Excavator: Was Heinrich Schliemann As An Archaeologist?

The second question frequently asked regarding Schliemann’s legacy examines his motives and skill as an excavator: was Heinrich Schliemann a good archaeologist? This question has two sides. First, did Schliemann use the best techniques and technology available to him at time of his first excavation? Second, did he have the same values that other archaeologists have? One area that Schliemann deserves praise in his technique. For the most part, he used the most advanced technology and strategies available to him and pioneered new techniques to catalogue the data he collected. At the first excavation from 1871 to 1873, Schliemann surrounded himself with experts in many fields. He brought in locals to help with Greek and Trojan history, scientists to examine soil and local plants, photographers and artists to take pictures and make sketches. For the time period, Schliemann’s documentation of his major findings was among the best. He drew everything of interest and recorded the times and dates that they were found. However, there were some problems with how he carried out his excavations. Initially, he believed that the Homeric

As a result, travel guides, like the famous Baedeker, panoramic paintings, and travelogues all became much more popular during this time, and artists were encouraged to fantasize their writing and painting to make it seem more interesting to potential tourists because their works were being viewed by a wider audience. This change in interests was reflected in Schliemann’s own writing. He described his journey through Greece and the Troad as a travelogue in Ithaka, der Peloponnes, und Troja. Archäologische Forschungen, and his accounts of the discoveries he made at Hisarlik were heavily fantasized. One example of this is in the explanation Schliemann offers for why Priam’s Treasure was found near the wall instead of inside the