Johann Ludwig Heinrich Julius Schliemann’s Excavation at Troy
Johann Ludwig Heinrich Julius Schliemann’s ability to challenge academic establishment make him an appealing yet dubious character.
The German’s late nineteenth century excavations of Truva are often considered to have shed new light on ancient history or ‘undoubtedly destroyed a great deal of archaeological data that will forever be lost[1]. Despite the praise and glorification that surrounds the romantic stems of Schliemann’s work; his excavations have proved limited to the evolution of archaeology and ancient history. However some of Schliemann’s methodologies have often been considered significant in context to the evolution of both fields. His ‘great desire to affirm his hypotheses[2]’ has lead to important ancient historical data such as demonstrating Greek civilisation had commenced approximately one thousand years earlier then previous scholars estimated. Yet Schliemann’s excavations of Hissarlik are not completely revolutionary to the development of ancient history despite the modernisation of his primitive archaeological techniques and his ability to incorporate mythology in interpreting and formulating ancient history, while several contemporaries dismissed its credibility. Firstly Schliemann’s crude methodical techniques are not definitive in comparison to the works of other archaeologists such as,
General Pitt Rivers. Secondly Schliemann’s discovery of an unknown civilization contributed to the broadening of ancient history.
Moreover, Schliemann’s ability to see the great value of oral history and mythology has brought significant development to historical methodologies. Finally Schliemann’s flawed yet revealing archaeological techniques has allowed archaeology to improve, in learning from its mistakes.
Firstly Schliemann’s contribution to the development of ancient history is limited in comparison to that of archaeological pioneers such as Pitt Rivers. Rivers, like Schliemann both avoided the stigma as ‘treasure hunters’ in their pursuit for knowledge of the antiquities. However Schliemann’s failure to seek perfection and accuracy questions his place in true archaeological circles. Historian
Geoffrey Arnott comments, ‘the accuracy of his excavation reports can…be questioned, most seriously with regard to Troy.’ Schliemann’s primitive and simplistic techniques involving the destruction of various ruins do not deserve monumental credit. Historian Wellington
King comments on the problematic nature of Schliemann’s excavations,
Schliemann’s’ great desire to affirm his hypotheses to provide the evidence for the answers he created, is also his greatest weakness and shortcoming…he often conducted his archaeological work in a highly unethical manner, and a manner that could even compromise the archaeological integrity of his finds.
In contrast, Rivers practised methods of perfection by comparing organic evolution to cultural development and developing future archaeological generic fundamentals such as ‘typology.’ ‘His purpose, therefore, was not concentrated on collecting artefacts solely for display, but in order to create a complex scheme of evidence to outline history.’[3] By contrast, men such as Pitt Rivers can be
However, the artefacts brought to England from Benin in 1897 were an anomaly. The craftsmanship and sophistication were such that some were reminiscent of the beautiful figures in the Hofkiche, Innsbruck 1502-1563 (plate 3.1.12. Visited...
There were a number of key institutions that had a powerful influence on the state of Sparta. Spartan tradition claims that the reorganisation of the state derived from oracles at the sanction of Delphi. Ancient lawgiver Lycurgus is a mysterious character, whose reforms resulted from a Delphic oracle. However, his timeframe has been the subject to debate between the ancient and modern sources, most notably; Aristotle placed the reforms in 776BC . It is today’s view that this legislation evolved between the 7th and 5th centuries, with Lycurgus seen as the ‘mythical figure’ who is the symbol of these reforms. Before Lycurgus’ reforms appear in history, there is evidence for kingship lists in early Sparta, however earlier dates are estimated .
Around the dawn of the first millennium, the Han and Roman attitudes toward technology were both self glorifying; however, the Han Empire in China placed more value upon technology and technological enhancements than did the Roman Empire, as evidenced by the constant concern on the part of the Han dynasty over the occasional indifference on the part of the Romans.
Jessica Paga's article, “The Southeast Fountain House in the Athenian Agora,” is an attempt to reconsider the accepted chronology of the Athenian Agora, specifically through examining the established estimated dates of the building of the Fountain House, and by comparing those dates to revised ones that she has extruded from her research and examinations of the site and its artifacts. More specifically, the Fountain House is commonly dated at approximately 525 BCE, whereas Paga believes that she has found significant evidence to suggest that more accurate dating would place its construction between 480 and 450 BCE. To this end, she provides circumstantial evidence across four main spectra; architectural evidence, evidence from ceramics and
undervalue of yen was the reason of Japan's huge trade surplus. In order to impr...
Account for the emergence of the ‘bubble economy’ in Japan and the reasons for the country’s slow recovery from it.
When we take a look at why civilizations rise when others fall, the ancient civilization of the Roman Empire stands out as notable, if not particular. Ancient Rome remains one of the most prestigious empires in history due to its geography, specifically how the country of Italy was protected from invaders, the benefit of the Italian land, the civilization being at the center of trade and the diversity of the empire’s population. That being said, the ancient civilization of the Romans was able to succeed as long as it did due to the empire’s geographical advantage of being in the heart of Italy.
The decision to conduct the Sicilian Expedition is met with opposition from senior leadership and was not a good long-term strategic option for Athens. The vast differences between the strategic leadership styles of Nicias and Alcibiades, coupled with the allied support shortcomings, lend to the failure of this expedition and ultimately with Sparta defeating Athens in devastating fashion.
Thucydides multifaceted yet thorough account of the Athenian expedition to Sicily in 415 BC allows a modern strategist an opportune and relevant model for the application of the end-ways-means construct for analyzing Athenian strategy. Through insights gained reviewing this campaign’s planning and execution, I will illustrate and link justifications for the Athenian intended ends. I will similarly articulate their ways through their planning and methods, then their means through their resources and force composition and strength. Finally, an evaluation of risks ties these factors together and allows an assessment on overall failures.
The world is full of beautiful life and is currently being destroyed by poachers. Poaching has the highest rate in places such as south africa, Tanzania as well as Zimbabwe. these places are causing major damage to the animal populations and so many people around the world are outraged about poachers and many people make petitions to help stop the killing. Soon these precious animals will be gone.
Moreover, Japan is known for its energy industry, and the potential competitive advantage of Japan can help increasing its GDP. First, I will give some background about Japan as a country, along with statistics, cultural facts and a brief description about Japan’s economy. In addition, I will talk about how the incident of Fukushima Radiation affected Japan’s economy when it happened two years ago. Conclusively, the changes of certain industries can strongly affect a country’s performance.
Education is a basic human right. Like all human rights, it is universal and inalienable—everyone, regardless of gender, religion, ethnicity or economic status, is entitled to it. Yet according to UNICEF, in 2006, 93 million children were not in school. Almost 80 percent of these children lived in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. For too many children, the basic human right to education is an idea that has not become reality. Education in Third World countries today is an effort that has gone somewhat unnoticed. UNICEF has been working on restoring the priority of a beneficial education in the lives of children all around the
The process of people poaching endangered or almost endangered animals just to make money by selling their fur or horns needs to be addressed. Many species have become endangered or even extinct because of illegal hunting. Poaching is more than just killing animals for their bones, fur, etc., it also includes stealing animals from the wild to sell into the human population as pets. Those animals are often killed to be used as medicine. When the animals are killed in the wild, it is not always done in a humane way (Snowdon, 2014). The animals can suffer greatly before they actually die. Some species that have a high possibility of becoming extinct in the next ten years because of poaching include, but are not limited to the tortoise, black rhino, vaquita, red-fronted
Have you ever wondered why the colosseum was so popular? Well today is the day you are going to find out. You will find why the Romans made the colosseum and “why” it was so entertaining. “Also,” you will see Why the romans did the games. So if you are interested in Rome. Read this essay.
Japan was a country that defied all odds and became a world power after losing a devastating war. In the 30 years after World War II the Japanese economy grew at an incredible rate, so much so in fact that Japan became the second largest economy in the world. Japan managed to successfully enact an economic system wholly different than that of the United States and because of it Japan experienced incredibly rapid growth over a period of roughly 30 years. During that period of financial power, exports were booming, the standard of living was rising, and technology was thriving. This period of growth however, did not last; in the late 1980s the bubble burst. In 1991 and again in 1997, Japan’s stock index, the Nikkei, plummeted causing economic growth to come to an abrupt halt. Suddenly, the very institutions that Japan was praised for now came into question. Previously Japan had “a powerful bureaucracy guiding the economy, close government-industry ties, ‘lifetime’ employment, a main bank system, and dense inter-firm networks,” but now these institutions were thought to have failed and Japan would need to fundamentally alter their ways. (Vogel, 2006) One opinion, according to Steven Vogel, is that the Japanese model should try to mirror the model of the United States.