Heinrich Schliemann’s dig erased Troy’s history
- Behind the Bastards traces Schliemann’s shift from financial fraud to destructive excavation at Hisarlik.
- His trench damaged Troy’s archaeological layers; claims that he staged famous finds remain allegations.
Heinrich Schliemann set out to find Homer’s Troy. But in the account laid out across two Behind the Bastards episodes, his hunt for dramatic discoveries damaged the site’s history - and his most famous finds drew serious suspicion.
In its Oct 6, 2026 installment, host Robert Evans described how Schliemann built his fortune before becoming an archaeologist, including by short-weighting gold shipments in California and profiting from Crimean War blockades. The episode also said Schliemann preferred fast excavation to the careful pace he had observed at Pompeii. That background set up the follow-up: a man impatient with method was about to dig into a layered ancient site.
In the Oct 8, 2026 episode, Evans said Schliemann arrived at Hisarlik in 1870 without permits and rejected advice from Frank Calvert, who had identified the mound as Troy. Instead, Schliemann ordered a huge trench through its center. He reached Troy II, a Bronze Age settlement centuries older than the Trojan War period, and called it Priam’s palace; in the process, the episode says, he cut through later layers and discarded artifacts and foundations.
The follow-up also described a struggle over credit and authenticity. Schliemann’s published accounts sidelined Calvert, while his 1873 removal of gold and jewelry - presented as Helen of Troy’s treasure - led to a dispute with Ottoman authorities. At Mycenae in 1876, he claimed to find Agamemnon’s mask; Evans said scholars suspected it was bought or planted, and that modern research dates it about 300 years earlier than Agamemnon’s era. Whether Schliemann staged the mask remains unresolved.
A more systematic approach came in 1882, when Schliemann hired Wilhelm Dörpfeld; Evans says Dörpfeld identified nine layers at Hisarlik. That work helped clarify the site’s long history, but could not restore what the trench had destroyed. The episodes leave a lasting tension: Schliemann helped make Troy famous, while his rush to claim it obscured the evidence he was digging for.
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- Deep dive into what was said in the episodes
Part Two: Heinrich Schliemann: The Archaeologist Who Destroyed Troy • Oct 8
- British archaeologist Frank Calvert identified the Hisarlik mound in Turkey as the site of Troy but lacked the funds to excavate. Robert Evans notes Schliemann used Calvert's research and later erased Calvert's contributions from his published accounts.
- Heinrich Schliemann ordered a massive trench dug through the center of Hisarlik. In doing so, he plowed through and destroyed the actual historical layers of Homeric Troy to reach an older, Bronze Age settlement.
- In 1873, Heinrich Schliemann excavated a cache of gold and silver jewelry that he falsely labeled Helen of Troy's jewels. He then smuggled these artifacts out of the Ottoman Empire, sparking a lawsuit from Turkish authorities.
- During an 1876 excavation in Mycenae, Heinrich Schliemann claimed to find Agamemnon's gold funeral mask. Robert Evans notes that contemporary scholars suspected the mask was a forgery, and modern research shows it predates the era by three centuries.
- In 1882, Heinrich Schliemann hired professional archaeologist Wilhelm Dorpfeld. Dorpfeld introduced systematic methods to the site, eventually identifying nine distinct layers of Troy spanning nearly four thousand years of human occupation.
Also discussed on this episode: (5)
History (5)
- In 1868, Heinrich Schliemann traveled to Greece and declared Mount Athos to be the site of Odysseus's castle. Robert Evans notes there was no evidence for this claim, which contradicted scholars who placed Odysseus on the island of Ithaca.
- During the classical and Roman periods, Troy operated as a popular tourist attraction. Robert Evans explains that Roman tourists regularly visited local burial mounds that guides falsely claimed belonged to mythological heroes like Achilles.
- Biographer Leo Duell documented Heinrich Schliemann's severe racial prejudices. Robert Evans highlights letters where Schliemann wrote derogatory remarks about Black people and California Indigenous populations.
- Heinrich Schliemann acquired United States citizenship in 1869 to exploit lenient Indiana divorce laws. He lived in Indianapolis for three months to divorce his Russian wife, Ekaterina, and protect his fortune.
- In 1869, the forty-seven-year-old Heinrich Schliemann married seventeen-year-old Sophia Engastrominos. Schliemann selected her from pictures sent by a friend based on a list of criteria, including her ability to read Homer.
Part One: Heinrich Schliemann: The Archaeologist Who Destroyed Troy • Oct 6
- Heinrich Schliemann, born in Prussia in 1822, claimed his lifelong quest to find Troy was sparked by childhood stories. Biographer Leo Deuel disputes this, noting that Schliemann's earliest autobiographical writings make no mention of these childhood inspirations.
- Schliemann amassed massive wealth through highly speculative, often fraudulent financial grifts. He shortchanged gold weights as a California banker, cornered military supply blockades during the Crimean War, and speculated on commodities during the American Civil War.
- Biographer Susan Allen documents that Schliemann regularly abandoned his family to pursue his obsession with antiquities. While traveling, Schliemann vocalized a deep respect for historical preservation, yet simultaneously stole a physical piece of the Great Wall of China.
- Schliemann's interest in field excavations was cemented in 1868 while watching archaeologist Giuseppe Fiorelli at Pompeii. However, Schliemann grew deeply impatient with Fiorelli's careful, two-week pace for clearing a single house, favoring rapid, aggressive excavation instead.
Also discussed on this episode: (4)
History (4)
- Robert Evans notes that preservation efforts date back to ancient Egypt, where Prince Chaemwaset, the fourth son of Ramses II, restored historical monuments. Later, during the Renaissance, figures like Michelangelo observed early excavations of Roman ruins.
- Giuseppe Ferlini, an Italian military surgeon born in 1797, abandoned medicine to hunt gold in Sudan. In 1834, Ferlini launched a privately funded expedition to the pyramids of Meroe, seeking low-hanging antiquities to sell in Europe.
- Ferlini demolished the Great Pyramid of Queen Amanishaketo by systematically tearing down its masonry, possibly using gunpowder. He recovered a massive hoard of gold and jewelry, destroying the queen's mummy and stripping the site of its historical context.
- To justify his destructive methods, Ferlini lied, claiming he found the gold in a secret chamber at the top of the pyramid. This false narrative inspired copycat treasure hunters to decapitate almost every remaining pyramid in Sudan.