Hisarlik in the Early Bronze Age
Based on the results of over 125 years of excavations, Hisarlik was first occupied during the Early Bronze Age, comparable in date to the deposits at Kum Tepe. Troy Level II, an early Bronze Age occupation dated to 2500–2300 BC, produced the fantastic, controversial "Priam's Treasure," which doesn't date to Priam's occupation, and according to David Traill, was probably augmented by artifacts found earlier. It was Schliemann's fondest, and most incorrect assumption about Hisarlik that this group of artifacts belonged to Homer's Priam; but they were produced 1,000 years too early. Level VIh, or perhaps Level VIIa, are now considered the most likely occupation levels for Priam's city.Archaeological evidence for the levels assigned to Homer's Troy indicate that the city grew in size during the Late Bronze Age, making Troy one of the largest settlements in the Aegean region. During Level VIh times, the site was characterized by a large royal citadel, surrounded by a fortification wall of cut limestone 4 meters thick with an adobe superstructure. Unfortunately, the royal residences were razed during the Greek period occupation, and so little is known about their construction or form. Level VI was destroyed, not through fire, but clear evidence of a substantial earthquake. Level VIIa begins with the reconstruction of the walls destroyed by the earthquake of circa 1350 BC. Much of the domestic architecture for Level VII was also destroyed by the Hellenistic constructions, but one remarkable difference is the appearance of subterranean storage pits below the house floors. It has been argued that the survivors of the earthquake who lived outside of the fortification walls at Hisarlik, moved inside, increasing population density and decreasing the amount of space possible for personal homes. It is clear that the city represented by Level VIIa of Hisarlik burned in a huge fire that destroyed the structures within and outside of the fortification walls. Unburied human skeletal remains recovered from Level VIIa indicate that the scale of the destruction of the city prevented recovery of all those persons who died during the catastrophe. Level VIIa was destroyed ca. 1230–1180 B.C.
