DR. SCHLIEMANN’S DISCOURSES ON THE RUINS OF TROY.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4456, 1 July 1875, Page 3

DR. SCHLIEMANN’S DISCOURSES ON THE RUINS OF TROY.

In his book, “ Troy and its Remains,” the, discovery of the “ Treasures of -King Priam is thus described by Dr.’; Schliemanu; —“ In excavating this wall further, and directly by the side of the palace of King Priam, I came upon a large copper article of the most remarkable form, which attracted my attention all the more as I thought I saw gold behind it. On the top of this copper article lay a stratum of red and calcined ruins,, from 4|ft. to sJft. thick, as hard as stone, and above this again lay the wall of fortification (6ft. broad and 20ft. high), which was built of large stones and earth, and -must have belonged to an early date after the - destruction of Troy. In order to withdraw the treasure from the greed of workmen, and to save it for archaeology, I had to be most expeditious, and although it was not yet time for breakfast, I immediately had the ‘ paidos ’ called. This is a word of uncertain derivation, which has passed over into Turkish and is here employed for time, to rest, While the men were eating and resting, I out out the treasure with a largo knife, which it i was impossible to do without the-very greatest exertion and the most fearful risk of my life, for the‘great fortification wall, beneath which I had to din-, threatened every moment to fall down upon me. But the sight of so many objects, everyone of which is of inestimable value to iarchieology, made me-foolhardy, and I neverthought of any danger. It would, however, have been impossible for-me to have removed the treasure without the help of my dear wife, who stood by me ready to pack the things which I cut out, in her shawl, aud to carry them away.” The treasure comprised a large copper cauldron, copper shield, globular bottle of pure gold weighing lib. troy, a cup of gold weighing IJoz,, large two-handled drinking cup, small cup of gold and silver electrum, six silver talents, vases, dishes, jugs,: &c., of silver, copper, lances, battle-axes, daggers, and other weapons ; a copper key, supposed to have belonged to the" treasure chest; and in one of the silver vases were two splendid gold diadems, a fillet and four beautiful gold earrings of exquisite workmanship, 56 gold earrings, 8970 small gold rings, buttons, &c., six gold bracelets, and two small gold goblets. From the appearance and position of the articles, “ forming a rectangular mass, or packed into one another, it seems to be certain that they were placed on the city wall in a wooden chest, such as those mentioned by Homer as being in the palace of King Priam. . It is probable that some members of the family of King Priam hurriedly packed the treasure into the chest, and carried it off without having time to pull out the key ; that when he reached the walls, however, the baud of an enemy or the fire overtook him, arid he was obliged to abandon the chest, which was immediately covered to a height of from sft. to 6£t. with the red ashes and the stones of the adjoining royal palace.” The total result of Dr. Schliemaun’s excavations is that he has cleared two-thirds of the entire city ; and that he has brought to light “ the great tower, the Sceeau gate, the city wall of Troy, the royal palace, and the sacrificial altar of the Ilian Athena.” Ho is somewhat disappointed to find that “Troy wa9 not large,” ns from his borings it seems impossible that the city could have extended

beyond the limits of the hill itself. It is compensation, to find that “ this little Troy was immensely rich for the circumstances of those times, since X find here a treasure of gold and silver articles, such as is now to be found in an emperor’s palace.” Assuming the houses to have been of three storeys, and standing thickly together, the town could not have contained more than 5000 inhabitants, and could not have mustered more than 800 soldiers, “ but it could always raise a considerable army from among its subjects, and as it was rich and powerful, it could obtain mercenaries from all quarters,” The age of the relics in the various strata is an interesting question. The Greek town, whose ruins lie highest in the series, appears to have been in existence about 1001 years, and the accumulation of debris during this long period amounts only to 6|ft. But the whole thickness lying between this stratum and the unmoved rook, the whole forming •“ an immensely rich cornucopia of the most remarkable terra cottas,” and exhibiting evidence of four distinct cities, one piled above the other, is some 40ft. to 60ft. And the question arises, “How many centuries have been required to form a layer of debris 40ft. or even 46ft. thick from the ruins of pre-Hellenic houses, if the formation of the uppermost one, the Greek layer of 64ft. thick, required 1061-years?”