Heinrich Schliemann and the history of prehistoric research in Greece

The project focuses on research into the history of prehistoric archaeology in the Aegean. Particular attention is paid to Heinrich Schliemann and his staff, with research focusing on the Austrian architect Josef Höfler, who collaborated with Wilhelm Dörpfeld as an architect at Schliemann’s excavations at Troy in 1882. Apart from working on Josef Höfler’s biography, the diary which he kept during his employment at Troy will be transcribed and analysed. Since neither Schliemann’s copybooks nor his diaries have been preserved from the excavation campaign of 1882, Höfler’s records might provide new insights into Schliemann’s research in Troy.

Emphasis is also placed on Schliemann's connections to Austria and here, above all, to Vienna, which have so far received hardly any attention. For example, Schliemann bought some of the furniture for his Athenian residence »Iliou Melathron« from the »k. k. österreichischer und königlich rumänischer Hof-Kunsttischler« Bernhard Ludwig. He also bought the piano, which was an essential part of an upper-class household, in Vienna at the prestigious »k.k. Hof & Kammer-Pianoforte-Fabrikant« Emil Streicher.