Troy Treasures Still Spark Controversy

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Milliyet Newspaper, 11 December 2017)


Schliemann adorned his wife Sofia (but he called her by his
pet name Helen (!)), with gold he stole from Troy.

A report by the Turkish authority charged with returning stolen historical
artifacts to the country has revealed that the effort involving priceless
items related to Troy involves Turkey, Russia and Germany.   The report
identifies the first person to spirit such treasures away from the soil of
the Ottoman Empire as Heinrich Schliemann, who was given permission
to dig at, first, Hisarlık in Çanakkale, and, subsequently, at Troy, beginning
in 1868.

In 1873 Schliemann secretly sent 155 gold, silver and "elektron" items
like jewelry, cups, copper and bronze weapons and tools he found at
Troy to Athens.  These items were subsequently exhibited in England
and then sent to the Berlin Museum.  The Ottoman State filed suit against
Schliemann, who was fined 10,000 francs.  In April 1875 Schliemann
sent 50,000 francs to the Ottoman Ministry of Education for the money
to be used at the Müze-i Hümayun (Museum of the Sultan) in Istanbul.


     What did he bring home to Angelina?...

A portion of Troy's treasures found its way to Russia and in 1990 it was
learned that these items were being held in the Moscow-Pushkin and
St. Petersburg Hermitage Museums.  The 16th paragraph of the friendship
treaty between Germany and the Soviet Union signed in 1991, to which
Turkey was a participant, stipulated that the Troy treasures in Russia
would be returned to Germany. 

The Russian Parliament, though, claimed that such items were Russian
property and this law was passed on the third try, after Boris Yeltsin had
vetoed it twice.  Consequently, the Troy treasures remain in Russia to
this day.  The visit of Valdimir Putin to Ankara on 11 December might
be an opportunity to raise this issue, according to the Minister of Culture
and Tourism Numan Kurtulmuş.

Some items from Troy, including 24 pieces of gold jewelry, were held
in the University of Pennsylvania Museum, after having been purchased
in 1966.  These items have been returned to Turkey and are currently
being held at the Ankara Anatolia Civilization Museum until the planned
museum at Troy is finished.