Troy Ancient City Guide: The Nine Cities of Hisarlik, the Trojan Horse & Schliemann

Last Updated: 17 May 2026

Troy is the archaeological site that fundamentally changed our understanding of myth and history. For nearly 2,800 years, from Homer’s composition of the Iliad around 750 BC until the late 19th century, Troy was considered a purely legendary place, the setting for an epic poem rather than a real city. Then in 1870 a self-taught German amateur archaeologist named Heinrich Schliemann arrived at the low hill of Hisarlik in northwestern Turkey, dug a massive trench through its center, and uncovered the ruins of a major Bronze Age city that he proclaimed to be Homer’s Troy. The discovery shocked the academic world and launched 150 years of continuing excavation that has revealed not one Troy but nine successive cities built on the same hill over 3,500 years.

In this guide I will share the strange story of the city, the layers of Troy I through Troy IX that you can actually see at the site, the famous Trojan Horse that Schliemann did not find but that has become inseparable from the legend, and the practical logistics of reaching the site from Istanbul, Canakkale or Bursa. I will tell you why the site looks confusing without proper preparation, how to read the visible ruins to identify the different layers, and what is worth seeing in the surrounding Canakkale region while you are there.

Heinrich Schliemann and the Discovery of Troy

The story of how Troy was rediscovered is almost as remarkable as the story of the city itself. The man primarily responsible, Heinrich Schliemann, was a controversial figure who combined genuine intellectual passion with unethical methods, deliberate fabrications and a tendency toward self-mythologizing that has made him one of the most debated figures in the history of archaeology.

Schliemann’s Background and Obsession

Heinrich Schliemann was born in 1822 in a small German village to a Lutheran pastor’s family. He claimed in his autobiography that his lifelong obsession with Troy began at age 8 when his father gave him an illustrated children’s history book showing the burning of Troy, and he announced his intention to find the real city. Most modern scholars consider this story to be largely invented by Schliemann himself for romantic effect, like much of his autobiographical writing.

Whatever his actual motivation, Schliemann made a fortune as an international trader in St. Petersburg and California during the gold rush, then retired in his 40s to pursue his archaeological dreams. He learned ancient Greek by reading the Iliad and Odyssey aloud while a tutor corrected his pronunciation. He traveled extensively in Greece, Italy and Turkey looking for traces of the heroic past.

By the 1860s Schliemann had identified the low hill of Hisarlik in the Troad region of northwestern Turkey as the most likely site of ancient Troy, based on a combination of geographical reasoning (the location matches Homer’s descriptions of the Trojan plain), local tradition (residents had identified the hill as ancient Troy for generations) and earlier archaeological hypotheses (the British scholar Frank Calvert had already been working at Hisarlik for years and gave Schliemann much of the information that led to his “discovery”).

The Excavations and the “Treasure of Priam”

Schliemann began full-scale excavations at Hisarlik in 1870 and continued through 1873. His method was crude even by 19th century standards. He dug a massive trench 40 meters wide straight through the center of the mound, removing without proper documentation everything that he considered later than the supposed Homeric Troy. This destroyed enormous amounts of archaeological evidence and made the later interpretation of the site much more difficult.

The crisis came in 1873 when Schliemann announced the discovery of what he called the “Treasure of Priam,” a hoard of gold jewelry, weapons and vessels that he claimed to have personally extracted from a wall of the supposed Homeric city. He smuggled the treasure out of Turkey illegally, exhibited it in Athens and Berlin, and made his wife Sophia pose with the gold jewelry for famous photographs that he called “Helen of Troy.”

Modern scholarship has shown that the treasure was almost certainly not a single hoard, that Schliemann assembled it from finds made at different times and places, and that the layer in which it was found dates to about 2400 BC, more than a thousand years before any possible Homeric Troy. The treasure was looted from Berlin by the Soviet army in 1945 and is now in the Pushkin Museum in Moscow, where its eventual fate remains uncertain.

What Schliemann Got Right

Despite his methodological failings and personal failings, Schliemann’s basic contribution was enormous. He demonstrated that Troy was a real place, that Bronze Age Anatolia had been home to substantial cities, and that the Homeric epics had a historical basis. These contributions revolutionized our understanding of the ancient Mediterranean and inaugurated the modern field of Mycenaean and Bronze Age Aegean archaeology.

The continuing work at Troy by Wilhelm Dorpfeld (Schliemann’s successor, who corrected many of Schliemann’s mistakes), Carl Blegen (the American who excavated in the 1930s), Manfred Korfmann (the German director of the late 20th century campaign) and Rustem Aslan (the current Turkish director) has gradually built up our detailed picture of the city’s 3,500-year history. The site is now far better understood than it was in Schliemann’s day, though the early destruction caused by his methods cannot be undone.

Modern visitors should approach Troy with awareness of both Schliemann’s significance and his limitations. The site you see today is largely a product of the long excavation history, with Schliemann’s massive trench (called the Schliemann Trench) still visible as a major scar through the center of the mound, alongside the more careful work of later archaeologists who recovered the stratigraphy and history of the nine major construction phases.

The Nine Cities of Troy

The most important thing to understand before visiting Troy is that there is not one Troy at the site, there are nine. Each major city was built on top of the previous one over thousands of years, creating the artificial mound we now call Hisarlik. The visible ruins represent fragments of these nine layers, often confusingly intermixed because earlier excavators were not always careful about distinguishing them.

Troy I, II, III, IV and V (3000-1700 BC)

The earliest city, Troy I, was founded around 3000 BC as a fortified village of a few hundred residents on the strategic hill overlooking the Dardanelles strait. The hill was chosen for its position controlling the sea lanes between the Aegean and the Black Sea and the land routes from Anatolia to Europe. Troy I lasted about 600 years before being destroyed by fire and rebuilt as Troy II.

Troy II (around 2400 BC) is famous for being the layer where Schliemann found the “Treasure of Priam,” now understood to be the wealth of an Early Bronze Age trading center, not the city of Homer. Troy II had impressive fortifications with monumental gates and a substantial royal palace. The city was destroyed in a major fire around 2200 BC.

Troys III, IV and V (2200 to 1700 BC) were smaller and less prosperous, perhaps reflecting wider regional decline during the Early Bronze Age crisis. Visible remains from these layers are limited but include sections of city walls and house foundations that can be identified from the interpretive signs at the site.

Troy VI (1700-1300 BC), the Most Likely Homeric Troy

Troy VI was the great city of the Late Bronze Age, with massive sloped stone walls, towers, a substantial residential lower city, and clear evidence of wealth and international trade. The fortifications enclosed about 9 hectares (relatively large for the period) and included an upper acropolis and a lower town that extended significantly beyond the walls.

The architecture of Troy VI shows clear influences from both Anatolia and the Aegean Mycenaean world, suggesting a cosmopolitan trading center linked to both worlds. Pottery imports from mainland Greece, Cyprus and Egypt have been found in significant quantities, supporting the picture of a major regional trading hub.

Troy VI was destroyed around 1300 BC by what appears to be a major earthquake, with massive wall sections collapsed and houses crushed under fallen stones. Some scholars argue that the Homeric tradition of Troy’s destruction by warfare may actually be a folk memory of this earthquake, with the legendary war being a later poetic addition.

Troy VIIa (1300-1180 BC), the Alternative Homeric Troy

Troy VIIa was rebuilt on the ruins of Troy VI with much of the same wall foundations reused but with smaller and simpler houses inside. The population appears to have been larger but poorer than in Troy VI, with food storage jars sunk into house floors suggesting preparation for siege conditions.

Troy VIIa was destroyed around 1180 BC, in the destruction layer that most archaeologists today consider the most likely candidate for the Homeric Trojan War. The destruction was clearly violent, with evidence of fire, scattered human bones, weapons embedded in walls and scattered arrowheads consistent with armed conflict. The date of 1180 BC also matches the traditional Greek dating of the Trojan War (around 1184 BC according to ancient Greek calculations).

However, the actual evidence is sparse and ambiguous. The destruction could have been caused by Mycenaean Greeks (as the Homeric tradition suggests), by other Anatolian peoples, by the so-called “Sea Peoples” who disrupted the entire eastern Mediterranean around this time, or by internal conflict. The myth of the Trojan Horse is, of course, a poetic invention not preserved in any archaeological evidence.

Troy VIII and IX (700 BC-500 AD)

After about 500 years of abandonment, the site was reoccupied around 700 BC as the Greek city of Ilion, which is what Troys VIII and IX represent. The Greeks of the classical and Hellenistic periods deliberately identified this city with the Homeric Troy and built temples, public buildings and theaters to mark its sacred status.

The Romans, who claimed descent from the Trojan hero Aeneas (according to Virgil’s Aeneid), gave Troy special status and patronage. The emperor Augustus and several later emperors visited and contributed to the rebuilding of the city. The Roman theater, the temple of Athena and other monuments visible at the site today date from this period.

The Roman city declined in late antiquity and was largely abandoned by 500 AD. The site was occupied by a Byzantine and later a Turkish village, but no significant urban life until the modern archaeological reoccupation began in the late 19th century.

The Site Today, What You Will Actually See

The visible ruins at Troy can be confusing if you do not know what to look for. The mound has been excavated and re-excavated for 150 years, with different layers exposed in different areas and many remains from different periods visible side by side. Interpretive signs and good preparation will help you read the site.

The Trojan Horse

The most photographed feature at Troy is the massive wooden Trojan Horse standing at the site entrance. This horse, built in 1975 by Turkish artist Izzet Senemoglu, is 12.5 meters tall and contains a viewing platform you can climb inside. It is not, of course, archaeological, the actual Trojan Horse (if it ever existed) was a poetic invention that has no physical evidence. The modern horse exists to satisfy visitor expectations and to provide a memorable photo opportunity.

Children love the horse, climbing the wooden ladder inside it and looking out from the windows. Adults sometimes feel self-conscious about it, but most join in for at least one photograph. The horse is included in the site entry ticket and is the first major feature you encounter after passing through the entrance gate.

A separate, more elaborate Trojan Horse, built as a movie prop for the 2004 Hollywood film “Troy” starring Brad Pitt, is on display in central Canakkale at the harbor promenade. The movie horse is even larger than the one at the site and is permanently outdoors. Both horses are popular with visitors and represent modern interpretations of the Homeric legend rather than archaeological reconstructions.

The Walls and the Bastion of Troy VI

Once past the horse, the visitor route takes you up onto the mound itself. The first major archaeological feature is the East Wall and Bastion of Troy VI, the great Late Bronze Age fortifications that probably represent the city of the Homeric tradition. The walls are built of carefully fitted limestone blocks with a distinctive slope (called batter) at the base, designed to resist undermining by attackers.

The bastion is one of the best preserved sections of the Troy VI defenses, showing the original wall height of about 6 meters and the original method of construction. You can walk along the top of the wall on a modern walkway and look down into the destruction layer below. The architecture is recognizably similar to the contemporary Hittite cities of central Anatolia, supporting the idea that Troy was culturally part of the wider Anatolian world during the Late Bronze Age.

The wall continues around the eastern and southern sides of the upper city, with multiple bastions and the remains of several gates. The Dardanos Gate, in the southern wall, is the best preserved gate and includes the original gateway structure with its defensive flanking towers. Standing at this gate gives you a powerful sense of what the city looked like when it was at its peak.

The Schliemann Trench

Cutting through the center of the mound is the massive trench that Schliemann excavated in the 1870s. The trench is still clearly visible as a major scar across the mound, with vertical walls showing the stratified layers of the different Troys stacked one on top of another. From the modern walkway you can see the various construction layers as colored bands in the trench walls, with later periods on top and earlier periods at the bottom.

Modern archaeologists have used the exposed trench walls to study the stratigraphy of the site without further damaging the surviving intact areas. The trench is now an educational feature in itself, showing visitors the actual sequence of cities built on top of each other. Interpretive panels explain which layers represent which Troys.

From the bottom of the Schliemann Trench you can also see what looks like a section of monumental stone wall that Schliemann himself identified (incorrectly) as part of the Homeric city. This is actually part of Troy II, dating to around 2400 BC. The misidentification was the source of Schliemann’s claim to have found the wall of Priam, which colored the early interpretation of the site.

The Greek and Roman Buildings

The upper south side of the mound contains the remains of the Greek and Roman city (Troys VIII and IX). The most prominent feature is the foundation of the Temple of Athena, built by the Hellenistic king Lysimachus around 300 BC on the supposed site of the Homeric temple of Athena. The Temple of Athena was the most important religious building of the Greek and Roman city, with elaborate Doric architecture and sacred treasures associated with the Homeric tradition.

Below the Temple of Athena is the small Roman theater (Bouleuterion), the council chamber of the Hellenistic and Roman city. The theater is well preserved and you can sit on the original stone benches, looking down at the orchestra space where civic and political discussions took place over six centuries.

The Sanctuary of Demeter and Kore (Persephone), further to the east, contains the remains of altars and worship buildings from the Greek period. The sanctuary was dedicated to the agricultural goddess Demeter and her daughter Persephone, deities important in the religious life of the rural Troad region.

The Troy Museum and the Surrounding Region

The Troy Museum, opened in 2018 about 1 kilometer from the archaeological site, is one of the most striking modern museum buildings in Turkey. The architecture is a giant rusted-steel cube partly buried in the ground, designed to suggest both an archaeological artifact and a contemporary cultural landmark. The collections are excellent.

The Museum Collections

The museum displays the archaeological finds from over 150 years of excavation at Troy, organized chronologically through the nine main construction phases. The Early Bronze Age galleries show the gold and silver jewelry, pottery and tools from Troy I through Troy V, including reproductions of the “Treasure of Priam” (the originals are still in Moscow).

The Late Bronze Age galleries focus on Troy VI and Troy VIIa, with extensive displays of imported pottery (showing the international trade connections of the city), domestic objects from the residential areas, and weapons from the destruction layers. A section is devoted to the question of the Homeric Trojan War and the various theories about which destruction layer corresponds to the legendary events.

The Greek and Roman galleries include sculptures, inscriptions and architectural fragments from Troys VIII and IX. The display of the gold and silver coins issued by the Hellenistic and Roman cities is particularly impressive, with examples from many different mints and emperors who patronized the site.

The Theater of Smintheion

About 30 kilometers south of Troy, the ancient site of Smintheion (modern Gulpinar) contains a well-preserved Hellenistic Temple of Apollo Smintheus and a Roman theater. The temple was famous in antiquity for an unusual mouse-killing ritual associated with Apollo’s role as the god who protected crops from mice. Mouse statuettes are still being found in the temple precinct.

The site is not heavily visited and offers a quiet alternative to the main Troy site for travelers interested in Hellenistic and Roman archaeology. The drive from Troy takes about 45 minutes through olive groves and small villages. Entry is around 50 lira and the site is open daily.

Assos

Assos, about 90 kilometers south of Troy on the Aegean coast, is one of the most beautiful ancient sites in Turkey and well worth a side trip. The town sits on a steep hill above the modern village of Behramkale, with a complete acropolis topped by a 6th century BC Temple of Athena, a Hellenistic theater, agora, gymnasium and complete city walls. Aristotle lived here for three years and married a local woman before moving to Athens.

The setting is magnificent, with views over the Aegean and the Greek island of Lesvos clearly visible on a clear day. The modern village at the foot of the hill has several small hotels and tavernas, making Assos a perfect overnight stop on a Troy-area itinerary.

For travelers continuing in the wider region, see my guides to Ephesus, Pamukkale and Cappadocia.

How to Get to Troy and Practical Planning

Troy is in northwestern Turkey, in the Canakkale province of the historical Troad region. The site is easily accessible from major Turkish cities, particularly Istanbul, but the journey is part of the experience.

From Canakkale

Canakkale is the closest major city to Troy, about 32 kilometers north of the site (40 minutes by car). Canakkale itself is worth a visit for its central waterfront, the Brad Pitt Trojan Horse on the harbor, the small archaeological museum, and the easy ferry connections to Eceabat on the Gallipoli peninsula across the Dardanelles strait.

From Canakkale, hourly minibuses run to Tevfikiye village (the modern village adjacent to Troy) and stop at the site entrance. The journey takes about 50 minutes including stops and costs around 30 Turkish lira. Tour operators in Canakkale offer organized half-day Troy tours for around 600 to 1,000 lira per person including transport, entry and English-speaking guide.

If you are renting a car (around 800 to 1,500 lira per day in Canakkale), the drive to Troy on the modern road takes about 40 minutes. The site has a large parking lot and clear signage. Many visitors combine Troy with the Gallipoli battlefields on a day trip from Canakkale, with morning at Gallipoli (across the Dardanelles by ferry) and afternoon at Troy.

From Istanbul

Day trips from Istanbul to Troy are popular but exhausting, involving about 5 hours of driving each way (10 hours of driving for a 3-hour visit). Organized day tours from Istanbul typically cost 1,500 to 3,500 lira per person and include transport, guide, lunch and entry fees. Departures are usually 06:30 from Istanbul with return around 22:30.

A better option is the 2-day Istanbul-Canakkale-Troy itinerary, with an overnight in Canakkale. This allows time to visit Gallipoli on day one (a powerful World War I battlefield experience) and Troy plus the museum on day two. Many Istanbul tour operators offer this 2-day package for around 4,000 to 8,000 lira per person.

For independent travelers, the drive from Istanbul to Canakkale takes about 5 hours via the Eceabat ferry crossing, or 5.5 hours via the inland route through Bursa. Buses from Istanbul to Canakkale are frequent and comfortable, with the journey taking about 6 hours. Train service does not reach Canakkale.

From Bursa or Bandirma

Bursa, the early Ottoman capital city in northwestern Turkey, is about 3.5 hours by road from Troy. Combining Bursa with Troy makes a good 3-day itinerary, allowing time for the Ottoman architecture of Bursa and the Bronze Age archaeology of Troy.

From Bandirma, on the Sea of Marmara coast, you can take a fast catamaran ferry from Istanbul (about 2 hours) and then drive 2.5 hours to Canakkale. This route is faster than driving the entire way from Istanbul and is popular with visitors who want to spend a full day at Troy and Gallipoli.

The Visit Itself

Troy is open daily from 08:30 to 19:00 in summer (reduced hours in winter). Entry to the site is around 400 Turkish lira for international visitors, with a separate ticket for the Troy Museum (around 300 lira). The combined ticket is available and saves a small amount. Allow 2 to 3 hours for the site itself and 90 minutes for the museum.

Bring water, sunscreen and a hat. The site has limited shade and can be very hot in summer (over 35 degrees Celsius). Comfortable walking shoes are essential, as the visitor walkways are uneven in places.

The interpretive signs at the site are in Turkish and English and provide good context for what you are seeing. An audio guide is available at the entrance for around 100 lira and is well worth it for visitors who want detailed explanation of the various periods and structures. Private guides can be hired at the entrance for 600 to 1,500 lira for groups.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Troy worth visiting given how confusing the ruins are?

Yes, but you need to come prepared. Troy is not visually spectacular like Ephesus or Pamukkale. The ruins are fragmentary, the layers are mixed up, and without context the site can be disappointing. With good preparation (reading the Iliad, understanding the nine layers, using a good audio guide) the experience is genuinely powerful. You are standing where one of the foundational stories of Western literature took place, and the archaeology really does support the historical reality of the city.

Can I combine Troy with Gallipoli?

Yes, this is a very popular combination. Gallipoli is on the opposite (European) side of the Dardanelles strait from Troy, accessible by a 30-minute ferry from Canakkale to Eceabat. Most visitors do Gallipoli in the morning and Troy in the afternoon, returning to Canakkale for the night. The two sites together give you a remarkable journey through 3,500 years of warfare in the same strategic location.

How does Troy compare to other ancient sites in Turkey?

Troy is less visually impressive than Ephesus or Hierapolis, with the fragmentary ruins of multiple periods mixed together rather than complete monumental buildings. However, Troy is the most important site in terms of cultural history, as the setting for the Iliad and Odyssey and a place where myth and history meet. Visit Troy for the intellectual and emotional impact, not for the photographic opportunities.

Did the Trojan War actually happen?

The archaeological evidence supports a complex picture. Troy VIIa was destroyed by violence around 1180 BC, in conditions consistent with warfare. Whether this destruction was caused by Mycenaean Greeks (the Achaeans of Homer), by other Anatolian peoples or by some combination of factors is debated. The specific events of the Iliad (the duel of Achilles and Hector, the wooden horse, the death of Priam) are clearly poetic embellishments. But the underlying picture of a major war between mainland Greeks and the city of Troy in the late Bronze Age is consistent with the archaeological evidence.

When is the best time to visit?

April, May, September and October offer the best balance of comfortable weather and good visibility. Summer (June through August) is hot and can be uncomfortable on the open mound. Winter (December through March) is cool and quiet, with some risk of rain that can make the visitor walkways slippery. Avoid weekends in summer when the site receives many Turkish family visitors.

Should I read the Iliad before visiting?

If you have time, yes. Even reading a summary or a children’s version of the story will dramatically enhance your visit. The Iliad covers only the last few weeks of the 10-year siege of Troy, with the action focused on the wrath of Achilles. Knowing the major characters (Achilles, Hector, Priam, Helen, Agamemnon, Odysseus, Aeneas) and the basic plot will help you imagine the events at the actual site. The UNESCO World Heritage listing for Troy provides additional historical and archaeological context.