The partially restored ramp of the Troia II citadel. Troia II was built on top of the remains of Troia (i.e. Early and Middle Troia I) and is subdivided into eight building-phases, IIa-IIh.
During this period the circuit-wall was several times built further out so as to enlarge the citadel. The rebuildings can be recognized in the remains of the earlier, partly walled-up, gates. The wall in the final phase of Troia II, visible here, consisted of a substructure of limestone with layers of mudbrick above. It was c. 330 m. long, 4 m. thick and enclosed an area of c. 8800 sq. m. An entrance is visible from here, whose gate was approached by an impressive ramp paved with flat stones and flanked by mudbrick walls. But its size and position probably make the eastern gate a more plausible candidate for the main entrance to the citadel.
There too was probably a stone rampart (unexcavated) to overcome the difference in altitude between the approach-road and the settlement. The Troia II citadel came to an end with a catastrophic fire which left behind a burnt layer more than two metres thick. To the left of this gate Schliemann found the legendary “Priam’s Treasure”. This discovery, together with the burnt layer, caused Schliemann to believe that Troia II was the Homeric Troia/Ilios that he was looking for. He was off by a good 1200 years. But in 1890, the last year of his life, he recognized his mistake.