‘Accessible’ travel area to open in Troy

ÇANAKKALE – Anadolu Agency

AA Photo

An “accessible open area” is to be developed at the ancient site of Troy, located within the borders of the Tevfikiye village in Turkey’s northwestern province of Çanakkale. 

The current head of ongoing excavations at Troy, Professor Rüstem Aslan, held a press conference at the ancient site in which he said wooden tracks would be established for people to visit the ancient city without touching or damaging anything. 

The designated walking routes of visitors will be changed and lengthened, Aslan said. “The new track will be longer. People will spend more time in Troy. This track will be completely wooden and visitors will be able to view the site without entering the ancient areas,” he said, adding that the new track would also accommodate disabled people.  

“Museums have applications for visually and hearing-impaired people. But there is no ancient city in the world designed for the disabled. So Troy ancient city will be the first. Hearing impaired people will be able to touch and listen here. They will be able to touch the walls and understand its size. A hand signal system will be made for the hearing-impaired people. We will create an accessible Troy,” Aslan said.

Proving the Trojan War

The excavations head also said this year’s work was ongoing in the fillet soil of the defense and palace structures inside the Troy Castle. He said that they had unearthed many archaeological structures so far and carried out the most comprehensive plant cover cleaning in order for the ancient artefacts to be seen properly. 

Aslan said the excavations in the ancient city would continue over the coming years and the team’s biggest goal is to prove the Trojan War. 

“The Trojan War is proved in written documents, but we don’t have a written document. We could prove it with findings in the graves here, but we have not found Homer-era graves so far. The biggest mystery is the location of Troy’s grace. We have very strong clues this year. I believe we will be able to shed light on this mystery over the next few years,” he added.