Schliemann's ‘discovery’ of ‘Priam's Treasure’

Abstract

In 1972 Wm. M. Calder III pointed out that Schliemann's autobiographical writings are riddled with false claims and fictitious episodes (Calder, 1972). Subsequent research has confirmed and extended his findings. The purpose of this article is to show that Schliemann's mendacity was not confined to details of his personal life. The focus of our inquiry will be the famous incident towards the end of his 1873 excavations at Troy-the discovery of what he called 'Priam's Treasure'.Schliemann described this momentous occasion in about a dozen different places. We shall restrict ourselves to four of the earliest versions. It will be convenient to refer to these early accounts as A, B, C, and D. A and B are two versions of Schliemann's 31 May report to his publishers, Brockhaus of Leipzig.