Perhaps not, but the mere fact they COULD be hers is still to this day very damn exciting!
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Snip....
The main objective of Schliemann's work was to find what he called "Priam's treasure." According to Homer, Priam ruled the city of Troy during the war. Schliemann felt sure that the King must have hidden his treasure somewhere in the city to avoid its capture by the Greeks should they win the battle.
In May or June of 1873, Schliemann and Sophia were out at the site watching the digging when Schliemann's eye caught site of a glint of copper coming from the side of one of the shafts. Climbing down, he realized he was looking at a copper jug embedded in the wall. There was a hole in the jug and he could see gold inside. Telling his wife to send the workers on a break, Schliemann used his knife to dig in the wall and free the jug. Sophia soon joined him and they both shared in the discovery.
"While the men were resting and eating," he later wrote, "I cut out the Treasure with a large knife. This required great exertion and involved great risk, since the wall of the fortification beneath which I had to dig threatened every moment to fall on me. But the sight of so many objects, every one of which is of inestimable value to archaeology, made me reckless. I never thought of any danger."
The treasure included golden earrings, necklaces, pots of silver and gold and other items. The most impressive of these were two gold diadems that might have been worn by a queen or princess. The treasure was smuggled back to Schliemann's home and then out of the country.
The Turkish government was not amused and sued Schliemann. They won a $5,000 judgment. Schliemann at first refused to pay, but then relented and gave the Turkish government five times the actual value of the fine. The Turks decided to allow Schliemann to again dig at Troy, but this time they would watch him like a hawk.
2 comments:
If these pieces were unearthed in a *dig* that is truly remarkable. To have survived so many years in the one location - even if they underwent restoration - seems almost impossible considering the movement of the earth, however slight. *Seems*. But not *definitely*. And that is what is so exciting about archaeology. We can make all kinds of moral judgements about Schliemann, with regard to ownership. But the story lives and other chapters are written long since the treasures were buried.
These jewls did not need any repair, they were perfectly intact.
And because of the way they were hidden away, it is obvious that they were trying to keep them from being found by invaders, around about the time Troy suppossedly fell.
So, they literally could be the jewls of Helen of Troy. Or to Andromache, the wife of Hector.
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