Schliemann trench: during the first three years of excavation Schliemann had a deep north-south trench, 40 m. wide and 17 m. deep, dug through the centre of the mound. It was conceived as a test-trench, reaching down to bedrock, by means of which Schliemann hoped to find at what depth “Priam’s Citadel” lay. In the course of this operation important building-remains from overlying layers were partially or wholly destroyed. At the bottom of the trench Schliemann found remains of walls belonging to the Early Troia I period (c. 2920 BC). These you can see in front of you.
It was only in the American excavations in the 1930’s, and in the work carried out since 1988, that the Troia I period was more closely studied.
The rows of parallel, rough stone walls which you can see beyond are the foundations of relatively close-set houses of the Early Bronze Age (c. 2920 BC). Some of these elongated houses had porches. Of particular interest is the “herringbone” technique of masonry in which stones are laid diagonally. The technique can be seen in the wall of a house from the Troia Ib building-phase, on account of its size and form.
The superstructures of the houses presumably consisted of sundried mudbricks or of timbers with mud-plastered wattle. The roofs, of which nothing survives, were flat and covered with mud.
Several infant-burials were discovered in the northern part of the trench, all in the crouched position. At this date the burial of infants within settlement areas was not uncommon.