The discovery of Troy (1870-1873) was among Schliemann’s greatest accomplishments, the first to bring him international fame and recognition in scholarly circles. Troy remained his passion; he never abandoned the site, leading his final field season at Hissarlik in 1890, the year he died. The Ottoman authorities issued the excavation permit for Troy in August 1871. During the 1873 campaign unique finds began to appear, including the so-called “Treasure of Priam.” The Trojan finds were exhibited for three years in London (1877-1880), but in 1881, Schliemann bequeathed them to Germany; they were exhibited at the Museum of Decorative Arts (Kunstgewerbemuseum) in Berlin. When Berlin fell to the Soviet forces in 1945, the “Treasure” was taken to Russia and is currently kept at the Pushkin Museum in Moscow.
Schliemann’s excavations at Mycenae (1876) revealed the riches of another prehistoric civilization that to him confirmed its link with Homer. The Shaft Graves yielded a wealth of finds: from golden diadems, cups, and seal rings to bronze weaponry, and golden masks, including the “Mask of ‘Agamemnon’,” as he called it. Unlike the artifacts from Troy, the Mycenae finds never left the land of their discovery and are on permanent exhibit at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.
Schliemann continued to search for Homeric sites, uncovering a tholos tomb at Orchomenos in Boeotia (1881, 1886), and another Mycenaean palace at Tiryns in the Argolid (1884). Wilhelm Dörpfeld, architect of the German excavations at Olympia was by his side at Tiryns. Having already assisted at Troy in 1882, he became director of the Troy excavations after Schliemann’s death.
Frank Calvert (1828–1908) had served for many years as U.S. Consul at the Dardanelles and was the owner of land at Hissarlik. The two men met in 1868 at Troy; it was Calvert who directed Schliemann to target his efforts on the hill of Hissarlik. Frank Calvert’s letter to Heinrich Schliemann of February 3, 1869. He includes a sketch of the hill of Hissarlik and the news that "a new law had been promulgated by which excavations have been prohibited."
ASCSA Archives, Heinrich Schliemann Papers
