The New Trojan Wars

German scholars are locked in furious argument over a 3,000-year-old settlement. Was the mound at Hisarlik, in northwestern Anatolia, the site of a huge, prosperous, commercial city during the Late Bronze Age—even the site of Homer’s Troy? Or was it just a tiny backwater, perhaps a 017nobleman’s country estate? All Germany seems fascinated by the debate. Whatever the outcome, reputations will be besmirched and archaeological methods will be reconsidered. The dispute is now as much about media attention and politics as it is about Troy.