Who is the persistent treasure hunter?

1830, an explorer and archaeologist in Germany saw this picture in the book Pictures of World History given to him by his father. At the age of eight, he was shocked by the story of Troy and attracted by the treasures that might be buried in this ancient city. He hopes to find them himself one day. He is Henry Schliemann. Although Homer's epic was only regarded as an early classic of human literature at that time, it was regarded as an illusory myth or legend. Historians trace the ancient Greek civilization back to the 8th century BC, but they don't agree with Homer's description of the Trojan War, but Sheriman stubbornly believes this. He was born in poverty and went through hardships, but he finally made a lot of money from the gold rush in the United States, and then invested in real estate business and sold arms during the Crimean War in Russia and the American Civil War, thus making huge profits and laying the foundation for future treasure hunting activities. In order to be able to read the original text of Homer's epic, he began to learn Greek from 1856. Inspired by this great dream, he quickly learned modern Greek, then mastered ancient Greek and married an Athenian girl Sophia, who was as beautiful as the legendary Helen.

1870, Sheriman took his Greek wife to Isaac Island and Salik along the Aegean Sea, and began to look for the ruins of the ancient castle he dreamed of for more than 40 years. While trying to get permission from the Turkish government at that time, Sheriman and eight workers started the excavation work. When he dug the first 2-meter-thick stone wall, Sheriman was not excited, but annoyed, because it was only the ruins of an ancient Greek city with a history of only 2,000 years, and Troy should be at least 1000 years earlier than it! Schliemann concluded that Troy was at the bottom. He is not interested in high-rise city ruins. He just wants to find Troy, Homer's real Troy.

So he decided to dig a 9-meter-deep vertical passage until 187 1 year. Schliemann ruthlessly destroyed the stratum with the same archaeological value, which made some scholars at that time very dissatisfied and called him "the second destroyer of Troy". But when the vertical passage was completed, he only found some relics identified as the Stone Age below. After half a year in vain, Sheriman had to change the direction of excavation. Soon, hope brought a miracle: he found some metal utensils and pottery pots one after another, especially a jar with an owl pattern, which made him very excited. Owl is the symbol of the goddess Athena, and it must have some connection with Troy sheltered by Athena.

1872 In the spring, Schliemann hired more than 120 workers, expanded the excavation scale, and dug a 40-meter-long trench that ran through the whole site, so he was ridiculed as "digging the Suez Canal, which is not like digging an archaeological site!" When he dug 12 meters, he found a very regular stone foundation. This should be the base of the castle, right? But Sheriman's hope was dashed again. This is still not the Trojan described by Homer.

Until one day in June of 1873, Sheriman finally discovered the first batch of treasures, among which two gorgeous gold crowns were the most precious, as well as necklaces, earrings, bracelets and buttons, silver and copper vases and various bronze weapons, totaling more than 9,000 pieces.

Sheriman firmly believes that he has found the legendary Priam Treasure, which was hidden by Priam, the last king of Troy, when the city fell. However, scholars at that time and later generations refuted him, thinking that what he discovered was an ancient city, and these treasures should belong to another king 1000 years earlier than Priam. Sheriman finally accepted this view, but the academic debate was not enough to erase Sheriman's achievements, and his persistent belief in Troy finally paid off.