The history of Troy, identified archaeologically with the multi-layered mound of Hisarlık in north-west Anatolia, spans more than three millennia of occupation, transformation, and memory. From its earliest Early Bronze Age settlement (circa 3000 BCE) through its Late Bronze Age prosperity, Classical and Roman refoundations, and eventual role as a focal point of modern archaeology, Troy has occupied a unique position at the crossroads of the Aegean and Anatolian worlds. This timeline integrates archaeological evidence, historical sources, and the enduring legacy of Homeric epic to trace the site’s evolution from fortified citadel to cultural symbol, highlighting key phases of construction, destruction, and rediscovery.

circa 3000 BCE- 300 CE

3000 BCE – Earliest occupation of Hisarlık (Troy I)
Archaeological layers at the tell of Hisarlık show continuous or repeated habitation beginning in the Early Bronze Age, with the horizon commonly labelled Troy I representing the first substantial settlement activity in the mound area. These early phases establish the site’s long-term strategic position overlooking the Dardanelles plain.

2600–2250 BCE – Troy II: urban development and fortifications
During the Troy II horizon the settlement expands materially and architecturally: evidence includes stronger stone foundations, defensive works, and richer funerary assemblages indicating increased wealth and interregional links across the Aegean and Anatolia.

2250–1700 BCE – Troy III–IV: continuity and cultural change
Troy III and Troy IV record continuity with evolving domestic architecture, craft specializations, and changing burial practices that reflect wider Bronze Age socio-economic shifts in western Anatolia.

circa 1700–1250 BCE – Troy VI: peak Late Bronze Age prosperity
The city often identified with Troy VI shows massive stone walls, multi-storey houses, and evidence of urban prosperity consistent with an important Late Bronze Age centre in the Troad. Troy VI is widely regarded as one of the most structurally impressive Late Bronze Age occupations at Hisarlık.

circa 1250–1180 BCE – Troy VIIa: destruction horizon (probable Late Bronze Age conflict)
Troy VIIa shows a phase of burning, destruction debris, and rapid reoccupation consistent with a violent event or series of events in the late Late Bronze Age. Because Troy VIIa is roughly contemporary with the collapse of Mycenaean palatial centres, many scholars consider it the best archaeologically attested candidate for the historical background to Homeric traditions about a Late Bronze Age siege.

circa eighth century BCE – Homeric composition and the memory of Troy
The Iliad and the Odyssey, conventionally attributed to Homer, were composed in the archaic period (circa eighth century BCE) and crystallized oral memories of Bronze Age conflict into the epic narratives that later classical authors and artists used to frame the identity of “Troy”. These poems are literary products shaped by centuries of oral tradition rather than direct archaeological reports.

seventh century BCE–first century BCE – Classical and Hellenistic Ilion
From the Archaic and Classical periods onward, the Troad saw repeated habitation and cultural refoundation under Greek influence; the site is referred to as Ilion in Classical sources and retains strategic and cultic importance through the Hellenistic era.

first century BCE–third century CE – Roman refoundation and urban continuity
Under Roman rule (during late republican and imperial periods) the site and region continued to be occupied and integrated into imperial networks; archaeological layers attest to Roman-period rebuilding, civic architecture, and settlement continuity in the landscape traditionally linked with the Trojan past.

1870s–1930s – Modern archaeology: Schliemann, Dörpfeld and Blegen
Heinrich Schliemann began large-scale excavations at Hisarlık in 1870, followed by Wilhelm Dörpfeld and later by Carl Blegen and others in the twentieth century. These investigators established the multilayered stratigraphy of the tell and demonstrated that “Troy” is not a single city but a sequence of settlements spanning millennia. Modern methodological critiques have revised some early interpretations, but the cumulative fieldwork created the site’s modern archaeological framework.

1998 CE – UNESCO World Heritage inscription and continued research
The Archaeological Site of Troy (Hisarlık) was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List for its outstanding archaeological record of interaction between Anatolia and the Aegean world. Excavations and landscape studies continue with new techniques (e.g., geophysics, refined stratigraphic analysis) that refine the site chronology and its regional context.