1 : Foundations of Troy

I’ve been collecting 28mm Trojan War figures for more than two decades – more than twice the length of the Trojan War! However, in that time I’ve never attempted to get any walls of Troy onto the tabletop. This, despite studying Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey at University. And loving the idea!

With sudden inspiration – or divine persuasion in some sort of Homeric way – I thought I’d produce a mock up and see how it looked.

There is no doubt that the Bronze Age archaeology of the Aegean region is truly phenomenal. Spectacular remains of Bronze Age fortifications still stand, particularly at the ancient capital-city sites of Troy and Mycenae and also at the Hittite capital, Hattusa.

My first Bronze Age fortification designs would be based on the great walls of Troy VI, located at the archaeological site of Hissarlik in Turkey. These are the most likely candidate for Homer’s Troy. The stone substructures are all that remain of the walls and towers. What was built on these mighty foundations we gleam mainly from contemporary decorative artwork – of the region but also of neighbouring conquering powers.

I based my first model on the fine illustration of the South Tower of Troy VI by Peter Connolly – I am tempted to say the great Peter Connolly for his visualisation of the Ancient World has been a revelation and inspiration to many. His painting has the kind of detail you mostly only dream of when turning History into a miniature so I was able to design a mock up fairly quickly.

The only major change I made was to choose not to have the stone substructure carry on all the way up to the walkway storey of the tower – the one with the doors. The general belief is that the superstructures built on top of the substantial stone substructures were timber-framed sun-dried mud-brick. As I had in effect changed a stone built section into a mud-brick one, I also enlarged the narrow slit windows and gave them timber frames.

I shared what I’d done on social media and very soon had more than 4,700 views of my news and lots of positive feedback plus notes of interest. It was clear that I wasn’t the only gamer with a Homeric interest!