Professor Ernst Pernicka and a team from the University of Tubingen (Germany) have discovered a rock-cut ditch, walls, roads and an ancient oven a kilometer beyond the hill fort at the site of Troy VI and VII.  The group has been conducting a three-year excavation at ancient Troy, which is located near the modern day city of Hisarlik in northwest Turkey. The discovery shows that the younger levels of Troy were much larger than previously thought and extended well beyond the old occupied area of the Citadel.
     Troy was discovered in the 19th century by Heinrich Schliemann. It was found to be an area of continual human habitation from the early Bronze Age to the Roman Period, from 3,000 to 0 years BCE. Nine cities have been identified at the site, each resting on top the earlier settlements.
     Schliemann was looking for the city of Troy described by Homer in the Illiad. Homer described the seige in which the city was largely destroyed. Schliemann believed that Troy I or II was the inspiration for Homer's work. But the remains of Troy VII show evidence of fire and other catastrophic damage, perhaps from warfare. And, the large extent of the city seems to support this idea. Troy VII was occupied between the 1,300-1,000 years BCE. The Trojan War is thought to have occurred 1,400- 1,200 years BCE.

Edited from Heritage Key (4 October 2010)