Heinrich Schliemann (1822–1890) was a German businessman who became an archaeologist, because he was fascinated with the famous poems the Iliad and the
Odyssey by the ancient Greek poet Homer.
He conducted several excavations at Hisarlik in Asia
Minor, which is the site of ancient Troy (1870-1890)
He also conducted some excavations at Mycenae, which
is located in Greece (1874-1876)
Was he ever guilty of:
** Lies
** Fraud
** Forgery
In connection with his work as an archaeologist?
The answer to this question is yes:
He told lies, he committed fraud, and he practiced
forgery while working as an archaeologist in Greece and in the Ottoman Empire
Here are some examples:
# 1. The discovery of Troy's location. He did not discover the location of Troy. He listened
to the English amateur archaeologist Frank Calvert, who knew where to dig, because he had read the book by the Scottish journalist Charles Maclaren, which was published in 1822.
# 2. His method of excavation was brutal and ruthless.
He was a treasure hunter looking for items made of gold and silver. Ordinary items were discarded or destroyed, because
they were regarded as worthless.
# 3. His autobiography was improved and embellished,
because he wanted to make his life seem impressive to his readers.
# 4. While digging at Hisarlik, he realised that the
ancient city had several layers like a cake. Since he wanted to reach the level associated with the
Trojan war, he destroyed the upper levels.
When he found an item in one layer, he would sometimes
say he found it in another later, because this suited his preconceived ideas
about the Trojan war.
# 5. Sometimes he planted an item he had bought at a
local market and later pretended to find this item while he was digging. This item would then be announced as a precious
discovery.
# 6. Sometimes he fabricated the circumstances of a
discovery.
# 7. He smuggled several items away from the
archaeological zone, because he did not want to share them with the government
of the Ottoman Empire, as he had promised when he was given a permit to conduct
excavations.
*****
Heinrich Schliemann is known as the father of modern
archaeology, but his legacy is a combination of negative and positive elements.
He is loved and hated, because of the way in which he
conducted his archaeological excavations.
He took full credit for the work which had been done
by others. His work at Hisarlik was based on the studies by Charles Maclaren
and the inspections made by Frank Calvert, but he did not want to give them any credit for their contributions.
He had the money and he had the permit. He had the
power to control the excavations as well as the information which was released
to the public about the excavations.
For many years, the names Charles Maclaren and Frank
Calvert were unknown to the public, because Heinrich Schliemann presented
himself as the clever man who single-handedly had found and excavated the ancient city of
Troy.
*****
REFERENCES
Myth, Scandal and History
By William Calder III & David A. Traill
(1986)
Schliemann of Troy:
Treasure and Deceit
By David A. Traill
(1995)
Finding the Walls of Troy: Frank Calvert
and Heinrich Schliemann at Hisarlik
By Susan Heuck Allen
(1999)
Schliemann's Silent Partner -
Frank Calvert (1828-1908):
Pioneer, Scholar and Survivor
By Marcelle Robinson
(2006)
*****
The German businessman
Heinrich Schliemann
(1822-1890)
*****
The English amateur archaeologist
Frank Calvert
(1828-1908)
*****
The Scottish journalist
Charles Maclaren
(1782-1866)
*****
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