Priam’s Treasure: The Hidden Fate of Ancient Troy’s Legendary Hoard

Part of the postulation known arsenic Priam’s Treasure, recovered from Hisarlik by Heinrich Schliemann. Credit: wikimedia commons / Jean-Pierre Dalbéra CC BY 2.0

Heinrich Schliemann‘s excavations of Troy are surrounded successful contention for a assortment of reasons. One of the controversies is centred connected Priam’s Treasure. This is simply a peculiar hoard of precious past artifacts that Schliemann claimed to person found, which helium smuggled backmost to Europe. He claimed this these artifacts were the treasure of King Priam of Troy. What is the information astir this treasure, and wherever is it today?

What is King Priam’s Treasure?

The look ‘Priam’s Treasure’ refers to a hoard of galore past artifacts that travel from the archaeological tract of Hisarlik, where Troy erstwhile stood. It is composed of thousands of idiosyncratic items, astir of which are tiny objects specified arsenic beads.

The treasure besides includes galore blades of assorted sorts, specified arsenic copper daggers, metallic blades, axes, and truthful forth. Various items of golden were besides found, arsenic good arsenic a copper shield.

One of the astir outstanding items successful Priam’s Treasure is simply a golden headdress. Schliemann’s 2nd wife, Sophia, is astir celebrated contiguous for having her photograph taken portion wearing this headdress.

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Sophia Schliemann, woman of Homer-obsessed excavator Heinrich, c 1874,wearing the alleged "Jewels of Helen" from "Priam's Treasure"(both named by self-promoting Heinrich). Found successful "Troy Level II", Hisalrik, these were 1000 yrs earlier than the clip described successful Homer's Iliad pic.twitter.com/kthAGyyXA3

— Angela O'Brien (@GrecianGirly) April 30, 2023

How Schliemann recovered King Priam’s Treasure

Historians contiguous bash not presumption Schliemann’s ain grounds arsenic peculiarly reliable. He is known to person been careless and driven arsenic overmuch by phantasy arsenic by fact, and immoderate of his claims are present known to person been outright lies. Nevertheless, galore of his claims were genuine, meaning that each 1 truly needs to beryllium evaluated connected its ain terms.

According to Schliemann’s ain testimony, helium recovered Priam’s Treasure connected May 31, 1873 during the excavations that lasted from 1871 to 1873. He wrote the following:

“In excavating this partition further and straight by the broadside of the palace of King Priam, I came upon a ample copper nonfiction of the astir singular form, which attracted my attraction each the much arsenic I thought I saw golden down it.”

This is Schliemann’s assertion relationship of however helium recovered this singular treasure. However, immoderate scholars contiguous judge that Priam’s Treasure is really composed of items that were recovered during the excavation astatine assorted antithetic locations crossed the three-year period. Whether this is truly the lawsuit oregon not is intolerable to know.

How Schliemann smuggled the treasure backmost to Europe

Schliemann was precise anxious to get Priam’s Treasure retired of the state undetected. It was not a lawsuit of him conscionable forgetting oregon neglecting to pass the section authorities of his findings. According to his ain testimony:

“In bid to retreat the treasure from the greed of my workmen, and to prevention it for archaeology . . . I instantly had [lunch break] called . . . While the men were eating and resting, I chopped retired the treasure with a ample knife.”

Schliemann precise deliberately took this treasure and hid it. He claimed that helium sent it to a spot of John Calvert, the antheral who had pointed retired Hisarlik arsenic the apt determination of Troy to Schliemann successful the archetypal place. Later, helium acquired 3 horses and utilized them to transport six chests and 1 container afloat of the treasure. He past had this shipped to Athens, with strict instructions for the containers not to beryllium opened.

What happened to Priam’s treasure next?

Some years later, Schliemann gave portion of the treasure to the Ottomans successful instrumentality for support to proceed excavating Troy. In 1881, the main portion of the treasure was acquired by the Royal Museums of Berlin.

The treasure remained determination for respective decades until 1945, erstwhile the Red Army took possession of it during the Battle of Berlin and handed it implicit to the Soviet Art Committee. After that, speech from the information that it was taken to Moscow, its determination remained a enigma for decades. During the Cold War, the Soviet authorities denied immoderate cognition of the destiny of Priam’s Treasure. Finally, successful 1994, it was revealed to beryllium successful the possession of the Pushkin Museum successful Moscow. It remains determination to this day.

Was this treasure truly Priam’s?

Schliemann was famously mistaken successful his knowing of which archaeological level astatine Hisarlik corresponded to the Troy of Homer’s Iliad. He dug overmuch further down than the Troy of Greek legend.

The furniture which helium interpreted arsenic the metropolis of King Priam is known arsenic Troy II and is present understood by archaeologists to beryllium dated earlier than 2000 BCE.

This is galore centuries earlier than the time of the Trojan War. Its accepted day is c. 1200 BCE. True, determination is statement astir erstwhile precisely the humanities events down the Iliad occurred. Nevertheless, determination is nary superior student who believes that King Priam of Troy lived arsenic agelong agone arsenic 2000 BCE. Most revisions thin to bring it forward, not propulsion it further back.

Based connected these facts, it is wide that Priam’s Treasure was not, successful fact, the treasure of King Priam of Troy. Nevertheless, it is simply a beauteous postulation of invaluable Bronze Age items.