The "birth" of modern archaeology ....

Found in Tomb V in Mycenae by German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann in 1876, he named this gold sheet, death-mask the "Mask of Agamemnon," believing he had found the body of the Mycenaean king Agamemnon, leader of the Achaeans in "The Iliad," Homer's epic poem of the Trojan War. Modern research indicates the mask dates to about 1600 BCE, pre-dating the period of the Trojan War by about 400 years. The mask is on display in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens. 

And, perhaps most importantly in a personal sense, welcome to the first day of autumn 2021 -- may it be one of picture-perfect memories for you ....

The truth of Homer's "Iliad"

Since mentioning it in a post long/long ago (September 11, which probably is long/long ago to some people), I have been perusing Kurt Wilhelm Marek's book, "Gods, Graves and Scholars," which is to say an archaeological "masterpiece" from C. W. Ceram. Marek was a German journalist and writer and student of archaeology who used the pseudonym Ceram when publishing most of his books.

(Does anyone besides me think "perusing" is a weird word? I suppose it depends upon the context in which the word is used ....)

"Gods/Graves” covers Greek, Egyptian, Mesopotamian archaeology and that in other regions, as well, including the Americas. It also offers biographical material about several notable figures in the field.

Using Homer's books "The Odyssey" and "The Iliad" and the writings of other "ancients," a German millionaire merchant, Heinrich Schliemann, excavated Hisarlık, "Place of Fortresses," often spelled Hissarlik, in modern Turkey beginning in 1870. He believed it to be the Troy of Priam and Paris and Helen and Hector and Achilles and Odysseus. He found nine cities stacked one atop another and concluded the Trojan War Troy was either the second or third level city. Level VIIa, first suggested by Minnesota native, archaeologist Carl Blegen, is now considered the actual Troy of 1200 BCE.

As an aside, one of Blegen's younger brothers, Theodore, was a noted historian/author/teacher. His resume included being first managing editor of the Norwegian-American Historical Association, in which "our friend," Ole Edvart Rølvaag, was a central player as the first secretary and archivist, and being knighted into the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav. Theodore's papers are housed at the Minnesota Historical Society and the University of Minnesota.

I am not sure at what age history and archaeology became one of my interests, but a sixth grade teacher turned them into near-obsessions through numerous field trips to Indian and early white settlement sites. The past and the present here are laden with the names of famous and near-famous individuals and events.

The intent of this post is not to elaborate on Ceram/ Marek or Schliemann or Troy, but, hopefully, to stir a bit of interest in archaeology and the study of "our" past, and for me to be a link in the love of history chain for which my sixth grade teacher was a remarkable envoy. There is a three-segment program produced by the BBC on YouTube entitled "Heinrich Schliemann and the discovery of Troy," for anyone who is curious to learn more.

For the literary-types among you, Ceram's "Gods, Graves and Scholars" is an exceptional place to taste the hors d'oeuvres of history. The book was first published in German in 1949, with an English translation appearing in 1951. An expanded edition was published in 1994, which is the copy I have and use. As must be expected, discoveries and technologies have progressed since then and might affect Ceram's work, which he readily warns about .... but, it still serves as an valuable archaeological primer and resource. Here are some of Ceram's own words:

"If we human beings want to feel humility, there is no need to look at the starred infinity above. It suffices to turn our gaze upon the world cultures that existed thousands of years before us, achieved greatness before us, and perished before us."