Museum finds drawings from Schliemann’s report on ancient Greek remains

Yoshiko Aoyama, The Asahi Shimbun, 27-11-2014

A museum here said it has confirmed 28 original drawings from German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann’s report on ancient Greek ruins that could shed light on the excavation of a fabled palace. Schliemann (1822-1890), who won fame for his discovery of the legendary city of Troy in Greek mythology, is also known for his unearthing of the remains of a Greek palace named Tiryns. The Tenri University Sankokan Museum said Nov. 26 the original drawings contain notes handwritten by Schliemann.

A report on the discovery of Tiryns featured drawings and other materials and was released in 1885. However, journals and other information describing the excavation of the ancient palace do not exist. Museum officials said the drawings they possess are precious primary historical materials that can explain what happened during the excavation process. “The drawings depict the remains and relics with extreme accuracy in terms of scale and other aspects. Their quality reaches the most advanced level in the 19th century, a developing era for archaeology,” said Yoshiyuki Suto, a professor of Greek archaeology at Nagoya University Graduate School. “Because they include detailed instructions for publishing the report, we can learn what processes the drawings underwent until the release of the report,” he added. The largest drawing is 49 centimeters by 68 cm.

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