In October 1871 the German businessman and amateur archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann began to dig the mound of Hisarlik in north-western Turkey, which he believed to be Homer's Troy, on the advice of Frank Calvert, who owned part of the site. He cut a huge trench through the mound, destroying upper layers, and in 1873 found a hoard of gold that he named 'Priam's Treasure'. The city he identified was a thousand years too early for the Trojan War, but later excavations by Wilhelm Dorpfeld and Carl Blegen found nine main settlements, one of which, Troy VI or VIIa, may be the Troy of Homer.
Before and after
- 10 May 1871Treaty of Frankfurt
- 10 July 1871Birth of Marcel Proust
- 30 August 1871Birth of Ernest Rutherford
- 27 September 1871Birth of Grazia Deledda
- October 1871Schliemann begins digging at Hisarlik
- 18 October 1871Mudan Incident of 1871
- 24 October 1871Los Angeles Chinese massacre of 1871
- 1872Publication of Around the World in Eighty Days
- from 1872 to 1878Kulturkampf
More in Civilizations & archaeology
- from 1785 to 1925Qajar dynasty
- from 18 May 1804 to 7 July 1815First French Empire
- from 1815 to 1871Unification of Italy
- from 1837 to 1901Victorian era
- from 1 March 1867 to 28 October 1918Austria–Hungary
- from 1 January 1871 to 9 November 1918German Empire
The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 19th century.