The Earliest Excavations
To date, there have been four major excavators at Hissarlik; Heinrich Schliemann, following on the suggestions and test trenches of Frank Calvert, was the first and no doubt most famous. When you think about it, the fact that Heinrich Schliemann excavated at Hisarlik is astonishing. As intelligent and well-read as he was, Schliemann's sum total of real, in-the-ground archaeological experience by the spring of 1870 consisted of the three days he spent watching Guiseppi Fiorelli dig at Pompeii, and the day and half he spent digging a small pit in Mount Aetes. Certainly his early work reflects his lack of experience; for example, he moved an enormous amount of dirt in a short period of time under very limited supervision––by his second season he had hired between 80 and 100 workers, with only himself, his wife, and two or three foreman to watch over the excavations. Fortunately, he took copious notes, and eventually hired one of the smartest archaeologists available as his assistant––Wilhelm Dorpfeld.Schliemann's notes and publications are problematic, because it is clear from the outset that Schliemann fully intended on publishing them, and several discrepancies between the various available texts provide clear evidence that Schliemann edited for the best possible spin on the facts, even if they weren't exactly the facts. But the notes and diaries and maps do provide adequate information to provide a solid basis for exploration at Hisarlik by Carl Blegen of the University of Cincinnati in the 30s, and Manfred Korfmann of the University of Tubingen and C. Brian Rose of the University of Cincinnati in the 1980s and 90s.
