Hisarlk

Hisarlk, often written Hisarlık in Turkish, is an archaeological tell in western Turkey traditionally identified with the ancient city of Troy. Located on the plain near the village of Tevfikiye in Çanakkale Province, the hill rises above the Aegean coastal plain near the Dardanelles. The name derives from Turkish terms meaning fortress or castle on a hill.

Extensive excavations at Hisarlk revealed a sequence of settlements dating from the Early Bronze Age through the Byzantine era. The site is closely associated with the legendary Trojan War and has yielded remains of substantial fortifications, city walls, gates, and multiple urban phases. Its layered occupation indicates long-term urban development and complex interactions with the broader Aegean and eastern Mediterranean world.

Scholars classify Troy’s occupation into a series of epochs, commonly labeled Troy I through Troy VII, spanning roughly from the late Bronze Age to the early Iron Age. The best-known destruction events correspond to the late Bronze Age and the fall of Troy VII around the 12th century BCE, though precise dating and causal relationships remain debated among researchers.

Significant excavations began under Heinrich Schliemann in the 1870s, followed by Wilhelm Dörpfeld, and later by Carl Blegen and Manfred Korfmann, among others. Together, these campaigns established the extent of fortifications and urban planning, and reinforced Troy’s role as a major trading center linking the Aegean world with Anatolia and the Levant.

Today, Hisarlk is part of the Troia Archaeological Site, a UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed in 1998. It is protected as part of Turkey’s national heritage, with a nearby museum and facilities that present finds from the excavations. The site remains a focal point for studies of Bronze Age Anatolia and classical literature.