Unexpected find in Troy uncovers hidden treasures under its walls! Golden brooch and rare stone challenge our understanding of the Bronze Age.
Troy has always been more than just an ancient city: it is a symbol. Immortalized by Homer in the Iliad, with heroes like Achilles, Hector, and Paris, its fame was built on the border between myth and archaeology. But on the hill of Hissarlik, in present-day Çanakkale (Turkey), the legendary crosses paths with the tangible. There, new excavations have unearthed a discovery that could rewrite part of what we know about the Bronze Age.
A responsible person found a gold brooch with spiral motifs, a bronze pin, and an extremely rare jade fragment. According to experts, these pieces are not simple ornaments: they are symbols of prestige and sophistication that speak of a more complex Troy than previously thought.
The gold brooch: power and status
Archaeologists have dated the brooch to around 2500 BC, within the layers known as Troy II. The object is not only one of the best-preserved of its kind, but it also joins a small group: there are only two similar pieces in the world.
The importance of the brooch goes beyond its rarity. By placing it chronologically, it resolves decades of academic debate on the dating of certain Troy strata and becomes a fixed point in the timeline of the region. In other words, it not only adorns the shelves of the Troy Museum: it helps to reconstruct the past with greater precision.
Jade in Troy: an unexpected luxury
As surprising as the brooch was the discovery of a jade fragment, a semi-precious material almost absent from the archaeological record of the region. This finding suggests that Troy was not only a local center but also part of long-distance trade networks, probably with Asia.
Jade was associated with elites and rituals, so its presence in Troy confirms the link between political power, cultural sophistication, and access to exotic goods. For a people of the time to possess such a stone implies broader cultural connections and a refined taste for the valuable.
Troy, a center of early civilization
The “Heritage for the Future” project, which sponsors the excavations, aims not only to rescue ancient objects but also to bring Anatolia’s cultural heritage back to life. With each discovery, Troy is shown less as a setting for a myth and more as a real crossroads of civilizations, where luxury, war, and trade intertwined thousands of years ago.
The Minister of Culture of Turkey, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, did not hesitate to state: “This discovery is one of the most important finds of the last hundred years in the legendary city of Troy.”
A treasure for humanity
The discovered pieces will be exhibited in the Troy Museum, opened in 2018. There, visitors from around the world will be able to see how a brooch, a pin, and a jade stone tell a story of power, sophistication, and global connections in a time when writing was still taking its first steps.
Troy reminds us once again that the past is never finished being told. Under its ruins lie chapters waiting to come to light, speaking to us of a humanity capable of dreaming, trading, and creating beauty over four millennia ago.
