Yearning for a “real” Trojan War

I made the Trojan War very real for myself when I wrote a novel set within that iconic conflict, a book entitled, Hand of Fire, with the female captive Briseis as the main character. Mostly that reality lay in the power of imagination that goes into writing fiction, but researching the Trojan War matrix of history, archaeology and mythology was a serious and lengthy project for me. But how much power should we grant to such “reality”?

Asking about a “real” Trojan War

To the question, “Did the Trojan War really take place?” the pendulum has swung widely over the centuries, from core belief in the ancient Greek world, to a solid “no, it’s all myth” for a time in the 20th century, to a measured “possibly/probably in some limited form” in the current time. It’s a perennial question with a lot of momentum behind it. I love the cycle of myths swirling around Troy. Equally, I love the adventure of history and archaeology that carries on related academic exploration and analysis. But sometimes the desire to answer one specific question, such as “Did the Trojan War happen?” skews seemingly authoritative endeavors.

Archaeology and what’s actually there to be found

It is common wisdom in archaeology that one digs and analyses what you find, layer by layer (or scan by scan, etc.) without forcing the finds or the procedures into questions and/or answers to preconceived wish lists. Schliemann’s dig during the 1870s at the site he insisted was the ancient city of Troy (he was right on that basic point, at least) turned famously destructive because he set out only to find proof of Homer’s Troy and literally threw out and wiped away the layers most likely to be “Homer’s” Troy in the process because, roughly speaking, to him Homer was the beginning of it all and must be at the starting level of city.

In contrast, I remember a conversation with an archaeologist on Cyprus who described with enthusiasm the WWII discoveries his dig had come across and what they’d learned from them. Never mind that the archaeologists were classicists looking, in theory, for ancient civilizations. They would eventually work through that modern layer of history and find the next window into the past–whatever time that window might reveal. Archaeologists did not bulldoze off two or three layers to get where they “wanted” to be.

The Site of Troy

The amazing, and amazingly complicated and confusing, site that we now attribute as “Troy” received decades of contemporary excellent excavation under Korfmann and others. (Photo at top of contemporary site of Troy by Kızıldeniz, Wiki). Major additions to our understanding–such as the presence of a large “lower city”–gradually came to light and archaeologists tested and analyzed them.

Recently, there have been new finds from the site, in the renewed dig led by Professor Rustem Aslan of Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University. Here is the opening paragraph from the Turkish newspaper’s article about the recent excavation:

In the ancient city of Troy—listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and located in northwestern Türkiye—archaeologists have turned their focus this season to a specific goal: uncovering physical evidence that might be linked to the legendary Trojan War. Although the excavations only recently resumed, early discoveries have already brought promising results, including a cache of 3,500-year-old sling stones found near a palace structure attributed to the Late Bronze Age.

This year’s excavations are zooming in on what archaeologists refer to as the “destruction layer” of the Late Bronze Age—roughly dated to the 13th century B.C. This period is often associated with the fabled Trojan War, said to have been fought between the Greeks and the people of Troy after Prince Paris of Troy abducted Helen, the queen of Sparta.

Funding in Turkey for archaeological excavations is often dependent on the ability of a site to draw the interest of tourists. I understand that financial necessity, but it doesn’t help the work. Personally, I think Troy will hold on as a tourist draw without headliner finds, and perhaps this article does not match the way the onsite archaeologists view their work at all (that’s common enough). However, the importance given to some piles of sling pebbles found outside the presumed location of the palace seems perhaps an example of skewed assumptions based on a wishlist.

Signs of War

On the other hand, choosing where any given season of excavation will focus–in this case the level of destruction that seems most likely to reveal signs of war–is part of the process. The area of current focus was earlier excavated by Korfmann showing “burnt layers, damaged buildings, and carelessly buried skeletons in areas now called Troy 6 and 7.” The site is large and the director must choose where to dig. Here is the conclusion he shared with the newspaper:

According to Prof. Aslan, the location and number of stones found suggest a military function. “The fact that so many sling stones were uncovered in such a small area in front of the palace points to an activity related to defense or assault,” he said. “Last year, we also found two arrowheads from the same period in this area, which indicates that more significant discoveries may follow.”

We are in a centuries-long state of yearning for proof of the Trojan War, proof that a time of heroes and gods, captives and destruction, existed as we have imagined it. Maybe we need to grant the line between “real” and “imaginary” a lot more room to blend and shift. Maybe we should allow the archaeological finds to tell the story they tell without the shaping and imaginative leaps that we writers of fiction find so addictive. At the same time, fiction is a grand way to explore the Trojan War and all its changing resonances within our current world. And then, also, let the stones tell their story without embellishment.

Further Reading about a “real” Trojan War

You can read the full article in Türkiye Today, “Archaeologists dig into possible traces of Trojan War in Türkiye’s legendary city.” There is also a write up about the same finds, based on the same reporting, in Archaeology Magazine, “New Evidence Alludes to Military Conflict at Ancient Troy.”