Corbis

The contention between the Korfmannites and the Kolbians began with a recently concluded traveling exhibit called Troy—Dream and Reality, which drew over a million visitors. The exhibit was supervised by Korfmann and presented his interpretation of the mound of Hisarlik (shown here), which he identifies as ancient Troy. Of Hisarlik/Troy’s ten occupation levels, extending from 3000 B.C. to 1300 A.D., the one most likely to be the city described by Homer is Late Bronze Age Troy (14th‒13th centuries B.C.), which comes at the end of Troy VI (1700‒1230 B.C.). To Korfmann, Troy VI was a prosperous commercial city—perhaps even the center of a trade federation—with a high walled citadel surrounded by a moat and a lower city populated by merchants, craftsmen, artisans and workers (as in the drawing, which accompanied the exhibition). Korfmann’s critics charge that he has vastly over-rated the site—claiming that there is no evidence of a lower city or substantial trade relations.