Troy I was one of the first cities in Anatolia to be fortified. This is another indication of the importance of Hisarlik hill. Later, with the development of international trade, the importance of Troy at the mouth of the Dardanelles increased. Because of its strategic position on this waterway it was occupied for more than 3500 years and destroyed and rebuilt nine times.
"The gold of Troy" found by Schliemann became the subject of novels and many visitors are very much interested in the treasure. Schliemann made many mistakes which can not be tolerated with our present understanding of archaeology.

He turned Troy into a molehill. In spite of this he was considered the Father of Archaeology and he was even awarded a Ph. D. in archaeology. He is described by some writers as "the most unscientific of archaeologists who founded the science of archaeology". He imagined King Priam as a rich king which is why when he found treasure in Troy he called it the "treasure of Priam", because he had the habit of giving heroic names to his discoveries. He believed that they were the jewels of Helen. Putting them on his wife Sophia, he addressed her "you are my beautiful Helen", but we know today that the treasure was at least 1000 years earlier than the time of Priam, belonging to the second settlement at Hisarlik.
The only explanation for not finding any trace of the real treasure of Priam must be the plundering of the whole city at the end of the Trojan War. "The treasure of Troy" was smuggled by Schliemann to Greece then later taken to Berlin. It was kept in a museum until the Second World War then disappeared.

According to some sources, during the Second World War the museum was plundered by Nazi officers. If this is true it is now in private hands in Latin America.
According to other sources the Russians who first entered Berlin first plundered the museum and transported it to Russia.
Because this last one seemed more probable to us, we mentioned this possibility to a Russian ambassador whom I guided around Troy. The only answer we got from the abassador was "nyet" in Russian which means "no",
With no further comment this short answer was suspicious. Then we read in the newspapers that it is in Pushkin Museum in Moscow.

This has been confirmed by the Russian government. Part of the treasure which was given back by Schliemann to the Ottoman government as a gesture to get the second permission for excavations and part of that which was found during later excavations, is now on display in the Archaeological Museum in Istanbul.
We hope one day all the artifacts including the treasure, will be returned to where the belong and exhibited in a museum together with that recently found.
Even after Schliemann's dream had come true and the prehistoric settlement at Hisarlik was accepted as the city of Priam by scientists the discussions about Troy did not come to an end. One of the subjects discussed at a symposium held in Bryn Mawr college in October 1984 was the location of the Greek camp and the ships.

As we understand from these lines, according to the lliad the Greeks landed at the mouth of the Scamander river on the Helespont. But some scientists do not agree with this. One of them is Prof. Manfred Korfmann who directed the excavations in Besik bay and is still directing the excavations in Troy. By taking account of some important factors like, "the water sources", "the strong and nearly ceaseless winds which usually blow from the

northeast" and "the current of the Dardanelles", Korfmann claims that Besik Bay is the only convenient place for anchorage and embarkation.
First of all, on the slopes around Besik bay there are enough fresh water sources to cover the needs of a big army even for a long time. Also, the sea in Besik Bay is shallow and sandy. The seafarers of prehistoric times could easily beach their ships along the sandy shores. Besides this, according to paleogeographic soundings the basin has silted up following the erosion of the surrounding hills. So the bay extended far inland thus offering an even more protective harbour than today. But the current in the Dardanelles is very strong, especially in spring time with the melting snow and rain when the rivers which flow into the Black Sea carry far more fresh water. The current runs through the Dardanelles at a speed of 9 km. per hour. By adding to this the negative effect of the north wind with an average speed of 16 km. per hour, it can be understood that during the Trojan War when the technique of sailing against the wind had not been discovered, the mouth of Scamander, which is open to the north wind, would not be a convenient place for anchorage and embarkation.

During the excavations near Besik Bay, remains of a port were unearthed. In particular graves were uncovered a few metres from the ancient sea shore from the 13 th. century B.C. Those graves could well be the graves of the Achaeans who camped here. In addition paleogeographic studies show that the topography of the plain of Troy was very different from the present. For example, around 2000 B.C. the sea level was 1m. higher than today. These scientists believe that "the axis of the battlefield lay to the south of Troy and to the east of Besik bay. Thus they suggest that Besik Bay

should be considered the site of the lliad and Odyssey to reconsider some of their interpretations in the light of the geological and geographical analyses.
Without objecting to these hypotheses, I think that some of the Achaeans who had rowing boats, despite the strong wind and current, camped on both sides of the mouth of Scamander. If the Achaeans came to Troy with 1200 ships as told in the lliad, they might have camped at Sigeum and Rhoeteum as well as Besik Bay. For example, I believe that Achilles, who had a quarrel with Agamemnon, camped for away from him.
The new excavations in Troy started in 1988. Permission was given to Prof. Manfred Korfmann, a prehistorian at Tübingen University in Germany.
The excavations are carried out with modern methods and fersh knowledge of archaeology. New measurements with modern tools have already been completed. About 60 experts in different fields and from different countries have been continuing the excavations every year for three month terms in June, July and August. During the excavation season even the smallest ceramic piece is collected and studied and carbon 14 method is used for datings.

Besides stopping the deterioration of the ruins, the main aim of the new excavation is to study carefully the different strata of this most important settlement on the northeastern corner of the "Anatolian Bridge". We believe that for such work Troy was not chosen by chance. Over the "Anatolian Bridge" so many different peoples passed either from Asia to Europe or from Europe to Asia over the centuries. These peoples from different races and different cultures left traces in Troy as they were passing by.