Troy VII

Troy VIIa

Blegen dates 1275-1240, but could be as early as 1300/1280 and maybe have lasted until 1180

1190 date on the basis of possible LH IIIC imports
perhaps most likely date for Trojan War

reconstructed Troy VI fortifications, but no new fortifications after this
so the constant ongoing fortifications from 3000 BCE on came to a halt with Troy VIIa
some mansions reconstructed & reused, but some too badly damaged and so just built over
houses more densely packed than in Troy VI
dug pits in the floor to store pithoi, sealed by stone slabs (in one case weakened the floor so badly it collapsed)
most one storey high (but the floor collapsing one had 3 stories)
human skeletons absent from earlier destructions, esp. IIg and VIh, which means they were able to retrieve their dead. Not so in VIIa

who sacked Troy? Mycenaeans? maybe, if earthquakes/natural events at home, or destruction caused by absence of defenders
ppl from around the Danube, if Coarse Ware is evidence (maybe also responsible for Peloponnesian destructions), but small quantities, not great evidence

VIIb1
not sure why VIIa ended
houses commonly built right up against the walls on both sides, so they probably weren't meant too much as fortifications
destroyed by fire

not occupied again until late 8th century

Sieges a popular theme of art from 18th century on
MM II Knossos Town Mosaic
Silver Siege Rhyton from GCA
Room 5 West House north wall at Akrotiri
fragments of steatite rhyton from Epidauros
possibly a fragment of another from Knossos