Troy has never been a busy city?

In the Iliad masterpiece, Homer tells the story that the war between Sparta and Troy broke out when Helena, the wife of King Sparta, was robbed by Prince Troy. However, according to some archaeologists, the Greeks wanted to occupy Troy just because it was a large commercial center. Now, historians argue that this place is essentially a fortress with very few inhabitants.

These conflicting opinions have created a new 'Trojan war', but not by force, but a 'war of war', erupting between two researchers at Tübingen University (Germany): the researcher ancient Manfred Korfmann and historian Frank Kolb.

The state of Troy today

Since 1988, Dr. Manfred Korfmann has excavated the area of ​​the top of Hissarlik hill, west of Turkey, where there is an ancient fortress and is considered a vestige of Troy. He said he had found evidence outside the fort, showing that it was once a bustling city. Among them, there are foundations of 'many houses and streets', as well as pottery objects scattered throughout. In addition, when digging into the original rock south of the ancient fortress, Korfmann also found the moats wide and deep. Perhaps, they were used to block the attack of horse-drawn cars and the large wooden panels that the invaders used to destroy the city.

Also according to Korfmann's judgment, at that time, Troy, with a population of about 10,000, was an extremely important stop for sailing ships from the Aegean to the Black Sea. Perhaps, it was this 'supply station' position that made it an attractive bait, giving rise to a battle between the two states.

Korfmann exhibited his excavation results last year, in an exhibition entitled ' Troy, truth and fiction '. However, at the time of its birth, the exhibition received harsh criticism from Dr. Frank Kolb, an historian of ancient times.

' Korfmann wants to inflate Troy into a big city at all costs. Therefore, he did not even fabricate his own evidence, 'Kolb said. He said actual excavations did not provide solid evidence of the existence of a large mall outside the fort. According to Kolb, the 'many houses and streets' that Korfmann 'found' were only imaginary, because very few excavations were made and most of the land around the fortress was agricultural land. In addition, 'no goods or crafts have been found to prove Troy is a major economic center,' the historian added. Finally, Kolb concludes, Troy is not a city, but a fortress. Perhaps it is a prince's property.

Regarding the appearance of moats, Kolb said it was just ordinary irrigation systems, no more and no less. However, Korfmann countered, arguing that the possibility could only happen if water could flow back up the hill!

Some historians and archaeologists support Kolb's opinion. However, Korfmann is not alone in a battle line. Dr Peter Jablonka, an archaeologist from the University of Tübingen, said the city's traces could be found far away from the moats, indicating that Troy was at least 10 times larger than the area they were in. I estimate before. With so many theories and arguments, perhaps until now, the truth about the scale of Troy is still a mystery. Homer had forgotten that in his epic version.

BH