The External Settlement of Troia During the Bronze Age

• Applicant: Dr. Stephan W. E. Blum
• Subject Area: Prehistory and World Archaeology
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 465871987

In the past three millennia, only few ancient sites have attracted as much attention as Troy. Decisive for this were of course the epics Iliad and Odyssey by the Greek poet Homer, in which a mythical war fought about this settlement by outstanding heroes has been described. With the excavation of Troy by Heinrich Schliemann, the influence of the myth on society gained a new dynamic in the 19th century. The exploration of the Bronze Age ruins, especially those of the Late Bronze Age "lower city", i.e. the settlement outside the citadel of Troy, became increasingly important and ultimately formed one of the main goals of the Tübingen excavations and research between 1987 and 2015. The results of the excavations in the lower city finally triggered violent academic and public discussions about the interpretation of the excavation results. At its core, the controversy revolves around the actual size and importance of Late Bronze Age Troy. While Manfred Korfmann interpreted Troy as a supraregional, urban trade centre, some colleagues from Prehistoric Archaeology and representatives of Ancient Oriental Studies and Ancient History, whose main protagonist Frank Kolb excelled, limited it to a settlement of only moderate importance. The debate was heavily overshadowed by personal hostility and allegations of counterfeiting and was abandoned in an extremely desolate state. The „question of the lower city“ is still unresolved and a satisfactory consensus has not been found. As part of this project proposal, a comprehensive, monographic presentation of the research results obtained between 1987 and 2012 outside the citadel of Troy is to be compiled, in order to provide the basis for a neutral assessment and objective evaluation of the criticisms raised. Due to the unexpected early death of Dr. Peter Jablonkas on July 21, 2019, who had been entrusted with the scientific evaluation of the lower city since the beginning of the excavation, there is reason to fear that the material will remain unpublished.Due to Troy's prominent position, the creation of a web GIS solution is also planned, which will not only reach the closer circle of specialist colleagues, but also the general public. After completion and structuring, all geodata of the Troy project (including all period and phase plans, previously unpublished contextual and stratigraphic information etc.) will be made available for interactive use on the Internet or for download and local use.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants