A new city called Ilium was founded on the site in the reign of the
Roman Emperor Augustus. It flourished until the establishment of
Constantinople and declined gradually during the Byzantineera.
In
1865, English archaeologist Frank Calvert excavated trial trenches in a
field he had bought from a local farmer at Hisarlık, and in 1868,
Heinrich Schliemann, wealthy German businessman and archaeologist, also
began excavating in the area after a chance meeting with Calvert in
Çanakkale. These excavations revealed several cities built in
succession. Schliemann was at first skeptical about the identification
of Hissarlik with Troy, but was persuaded by Calvert and took over
Calvert's excavations on the eastern half of the Hissarlik site, which
was on Calvert's property. Troy VII has been identified with the Hittite
Wilusa, the probable origin of the Greek, and is generally (but not
conclusively) identified with Homeric Troy.
Today, the hill at
Hisarlik has given its name to a small village near the ruins,
supporting the tourist trade visiting the Troia archaeological site. It
lies within the province of Çanakkale, some 30 km south-west of the
provincial capital, also called Çanakkale. The nearest village is
Tevfikiye. The map here shows the adapted Scamander estuary with Ilium a
little way inland across the Homeric plain.
Troia was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1998
