Asia Near East, Asia Minor, Bronze Age (c.3300-c.1200 BC): Troy (c.3000-c.100 BC)

Set on a plain overlooking the southern entrance to the Dardanelles in northwest Anatolia, the site of Hisarlik/Troy contains a series of nine main settlements (plus subphases) that range from the Bronze Age (Troy I-VII) through the Greek (Troy VIII) and Roman (Troy IX) periods. Excavation of the mound has demonstrated that it was the small (2 ha) fortified citadel of a larger town. Exploration south of the citadel has revealed an enclosed lower city of Troy VI and VII, 18 ha in area, underlying the much later Roman town (Ilium). 

Troy-I (c.3000 BC) was a small, fortified citadel. Troy II (c.2500 BC) was dominated by a large megaron complex that included a courtyard, storerooms and ancillary buildings in addition to three megara (megaron: a tripartite rectangular room containing a central hearth surrounded by four pillars, found in Bronze Age Greece and Asia Minor). Troy III-V (c.2200 BC) were settlements of small villages whose area remained unfortified until Troy V, when it was enclosed with a defence wall much inferior to that of Troy II.

Powerful though the fortifications of Troy II had been, they were far surpassed by those of Troy VI (c.1800 BC). It appears that the citadel covered roughly twice the area of Troy II. Prominent features were five gateways let into the circuit at irregular intervals, and a great tower built on the east side (probably to protect the water supply). The houses were built on terraces ascending from the circuit walls to the citadel. Troy VI was probably destroyed by an earthquake.

The Troy VI culture survived into Troy VIIa (c.1250 BC), but after a short life this settlement seems to have been destroyed by war. Troy VIIb (1190-c.1000 BC) dates to a time when Greek influence began to extend to the area. The site remained uninhabited until Troy VIII (c.700 BC) was settled by Greek colonists, and Ilium (Troy IX) founded by the Romans in c.300 BC. Each of the settlements Troy VI, VIIa and VIII has been proposed as the ‘Homeric’ Troy: At present Troy VIIa is the most widely accepted.