As late as the 19th century, historians and archaeologists were convinced that the Trojan War and Troy itself did not exist. The city was thought to be part of a myth. The situation changed when a wealthy German industrialist, Heinrich Schlieman, began his search for ancient Troy, fulfilling his youthful dream of discovering it.
He began his excavations in 1871 at the site described by Homer - near the Skamander River, opposite Gallipoli in modern Turkey. He soon discovered the ruins of the legendary city - not one, as it turned out, but nine.
