that they reach back beyond our Christian era. There are, however, coins of Sigeum, which probably belong to the second century before Christ, for in Strabo’s time this town was already destroyed.

No. 144. Small Terra-cotta Vessel from the lowest Stratum, with four perforated feet, and one foot in the middle (14 M.).
No. 144. Small Terra-cotta Vessel from the lowest Stratum, with four perforated feet, and one foot in the middle (14 M.).[192]

At a depth of 14 meters (46 feet) I find, among other curious objects, small round bowls only 1¾ inch in diameter; some of them have, on the edge of the bottom, four little feet with a perforated hole, and in the centre a fifth little foot without a hole. Other bowls of the same size have four little feet, only two of which have a perforated hole. My conjecture is that all of these small bowls, which could both stand and be hung up, were used by the ancient Trojans as lamps. Among the ruins of the three succeeding nations I find no trace of lamps, and only at a depth of less than a meter (3¼ feet) do I find Greek ??????.

Nos. 145, 146. Two little Funnels of Terra-cotta, inscribed with Cyprian Letters (3 M.).
Nos. 145, 146. Two little Funnels of Terra-cotta, inscribed with Cyprian Letters (3 M.).

At the depth of 2 meters (6½ feet) I found, among the ruins of a house, a great quantity of very small bowls, only 3-4ths of an inch high and 2-5ths of an inch broad, together with their small lids; their use is unknown to me. At all depths below 4 meters (13 feet) I find the small flat saucers of from nearly 2 inches to above 3 inches in diameter, with two holes opposite each other; from 4 to 7 meters (13 to 23 feet) they are coarse, but from 7 to 10 meters (23 to 33 feet) they are finer, and from 13 to 14 meters (42½ to 46 feet) they are very fine. I am completely ignorant as to what they can have been used for. At all these depths I also find funnels from 2¾ to above 3 inches long, the broad end of which is only a little above an inch in diameter. In the upper strata they are made of very coarse clay, but at an increasing depth they gradually become better, and at a depth of 46 feet they are made of very good terra-cotta. It is extremely remarkable, however, that these curious and very “unpractical” funnels were kept in use in an entirely unchanged pattern by all the tribes which inhabited Ilium from the foundation of the city to before the Greek colony. I also find, in the second and third strata, terra-cottas in the form of the primitive canoes which were made of the hollowed trunk of a tree. From 4 to 7 meters (13 to 23 feet) they are coarse, and about 4 inches long; at a depth of from 7 to 10 meters (23 to 33 feet) they are finer, and from 1½ to 2¾ inches long. They may have been used as salt-cellars or pepper-boxes; I found several with flat lids. These vessels cease to be found in the lowest stratum. Miniature vases and pots, between 1 and 2 inches high, are frequently found in all the strata from a depth of from 10 to 33 feet; at a depth of from 46 to 52½ feet only three miniature pots were discovered; one is not quite an inch high. At a depth of 5 meters (16½ feet) we found a perfectly closed earthen vessel with a handle, which seems to have been used as a bell, for there are pieces of metal inside of it which ring when it is shaken.

Of cups (vase-covers) with owls’ heads and helmets, since my last report two have been brought out from a depth of 10 and 11 feet, two from 16 feet and one from 26 feet. The first are made of bad terra-cotta and are inartistic; those from a depth of 16 feet are much better finished and of a better clay; while that from 26 feet (8 meters) is so beautiful, that one is inclined to say that it represents the actual portrait of the goddess with the owl’s face.[193] During these last few days we have found a number of those splendid red cups in the form of large champagne-glasses, without a foot, but with two enormous handles, one of which was 10½ inches high; but I have already found one 12½ inches in height. From a depth of from 26 to 33 feet we have also brought out many small pots with three little feet, with rings at the sides and holes in the mouth for hanging up, and with pretty engraved decorations. Upon the whole, we have met with many beautiful terra-cottas from all the strata during the last few days.

I have still to describe one of those very pretty vases which occur abundantly at the depth of from 7 to 10 meters (23 to 33 feet), and have either two closed handles, or, in place of them, two handles with perforated holes, and also two holes in the mouth in the same direction; thus they could stand or be hung up by means of strings drawn through the four holes. They have in most cases decorations all round them, which generally consist, above and below, of three parallel lines drawn round them horizontally; between these there are 24 perpendicular lines, which likewise run parallel; the spaces formed by the latter are filled alternately with three or six little stars.[194] At a depth of from 7 to 10 meters (23 to 33 feet) we also meet, although seldom, with vases having cuneiform decorations. I must, however, remind the reader that all the decorations met with here, at a depth of from 33 feet up to 6½ feet, have always been more or less artistically engraved upon the terra-cottas when they were still soft and unburnt, that all of the vases have a uniform colour (though the ordinary pots are in most cases uncoloured), and that we have never found a trace of painting in these depths, with the exception of a curious box in the form of a band-box, found at a depth of 8 meters (26 feet), which has three feet as well as holes for hanging it up. It is adorned on all sides with red decorations on a yellow ground, and on its lid there is a large ? or a very similar symbol of the Maya, the fire-machine of our Aryan forefathers.

In the lowest stratum also, at the depth of 52½ feet, I found only the one fragment, already described, of a vase with an actual painting.[195] All of the other vessels found in these strata, even the round terra-cottas in the form of wheels, volcanoes, or tops, are of a brilliant black, red or brown colour, and the decorations are artistically engraved and filled with a white substance, so as to be more striking to the eye.

As every object belonging to the dark night of the pre-Hellenic times, and bearing traces of human skill in art, is to me a page of history, I am, above all things, obliged to take care that nothing escapes me. I therefore pay my workmen a reward of 10 paras (5 centimes, or a half-penny) for every object that is of the slightest value to me; for instance, for every round terra-cotta with religious symbols. And, incredible as it may seem, in spite of the enormous quantities of these articles that are discovered, my workmen have occasionally attempted to make decorations on the unornamented articles, in order to obtain the reward; the sun with its rays is the special object of their industry. I, of course, detect the forged symbols at once, and always punish the forger by deducting 2 piasters from his day’s wages; but, owing to the constant change of workmen, forgery is still attempted from time to time.

As I cannot remember the names of the men engaged in my numerous works, I give each a name of my own invention according to their more or less pious, military or learned appearance: dervish, monk, pilgrim, corporal, doctor, schoolmaster, and so forth. As soon as I have given a man such a name, the good fellow is called so by all as long as he is with me. I have accordingly a number of Doctors, not one of whom can either read or write.

Yesterday, at a depth of 13 meters (43½ feet), between the stones of the oldest city, I again came upon two toads, which hopped off as soon as they found themselves free.

In my last report I did not state the exact number of springs in front of Ilium. I have now visited all the springs myself, and measured their distance from my excavations, and I can give the following account of them. The first spring, which is situated directly below the ruins of the ancient town-wall, is exactly 365 meters (399 yards) from my excavations; its water has a temperature of 16° Celsius (60.8° Fahrenheit). It is enclosed to a height of 6½ feet by a wall of large stones joined with cement, 9¼ feet in breadth, and in front of it there are two stone troughs for watering cattle. The second spring, which is likewise still below the ruins of the ancient town-wall, is exactly 725 meters (793 yards) distant from my excavations. It has a similar enclosure of large stones, 7 feet high and 5 feet broad, and has the same temperature. But it is out of repair, and the water no longer runs through the stone pipe in the enclosure, but along the ground before it reaches the pipe. The double spring spoken of in my last report is exactly 945 meters (1033 yards) from my excavations. It consists of two distinct springs, which run out through two stone pipes lying beside each other in the enclosure composed of large stones joined with earth, which rises to a height of 7 feet and is 23 feet broad; its temperature is 17° Celsius (62.6° Fahrenheit). In front of these two springs there are six stone troughs, which are placed in such a manner that the superfluous water always runs from the first trough through all the others. It is extremely probable that these are the two springs mentioned by Homer, beside which Hector was killed.[196] When the poet describes the one as boiling hot, the other as cold as ice, this is probably to be understood in a metaphorical sense; for the water of both these springs runs into the neighbouring SimoÏs, and thence into the Kalifatli-Asmak, whose enormous bed was at one time occupied by the Scamander; the latter, however, as is well known, comes from Mount Ida from a hot and a cold spring.

I remarked in my last memoir that the Doumbrek-Su (SimoÏs) still flows past the north of Ilium into the former channel of the Scamander, and I afterwards said that one of its arms flowed into the sea near Cape Rhoeteum. This remark requires some explanation. The sources of the SimoÏs lie at a distance of eight hours from Hissarlik; and, as far down as the neighbouring village of Chalil-KoÏ, though its water is drawn off into four different channels for turning mills, its great bed has always an abundance of water even during the hottest summer weather. At Chalil-KoÏ, however, it divides itself into two arms; one of which, after it has turned a mill, flows into the Plain in a north-westerly direction, forms an immense marsh, and parts into two branches, one of which again falls into the other arm, which flows in a westerly direction from Chalil-KoÏ, and then empties itself directly into the Kalifatli-Asmak, the ancient bed of the Scamander. The other arm of the SimoÏs, which flowed in a north-westerly direction from Chalil-KoÏ, after it has received a tributary from the Kalifatli-Asmak by means of an artificial canal, turns direct north, and, under the name of In-tÉpÉ-Asmak, falls into the Hellespont through an enormously broad bed, which certainly was at one time occupied by the Kalifatli-Asmak, and in remote antiquity by the Scamander, and is close to the sepulchral mound of Ajax, which is called In-tÉpÉ. I must draw attention to the fact that the name of Ajax (??a?, gen. ??a?t??) can even be recognised in the Turkish name (In-tÉpÉ: TÉpÉ signifies “hill.”)

In returning to the article by M. NikolaÏdes, I can now also refute his assertion that near Ilium, where I am digging, there is no hill which can be regarded as the one described by Homer as the tomb of Batiea or the Amazon Myrina.[197]

Strabo (XIII. i. p. 109) quotes the lines already cited from the Iliad[198] (II. 790-794) as an argument against the identity of Ilium with the Ilium of Priam, and adds: “If Troy had stood on the site of the Ilium of that day, Polites would have been better able to watch the movements of the Greeks in the ships from the summit of the Pergamus than from the tumulus of Æsyetes, which lies on the road to Alexandria Troas, 5 stadia (half a geographical mile) from Ilium.”

Strabo is perfectly right in saying that the Greek camp must have been more readily seen from the summit of the Pergamus than from a sepulchral mound on the road to Alexandria Troas, 5 stadia from Ilium; for Alexandria Troas lies to the south-west of Ilium, and the road to it, which is distinctly marked by the ford of the Scamander at its entrance into the valley, goes direct south as far as Bunarbashi, whereas the Hellespont and the Greek camp were north of Ilium. But to the south of Ilium, exactly in the direction where the road to Alexandria Troas must have been, I see before me a tumulus 33 feet high and 131 yards in circumference, and, according to an exact measurement which I have made, 1017 yards from the southern city wall. This, therefore, must necessarily be the sepulchral mound of which Strabo writes; but he has evidently been deceived in regard to its identity with the tumulus of Æsyetes by Demetrius of Scepsis, who wished to prove the situation of this mound to be in a straight line between the Greek camp and the village of the Ilians (?????? ???), and the latter to be the site of Troy. The tumulus of Æsyetes was probably situated in the present village of Kum-KoÏ, not far from the confluence of the Scamander and the SimoÏs, for the remains of an heroic tumulus several feet in height are still to be seen there.

The mound now before me is in front of Troy, but somewhat to the side of the Plain, and this position corresponds perfectly with the statements which Homer gives us of the position of the monument of Batiea or the Amazon Myrina: “p??p?????e p?????” and “?? ped?? ?p??e??e.” This tumulus is now called Pacha-TÉpÉ.

We may form an idea of what a large population Ilium possessed at the time of Lysimachus, among other signs, from the enormous dimensions of the theatre which he built; it is beside the Pergamus where I am digging, and its stage is 197 feet in breadth.

The heat during the day, which is 32° Celsius (89.6° Fahrenheit), is not felt at all, owing to the constant wind, and the nights are cool and refreshing.

Our greatest plague here, after the incessant and intolerable hurricane, is from the immense numbers of insects and vermin of all kinds; we especially dread the scorpions and the so-called Sa?a?t?p?d?a (literally “with forty feet”—a kind of centipede), which frequently fall down from the ceiling of the rooms upon or beside us, and whose bite is said to be fatal.

I cannot conclude without mentioning an exceedingly remarkable person, Konstantinos Kolobos, the owner of a shop in the village of Neo-Chorion in the Plain of Troy, who, although born without feet, has nevertheless made a considerable fortune in a retail business. But his talents are not confined to business; they include a knowledge of languages; and although Kolobos has grown up among the rough and ignorant village lads and has never had a master, yet by self-tuition he has succeeded in acquiring the Italian and French languages, and writes and speaks both of them perfectly. He is also wonderfully expert in ancient Greek, from having several times copied and learnt by heart a large etymological dictionary, as well as from having read all the classic authors, and he can repeat whole rhapsodies from the Iliad by heart. What a pity it is that such a genius has to spend his days in a wretched village in the Troad, useless to the world, and in the constant company of the most uneducated and ignorant people, all of whom gaze at him in admiration, but none of whom understand him!

No. 149. A Trojan decorated Vase of Terra-cotta (7 M.).
No. 149. A Trojan decorated Vase of Terra-cotta (7 M.).

CHAPTER XII.

Pergamus of Troy, August 4th, 1872.

PLATE VIII.

Page 200. 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.
Page 200.
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.

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 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 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.

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), 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 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 contains the following inscription:—

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: ? ???? ?a? ? d??? ?????? ?t??sa? ????? ??a?d??? ?a????? G???? ????????? ?????ta ????st?? ?p? t?? ?e??t?t?? a?t????t???? ?a?sa??? ??t?? ?????? ?d??a??? ??t????? Seast?? ??se??? ?a? p???? ?a? e???a t? p??e? ?at????sa?ta ?a? pa??s???t? te t? ????ste?? ?a? s???????a?? ??d?a p?s?? t??? ????? ??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 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 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. 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) 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. 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.

No. 152. Terra-cotta Vessel in the shape of a Pig, from the Lowest Stratum (14 M.).
No. 152. Terra-cotta Vessel in the shape of a Pig, from the Lowest Stratum (14 M.).

The day before yesterday, at the depth of 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 nearly 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. 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. By the side of the skeleton I found a finger-ring, 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 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]

CHAPTER XIII.

Pergamus of Troy, August 14th, 1872.

SINCE my report of the 4th of this month I have continued the excavations with the utmost energy, but I am now compelled to stop the works this evening, for my three foremen and my servant, who is also my cashier, have been seized by the malignant marsh-fever, and my wife and I are so unwell that we are quite unable to undertake the sole direction throughout the day in the terrible heat of the sun. We shall therefore leave our two wooden houses and all our machines and implements in charge of a watchman, and to-morrow we shall return to Athens.

The admirers of Homer, on visiting the Pergamus of Troy, will find that I have not only laid bare the Tower on the south side, along the whole breadth of my trench, down to the rock upon which it stands, at a depth of 14 meters or 46½ feet, but that by my excavations on the east and west I have uncovered it considerably further, without having found its end. On the contrary, upon the east side, where it is 40 feet broad, and seems even to be broader still, I found the ruins of a second storey, of which, however, as far as I can at present judge, four broad steps have been preserved.[207] On the western side it is only 9 meters or 30 feet in breadth, and on this side there extends to the north an enormous wall, the thickness of which I have not been able to ascertain. The fact of my not having been able to carry these new excavations down to the primary soil, but only to a depth of 11 meters (36½ feet) is owing to the brittle nature of the walls of rubbish and ruins round about the Tower, which, as anyone may convince himself, consist of red ashes and of stones calcined by the heat, and which threatened at any moment to fall in and bury my workmen.

No. 155. A Trojan Terra-cotta Vase, with an Ornament like the Greek Lambda (8 M.).
No. 155. A Trojan Terra-cotta Vase, with an Ornament like the Greek Lambda (8 M.).
No. 156. Curious Terra-cotta Vessel in the shape of a Mole (Tower: 7 or 8 M.).

Upon the Tower, and more especially in the long oval depression on the top of it, and upon the steps I found two copper Trojan lances, several arrow-heads in the primitive form of thick pegs, from above 1 inch to nearly 2 inches long, which were fastened at the end of the shaft; further, an arrow-head 2½ inches in length, made of silex, and in the form of a pointed double-edged saw; then several copper and silver nails with round heads, which may have served as clothes-pins; further, great quantities of bones, masses of fragments of Trojan pottery of a brilliant red and black, and a number of vases and pots more or less well preserved. Among them is a pretty brilliant red vase nearly 10 inches high, filled with the bones of a sea-fish. This vase (found in an urn, which was unfortunately broken to pieces) has two small handles, and on two sides an ornament in the form of the Greek letter Lambda, but with circular ends.[208] Three other vases of a similar form, and with exactly the same decorations, were found upon the Tower. Two other vases of the same form, and with very similar decorations, were found at depths of 26 and 20 feet. I also found upon the Tower an exceedingly curious vessel nearly 6 inches in length, exactly the shape of a mole, and with three feet; it can also be placed so that the snout of the animal is lowest and serves as a foot; the orifice is in the tail, which a large handle connects with the back. I also found there a splendid Trojan vase, of a brilliant black colour, 15¾ inches high, which was unfortunately completely broken, but I have all the pieces of it, and consequently shall be able to restore it. Besides these, a Trojan pot, and a globular vessel with the above-mentioned decoration of a rounded lambda. I likewise saved, in an almost perfect condition, an exceedingly interesting red jug, above 9 inches high, quite round below and with a neck more bent backwards than I have ever found it in such vessels. I further found there a Priapus and a very pretty bird’s egg made of fine marble, many small terra-cotta whorls with the usual symbols of double and treble crosses, six suns, four or five double or treble rising suns, or stars, in the circle round the central sun; also one article where four ? form a cross round the sun, and the rest of the space is filled with stars. Further, a few small vessels with suspension rings were found also on the Tower, as well as 25 very ordinary earthen plates, which have been turned by the potter, whereas all the other articles appear to have been made by the hand without a potter’s wheel; about half of the plates were got out uninjured.

In digging to the left and right of the Tower, a number of other interesting objects have been found since my last report; for instance, at a depth of 2 meters (6½ feet), a number of very neat although ordinary vessels with small rings on the sides and holes in the mouth for hanging them up, which have hitherto only been met with much further down; at a depth of 3 meters (10 feet) a small cover, with the owl’s face and helmet of the Ilian Athena, of very good manufacture; then, at a depth of 11½ feet, a small terra-cotta whorl with three stags in the circle round the sun. At a depth of from 5 to 6 meters (16½ to 20 feet), I found a great number of small knives of silex in the form of saws. At a depth of 10 meters (33 feet) I discovered a very curious instrument of brilliant yellow terra-cotta, a drawing of which I give. It is quite inexplicable to me for what purpose it can have been used; it is almost in the shape of a shield, and by the side of the handle which is ornamented with a tree, it has a cavity for putting the hand in. As it is made of terra-cotta it cannot, of course, have been used as a shield.[209]

After having had no rain here for four months, to-day, curiously enough, just after stopping the works, we have had a thunderstorm accompanied by a tremendous downpour of rain, and I regret extremely not to have been able to make a channel for leading off the rain-water from the Tower as far as the western declivity of the hill. But such a channel would need to be 50 feet deep and as many broad, otherwise its walls, consisting of calcined ruins and loose red ashes, would fall in. I should therefore have to remove 5000 cubic meters (6000 cubic yards) of dÉbris, and such a gigantic piece of work I cannot now undertake.

In stopping the excavations for this year, and in looking back upon the fearful dangers to which we have continually been exposed since the 1st of April, between the gigantic layers of ruins, I cannot but fervently thank God for His great mercy, that not only has no life been lost, but that none of us has even been seriously hurt.

Now, as regards the result of my excavations, everyone must admit that I have solved a great historical problem, and that I have solved it by the discovery of a high civilization and immense buildings upon the primary soil, in the depths of an ancient town, which throughout antiquity was called Ilium and declared itself to be the successor of Troy, the site of which was regarded as identical with the site of the Homeric Ilium by the whole civilized world of that time. The situation of this town not only corresponds perfectly with all the statements of the Iliad, but also with all the traditions handed down to us by later authors; and, moreover, neither in the Plain of Troy, nor in its vicinity, is there any other place which could in the slightest degree be made to correspond with them. To regard the heights of Bunarbashi as the site of Troy, contradicts, in every respect, all the statements of Homer and of tradition. My excavations of Bunarbashi, as well as the form of the rocks, prove that those heights, as far as the three sepulchral mounds, can never have been inhabited by men. As I have already said, behind those tumuli there are the ruins of a very small town, the area of which, surrounded on two sides by the ruins of an enclosing wall, and on the other side by precipices, is so insignificant, that at most it can have only possessed 2000 inhabitants. The enclosing wall of its small Acropolis is scarcely a foot thick, and the gate scarcely 3¼ feet wide. The accumulation of dÉbris is not worth mentioning, for in many places the naked flat rocks are seen on the ground of the Acropolis. Here in Ilium, however, the proportions are very different. The area of the Greek city, which is indicated by the surrounding wall built by Lysimachus, is large enough for a population of more than 100,000 souls; and that the number of the inhabitants was actually as large is proved by the stage of the theatre, which is 200 feet in breadth. Here the surrounding wall of Lysimachus is 6½ feet thick, whereas the wall which runs out from the Tower at a great depth below the other seems to be five times as thick, and Homer assuredly ascribed the erection of the walls of Troy to Poseidon and Apollo on account of their enormous proportions.[210] Then, as regards the accumulation of dÉbris, here in the Pergamus there is no place where it amounts to less than 14 meters, or 46½ feet, and in many places it is even much more considerable. Thus, for instance, on my great platform, I only reached the primary soil at a depth of 16 meters, or 53-1/3 feet, and in the depths of the temple, on the adjacent field, belonging to Mr. Frank Calvert, I have not yet reached it at a depth of 15½ meters, or 51-2/3 feet. Such an accumulation of ruins has never as yet been discovered in any other part of the world, except occasionally in the rocky valleys of Jerusalem; where, however, it has only begun to accumulate since the destruction of the city by Titus, and hence is scarcely more than 1800 years old.[211] Here in Troy the remains of the Greek period cease entirely at a depth of ½, 1, or 2 meters, and thence, down to the primary soil, we find in regular succession the mighty layers of ruins belonging to four very ancient nations.

In like manner, as regards the more than a hundred thousand objects which I have brought to light, and which were used by those very ancient tribes, I venture to say that I have revealed a new world to archÆology; for, in order to give but one instance, I have here found many thousands of those wheels, volcanoes, or tops (carrousels) of terra-cotta with the most various Aryan religious symbols.

If, as it seems, neither the Trojans nor any of the three succeeding peoples possessed a written language, we must, as far as possible, replace it by the “monuments figurÉs” which I have discovered.[212] As already said, I make a drawing in my diary each evening of every one of the objects which have been found during the day, and more especially of the pictorial symbols, with the greatest exactness. By comparing the innumerable symbols I have succeeded in deciphering some of them, and I hope that my learned colleagues will succeed in explaining the rest. ArchÆology shall on no account lose any one of my discoveries; every article which can have any interest for the learned world shall be photographed, or copied by a skilful draughtsman, and published in the Appendix to this work; and by the side of every article I shall state the depth in which I discovered it.

No. 158. A curious Trojan Jug of Terra-cotta (8 M.).
No. 158. A curious Trojan Jug of Terra-cotta (8 M.).

CHAPTER XIV.

Athens, September 28th, 1872.

I WROTE my last memoir on the 14th of last month, and on the 10th of this month, accompanied by my wife and Sisilas the land-surveyor, I returned to Troy in order to make a new plan of the Pergamus, which contains the most exact picture of my excavations, as well as of the depth in which the remains of immortal fame were discovered by me. I also took the photographer Siebrecht from the Dardanelles with me, in order to have photographs taken of my excavations, of two of the four springs situated on the north side of Ilium, of Ilium’s Great Tower and the Plain of Troy, as well as of the Hellespont as seen from this monument.

To my horror, upon arriving there, I found that the watchman whom I had left in charge had been faithless, and that an immense number of large hewn stones dug out of my excavations, with which I had erected walls in several places in order to prevent the winter rains from washing away the dÉbris which we had pulled down, had been carried off. The man excused himself by saying that the stones had been used for a good purpose, namely for the construction of a belfry in the Christian village of Yenishehr, and for building houses in the Turkish village of Chiplak. I, of course, packed him off directly, and engaged in his place a watchman whom I armed with a musket. He had the reputation of being honest, and his physical strength will inspire the pilferers of the stones with respect. What vexed me most was, that these thieves had even laid their hands upon the splendid bastion of the time of Lysimachus, which I had uncovered on the south side of the hill; they had made off with two large stones from it, and the bastion would assuredly have vanished entirely had I been away a week longer.

I also regret to see that the downpour of rain on the 14th of August has filled the great cutting, which I made on the south side of the Tower, in order to bring the Tower to light down as far as the rock upon which it is built, with dÉbris to a height of 2 meters (6½ feet). So, immediately upon my arrival, I engaged 20 workmen, 10 of whom are busy in clearing the south side of the Tower as far as the primary soil, in wheeling away the dÉbris, and in building in front of the cutting a wall of large blocks of stone, through which the rain-water can escape, but not the dÉbris that may be washed down.

I have now had an opportunity of convincing myself that the rain does not harm the Tower, for it disappears directly to the right and left of it in the loose dÉbris. Of the other ten workmen, six are occupied in repairing the walls which have been destroyed or injured by wanton hands, while the other four are working in order to lay bare as far as possible an exceedingly remarkable wall, which rises at an angle of 40 degrees at the depth of 15½ meters (50½ feet) and at 43½ yards from the edge of the hill, on the site of the temple, exactly 6½ feet below the Trojan wall which I there brought to light. (See p. 200.) As I have before remarked, the strata of dÉbris, which run obliquely to the north below that Trojan wall, prove that it was built upon the steep slope of the hill, and this is an additional and infallible proof that the buttress, which is erected 6½ feet below it, can have served no other purpose than for consolidating and strengthening the ground of the declivity so effectually that buildings of an enormous weight might be erected upon the summit without danger. Now as I have never hitherto found buttresses of this kind for consolidating the declivity of the hill among the strata of the pre-Hellenic period, although there was no lack of grand buildings in the Pergamus of Troy (as is proved by the colossal masses of hewn and unhewn stones from 16½ to 20 feet high, mixed with charred dÉbris, with which I had to struggle upon my great platform), I positively believe that the above-mentioned buttress was erected to support the site of a temple of great sanctity. I believe this all the more, as the buttress here forms a curve and appears to protect the whole of the north-eastern corner of the hill, which was the extreme end of the Pergamus and perfectly corresponds with Homer’s statement about the position of the temple of Athena, “on the summit of the city” (?? p??e? ????: Iliad, VI. 297). I have no doubt that in ascending from this buttress I shall find the ruins of that ancient temple at a distance of less than 10 meters (33 feet). But in order to penetrate further, I must first of all pull down the Trojan wall, 10 feet high and 6½ feet thick, which I have already frequently mentioned, and remove the enormous masses of dÉbris; this work must be deferred till the 1st of February, for I am now too ill and tired to attempt it. The discovery of the very ancient temple of Athena at the north-eastern corner would, moreover solve the great problem—whence arises the colossal accumulation of dÉbris, which here covers the declivity with a crust as hard as stone, 131 feet in thickness, and which caused me so much trouble, not only in this excavation, but also at the eastern end of my platform, along an extent of more than 80 feet. It will be found that this enormous crust has arisen solely from the remains of the sacrifices offered to the Ilian Athena.

I had not noticed this buttress at the time of my departure on the 15th of August, and I have now only discovered it because the rain has laid bare two of its stones. It is built of blocks of shelly limestone (Muschelkalk), from about a foot to 2 feet 2 inches long and broad, joined with earth, and it probably covered the whole north-eastern corner of the hill from the bottom to the top. I presume that the drain of green sandstone, nearly 8 inches broad and about 7 inches high, which I spoke of in my report of the 25th of April, belongs to the very ancient temple of Athena; it will be remembered that I found it at about 11½ feet above my great platform, and at a distance of 46 feet from the edge of the declivity.

The block of triglyphs with the Sun-god and the four horses, which I found here, proves that the temple which it adorned was built in the Doric style; and, as the Doric is confessedly the oldest style of architecture, the ancient temple of the Ilian Athena was doubtless in that style. We know, however, from the Iliad[213] that there was also a temple of Apollo in the Pergamus. It probably stood at the south-eastern corner of the hill, for at the foot of it may be seen, in a small excavation, a wall composed of splendid Corinthian pillars joined by means of cement. It is probable that these pillars belong to a temple of Apollo of the time of Lysimachus. In excavating the Tower further to the east, I hope to find the site of this temple, and in its depths the ruins of the very ancient temple of Apollo.

If the Trojans possessed an alphabetical language, I shall probably find inscriptions in the ruins of the two temples. I am, however, no longer sanguine in regard to this, as I have hitherto found no trace of writing in the colossal strata of the four tribes which preceded the Greek colony.[214]