Archaeologists find suspected Trojan war-era couple

Reuters on Yahoo ^ | 9/22/09 | Reuters

[NormsRevenge]

ANKARA (Reuters) – Archaeologists in the ancient city of Troy in Turkey have found the remains of a man and a woman believed to have died in 1,200 B.C., the time of the legendary war chronicled by Homer, a leading German professor said on Tuesday.

Ernst Pernicka, a University of Tubingen professor of archaeometry who is leading excavations on the site in northwestern Turkey, said the bodies were found near a defense line within the city built in the late Bronze age.

The discovery could add to evidence that Troy's lower area was bigger in the late Bronze Age than previously thought, changing scholars' perceptions about the city of the "Iliad."

"If the remains are confirmed to be from 1,200 B.C. it would coincide with the Trojan war period. These people were buried near a mote. We are conducting radiocarbon testing, but the finding is electrifying," Pernicka told Reuters in a telephone interview.

Ancient Troy, located in the northwest of modern-day Turkey at the mouth of the Dardanelles not far south of Istanbul, was unearthed in the 1870s by Heinrich Schliemann, the German entrepreneur and pioneering archaeologist who discovered the steep and windy city described by Homer.

[Sherman Logan]

Actually, I do.

[ArtyFO]

Bons mots only

[NormsRevenge]

Korbel works too.

(clink of glass)

[Buckeye McFrog]

is that a couple from the Trojan War Era, or a couple using Trojans just before he shipped out for WWII?

[colorado tanker]

It’s Washington STATE “cougars” team that eats bones and they stand no chance against the rubbers.

Thanks for clearing that up. At first I thought they were playing a bunch of horny middle aged women.

[colorado tanker]

Ping.

[NormsRevenge]

.

Archaeologists work on the remains of a man and a woman believed to have died in 1,200 B.C. in the ancient city of Troy in northwestern Turkey in this undated handout photo. Archaeologists in the ancient city of Troy in Turkey have found the remains of a man and a woman believed to have died in 1,200 B.C., the time of the legendary war chronicled by Homer, a leading German professor said on Tuesday. REUTERS/Project Troy/Handout (TURKEY ENVIRONMENT SOCIETY IMAGES OF THE DAY) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS

[tumblindice]

I’ve been following pro football since my college team doesn’t seem able to beat the team from St. Mary’s School for Wayward, Deaf, Blind & Halt Girls.

....................UUColtsUU....................

[agere_contra]

Now if these people knew where the ancient city was located, why did so many experts claim there was no such place?

Because of their invincible elitism. See also: Anthropogenic Global Warming.

[yarddog]

No, the real Troy is located in South Alabama.

[668 - Neighbor of the Beast]

I specked he did not mean mote.

[SkyDancer]

Oh yeah, the other one ....

[Daffynition]

And when I read the title, I thought this thread was going to be about condoms. Go figure.

[SkyDancer]

There’s a joke story headline about it on FARK ....

[Daffynition]

Well, why not. :-D

[Jack Black]

Now if these people knew where the ancient city was located, why did so many experts claim there was no such place?

That was a LONG time ago. Troy was rediscovered in the late 19th century and has slowly been excavated and the theory of 1865 has been mostly confirmed. When I studied history in college (1970s) it was still a subject of controversy, but opinion leaning towards "we found it". Now it seems to have swung decisively to "yep, here it is". Troy the Wikipedia article is decent.

[RobinOfKingston]

These people were buried near a mote.

Buried near a tiny dust particle?

[yarddog]

That is pretty much my idea of the situation too with a small difference. My impression was that Schliemann’s discovery was pretty much accepted as Troy until fairly recently when much doubt was cast on it.

Then in the last 20 years they have pretty much swung back to agreeing that it really is the site of Troy.

BTW, I was in college about the same time as you and was a Classics major for a while.

[Jack Black]

So if someone happened to be paying attention to this during the period where the theory was in doubt (1970-1990 as a ballpark?) then they might have the impression that "we don't know where Troy was" or even "We don't konw if Troy was real".

A standard biography of Alexander I read tells the story of him visiting the Tomb of Achilles. Perhaps this is apochraphal too, or perhaps not. The story is that he took possession of Achilles breastplate. We will probably never know what percent is real and what fanciful, other than it's neither 0% true nor 100% true.

[yarddog]

I too remember reading of Alexander visiting the tomb of Achilles. Of course Alexander thought he was a descendant of both Achilles and Zeus.

My own guess is the tomb and breastplate were the result of local entrepreneurs using the site of Troy to make money from tourists. On the other hand they really did seem to know the location of Troy and time has proven them correct.