The Trojan War was celebrated by legendary authors like Homer, who told the tale of the large wooden horse that tricked the soldiers of Troy.
In the stories, Paris, the son of a Trojan King, ran away with a Spartan’s wife named Helen; the Spartan’s brother then “led a Greek expedition against Troy,” according to Britannica.
War raged for a decade before the Greeks pretended to withdraw, hiding soldiers in the horse.
But was the Trojan War real? It’s described by Britannica as a “legendary conflict between the early Greeks and the people of Troy in western Anatolia,” probably in the 12th or 13th century. That’s present-day Turkey.
According to BBC, it’s generally believed that the Trojan War was a real event, despite its appearance in various works of literature.
Now a new excavation is shedding more light on that. The dig has already unearthed 3,500-year-old “sling stones” that match the right time frame, and that’s not all.
They’re providing clues that could flesh out the storyline of the Trojan War, and, thus, illuminate and potentially even rewrite history.
The sling stones “offer valuable insights into Bronze Age defense and attack strategies,” according to Hurriyet Daily News.
Archaeologists have “resumed excavations at the ancient city of Troy in modern-day Turkey, hoping to uncover new evidence” of the Trojan War, according to a July 9 article in Greek Reporter.
According to Greek Reporter, the lead archaeologist Rustem Aslan is focusing on “layers from the Late Bronze Age, specifically those associated with the city’s destruction around 1200 B.C.”
That’s the time period of the Trojan War, and the archaeologists want to “investigate areas between the agora, palace, and city walls,” the site reports.
The X page Arkeolojihaber (or “Archaeology Talks”) shared photos and wrote, “At the Troy Ancient City, included on the UNESCO World Heritage List, this year’s excavations focused on the Late Bronze Age and traces of the famous Trojan War.”
The site quoted Aslan as saying, “Our main goal this year is to uncover archaeological findings that point to the Trojan War, which everyone talks about and has been debated for centuries.”
The earliest days of the excavations produced “3,500-year-old sling stones” in front of a “palace structure,” the site reported, adding that “archaeologists are now searching for more evidence of the war in a destruction layer dated to around 1200 BC, which bears traces of fire. Arrowheads, war tools, and hastily buried skeletons carry traces of Troy’s dramatic past.”
According to Indian Defence Review, the excavation has discovered “destruction layers, filled with war tools and human remains that suggest signs of conflict,” quoting Aslan as saying, “These destruction layers contain war tools and disturbed human remains that could indicate conflict.”
Unearthed “weapons, charred remains, and other destruction debris” provide clues that “a violent event that may have led to Troy’s fall,” the site noted.
Related: Archaeologists Say They’ve Found a Legendary Pirate Ship, Rewriting History
Archaeologists Make New Trojan War Discovery That May Rewrite History first appeared on Men’s Journal on Jul 15, 2025
