Heinrich Schliemann (6 January 1822 – 26 December 1890) was a German businessman and a pioneer
of field archaeology. He was an advocate of the historical reality
of places mentioned in the works of Homer. Schliemann was an
archaeological excavator of Hissarlik now presumed to be the site of Troy, along with the Mycenaean sites Mycenae and Tiryns. His work lent weight to the idea that Homer's Iliad’ and Virgil’s Aeneid reflect actual historical events. Schliemann's excavation of nine levels of archaeological remains
with dynamite has been criticized as destructive of significant historical
artifacts, including the level that is believed to be the historical Troy.
Along
with Arthur Evans, Schliemann was a pioneer
in the study of Aegean civilization in the Bronze Age. The two men knew of each
other, Evans having visited Schliemann's sites. Schliemann had planned to
excavate at Knossos, but died before fulfilling that dream. Evans bought the
site and stepped in to take charge of the project, which was then still in its
infancy.
Thank you Dear Merja for this nice maxicard.
