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Archaeological Site of Troy

Archaeological Site of Troy

Troy, with its 4,000 years of history, is one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world. The first excavations at the site were undertaken by the famous archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann in 1870. In scientific terms, its extensive remains are the most significant demonstration of the first contact between the civilizations of Anatolia and the Mediterranean world. Moreover, the siege of Troy by Spartan and Achaean warriors from Greece in the 13th or 12th century B.C., immortalized by Homer in the Iliad, has inspired great creative artists throughout the world ever since.

Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

Site archéologique de Troie

Troie, chargée d'une histoire de 4 000 ans, figure parmi les sites archéologiques les plus connus du monde. Les premières fouilles dans ce site datent de 1871 et furent effectuées par le grand archéologue Heinrich Schliemann. En termes scientifiques, ses nombreux vestiges offrent la preuve la plus significative du premier contact entre les civilisations de l'Anatolie et du monde méditerranéen. En outre, le siège de Troie par les guerriers grecs de Sparte et d'Achaïe au XIIIe ou au XIIe siècle av. J.-C., immortalisé par Homère dans l'Iliade , a inspiré depuis lors les grands artistes du monde entier.

Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

موقع طروادة الأثري

تبرز طروادة المثقلة بتاريخ دام 4000 سنة بين المواقع الأثرية الأشهر في العالم. وتعود أعمال التنقيب الاولى التي تناولت هذا المكان الى عام1781 وقد تولاها عالم الآثار الكبير هنريخ شليمان. وتشكل آثارها المتعددة دليلاً بالغ الأهمية على الاتصال الأول بين حضارة الأناضول وحضارة العالم المتوسطي. الى ذلك، شكل حصار طروادة الذي شنه محاربو اسبارطة وأكاي اليونانيون في القرن الثالث عشر أو الثاني عشر قبل الميلاد والذي خلّده هوميروس في إلياذته مصدر ايحاء لكبار الفنانين في العالم أجمع.

source: UNESCO/CPE
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

特洛伊考古遗址

特洛伊以其4000多年的历史成为世界上最著名的考古遗址之一。1870年,著名的考古学家海因里希·谢里曼(Heinrich Schliemann) 对这个遗址进行了第一次挖掘。从科学的角度来说,它大量的遗存物是安纳托利亚和地中海文明之间联系的最重要最实质的证明。特洛伊于公元前13世纪或12世纪遭到来自希腊的斯巴达人和亚加亚人的围攻,这一史实由荷马写进史诗而流传千古,而且从那时起它便启发了世界上众多艺术家的创作灵感。

source: UNESCO/CPE
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

Археологические памятники Трои

Троя с ее 4000-летней историей – это один из наиболее известных археологических объектов в мире. Его открыл знаменитый археолог Генрих Шлиман в 1870 г. Научная ценность этих богатейших находок состоит в том, что они ярко демонстрируют первые контакты между цивилизациями Анатолии и миром Средиземноморья. Кроме того, осада Трои спартанцами и ахейцами из Древней Греции в XIII-XII вв. до н.э., которую обессмертил Гомер в Илиаде, вдохновляла людей искусства во всем мире.

source: UNESCO/CPE
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

Sitio arqueológico de Troya

El sitio arqueológico de Troya, con sus 4.000 años de historia, es uno de los más célebres del mundo. Las primeras excavaciones del sitio datan del año 1870 y fueron realizadas por el famoso arqueólogo Heinrich Schliemann. Desde un punto de vista científico, sus numerosos vestigios constituyen la prueba más importante del primer contacto entre las civilizaciones de Anatolia y el mundo mediterráneo. El asedio de Troya por los guerreros espartanos y aqueos, llegados de Grecia hacia el siglo XIII o XII a.C., fue inmortalizado por Homero en La Ilíada y desde entonces ha sido una fuente continua de inspiración para grandes artistas del mundo entero.

source: UNESCO/CPE
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

トロイの古代遺跡
ギリシャの伝説が語るトロイ戦争で有名なトルコ西部のこの都市は、世界で最も有名な遺跡の一つである。1870年に始まるシュリーマンの発掘によって次第にその全容が明らかになったその広大な遺跡は、近東の黎明期の地中海世界との最初の接触を示す、最も重要かつ具体的な証拠である。イリアードが語るギリシャからのミケーネ戦士によるトロイ包囲は、それ以来、世界中の創造的な芸術家の精神を鼓舞してきた。

source: NFUAJ

Archeologisch gebied van Troje

Troje, met zijn 4000 jaar geschiedenis, is een van de beroemdste archeologische vindplaatsen ter wereld. De eerste opgravingen werden er in 1870 uitgevoerd door de archeoloog Heinrich Schliemann. De overblijfselen zijn het belangrijkste wetenschappelijke bewijs van het eerste contact tussen de beschavingen van Anatolië en de mediterrane wereld. Troje kende in de vroege bronstijd al menselijke bewoning. De belegering van Troje door Spartaanse en Egeïsche krijgers uit Griekenland in de 13e of 12e eeuw voor Christus – door Homerus beschreven in de Ilias – is een grote inspiratie geweest voor kunstenaars overal ter wereld.

Source: unesco.nl

Outstanding Universal Value

Brief synthesis

The Archaeological Site of Troy has 4,000 years of history. Its extensive remains are the most significant and substantial evidence of the first contact between the civilizations of Anatolia and the burgeoning Mediterranean world. Excavations started more than a century ago have established a chronology that is fundamental to the understanding of this seminal period of the Old World and its cultural development. Moreover, the siege of Troy by Mycenaean warriors from Greece in the 13th century B.C., immortalized by Homer in The Iliad, has inspired great artists throughout the world ever since.

Troy is located on the mound of Hisarlık, which overlooks the plain along the Turkish Aegean coast, 4.8 km from the southern entrance to the Dardanelles. The famous archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann undertook the first excavations at the site in 1870, and those excavations could be considered the starting point of modern archaeology and its public recognition. Research and excavations conducted in the Troia and Troas region reveal that the region has been inhabited for 8,000 years. Throughout the centuries, Troy has acted as a cultural bridge between the Troas region and the Balkans, Anatolia, the Aegean and Black Sea regions through migration, occupation, trade and the transmission of knowledge.

24 excavation campaigns, spread over the past 140 years, have revealed many features from all the periods of occupation in the citadel and the lower town. These include 23 sections of the defensive walls around the citadel, eleven gates, a paved stone ramp, and the lower portions of five defensive bastions. Those archaeological remains date for the most part from Troy II and VI; however, a section of the earliest wall (Troy I) survives near the south gate of the first defences. In the last 15 years, it has become clear that a Lower City existed south of the mound in all prehistoric periods and extended to about 30 ha in the Late Bronze Age. Several monuments, including the temple of Athena and the recently excavated sanctuary, are part of the Greek and Roman city of Ilion, at the site of Troy. The Roman urban organization is reflected by two major public buildings on the edge of the agora (central market place), the odeion (concert hall) and the nearby bouleuterion (council house).

The surrounding landscape contains many important archaeological and historical sites, including prehistoric settlements and cemeteries, Hellenistic burial mounds, monumental tumuli, Greek and Roman settlements, Roman and Ottoman bridges and numerous monuments of the Battle of Gallipoli. 

Criterion (ii): The archaeological site of Troy is of immense significance in the understanding of the development of European civilization at a critical stage in its early development. It documents an uninterrupted settlement sequence over more than 3,000 years and bears witness to the succession of civilisations. The role of Troy is of particular importance in documenting the relations between Anatolia, the Aegean, and the Balkans, given its location at a point where the three cultures met.

Criterion (iii): The Archaeological Site of Troy bears witness to various civilizations that occupied the area for over 4,000 years. Troy II and Troy VI provide characteristic examples of an ancient oriental city in an Aegean context, with a majestic fortified citadel enclosing palaces and administrative buildings, surrounded by an extensive fortified lower town. Several other monuments and remains reflect the characteristics of Roman and Greek settlements, and other distinct attributes bear witness to the Ottoman settlements.

Criterion (vi): The Archaeological Site of Troy is of exceptional cultural importance because of the profound influence it had on significant literary works such as Homer’s Illiad and Virgil’s Aeneid, and on the arts in general, over more than two millennia. 

Integrity

The inscribed property contains all the necessary elements to express its Outstanding Universal Value. The archaeological remains still allow for an impressive insight into the Bronze Age city with its fortifications, palaces and administrative buildings. Of the Greek and Roman periods, two major public buildings on the edge of the agora have survived in almost complete condition. 

Authenticity

The authenticity of the archaeological site is high, since there have been very few reconstructions. Those that have taken place on the defences have been carried out in strict accordance with the principles of anastylosis. The authenticity of the surrounding landscape is also high, and represents an organic development from prehistory to the present century that has not been subject to any obtrusive tourism development. 

Protection and management requirements

The 1968 Decree No 3925 of The Superior Council of Immovable Cultural and Natural Property, under the authority of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, designated the Archaeological Site of Troy as a historic site. The Antique City of Troy was also registered as first-degree archaeological site and a conservation zone was created in 1981 by Decision No 12848 of The Supreme Council of the Immovable Ancient Objects and Monuments. The limits of the Antique City of Troy have been defined by the 1995 decision No 2414 of the Edirne Conservation Council of Cultural and Natural Properties and were made to coincide with those of the World Heritage property. It is thus protected under the provisions of Law No 2863 of the Republic of Turkey on the Conservation of Cultural and Natural Property. Under this legislation, sites and the movable properties discovered on them are State property and no works may be carried out without the authorization of the related Regional Council. With the Cabinet Decree No 8676 of 1996, the antique city of Troy and the surrounding landscape were inscribed as a “National Historical Park”. To date, the majority of archaeologically relevant areas of Troy are owned by the State and thus protected by law. Following the compulsory purchase of a number of holdings in 1994, 75% of the lower town and the cemeteries are now in State ownership and further appropriation measures are currently in progress. The remaining land in private ownership is under cultivation.

The overall responsibility for the protection and conservation of the designated sites rests with the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums. Collaborating institutions at regional level are the Çanakkale Council for the Preservation of the Cultural Heritage, the Governorship of Çanakkale and the Çanakkale Museum.

The National Parks Department of the Ministry of Forests collaborates with the Ministry of Culture on issues regarding the surrounding landscape. A plan for its preservation was prepared by the Department in 1971, revised in 2010, and constitutes the primary planning document for the management of the property.

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