Lost and Found: The 9,000 Treasures of Troy : Heinrich Schliemann and the Gold That Got Away

by Caroline Moorehead

Describes the discovery of the lost gold of ancient Troy in 1873 and its recent reemergence in Moscow

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, Archaeology, Greece, Ancient History, Germany

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Caroline Moorehead is the New York Times bestselling author of Village of Secrets: Defying the Nazis in Vichy France; A Train in Winter: An Extraordinary Story of Women, Friendship, and Resistance in Occupied France; and Human Cargo: A Journey Among Refugees, which was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. An acclaimed biographer, Moorehead has also written for the New York Review of Books, the Guardian, the Times, and the Independent. She lives in London and Italy.

Reviews

[Katharine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book fell into two halves, the first a biography of Heinrich Schliemann the treasure hunter/archaeologist who discovered the site of Homer's Troy and the second the complex fate of the treasure he found there. Both of these were very interesting stories but it almost felt as if the second shorter section deserved a book on its own. That's a minor quibble as Caroline Moorehead did an excellent job of bringing Schliemann to life, a deeply flawed individual but heroic in his own way. A fascinating read.

[Nora · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I enjoyed this so much because I read it in France when I didn't have any other english books. I wanted to slap Schliemann most of the time though.

[Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of Heinrich Schliemann, the controversial "archaeologist," and his purported discovery of the city of Troy and its treasures. I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about Schleimann's early life and business acumen. He was quite a remarkable character. His treasures were given to Germany and they were ultimately looted by the Russians during the siege in Berlin at the end of WWII. The treasures are now spread throughout the world in various museums as well as in the vaults of Russia. Many countries want them returned to their proper owners. A fun read.

[Bernie4444 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let us look at Schliemann the way that Caroline Morrehead does.

You already know who Heinrich Schliemann is and probably formed an opinion about his excavation methods. But did you ever ask yourself where his gold has gone?

Luckily the book starts from scratch with who Schliemann is and how he obtained his booty; so, you will not have to pick up other books to find out the background of where this story is going.

It helps if you have read the Iliad to get a background on where the gold came from originally; however, Carolyn Morehead also covers this information in general.

The book contains black-and-white photos of Schliemann, and his family sketches of the gold were found in pictures of important places such as Berlin in 1945.

There is a small, selected bibliography but it is still useful as you will recognize most of the books that are in it.

As many documentaries or books, you might have read on Schliemann whether on purpose or in passing, they never really address what happened to the gold so this book by Carolyn Morehead is a must-read.

[Grindy Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew that Heinrich Schliemann's digs at Troy were seminal to archaeology, but that's it. This charming volume expanded greatly not just my sense of the man and his work, but also something of Homer and the Iliad. You can stop reading when the subject turns to the WW2 looting, it's remedial and has been talked about in other much better works.

[anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

actually made me care for someone who i hated! kind of deviates near the end for 30ish pages about warfare and dead animals which was weird, but besides that great biography about a figure who a lot of people know of but don’t know anything about

[Kyle Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a comprehensive story of Heinrich Schliemann and his work in Troy, Mycenae, and other archeological sites. It presents an extensive view of him. A good deal of research has gone into this book.

[حسن · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ce sont les récentes recherches archéologiques du Professeur Manfred Korfmenn et ses fameux scanners souterrains et brillants indices topographiques qui m'ont conduit à Schliemann, la source. Fascinant personnage qui ne nous laisse pas indifférent, mais qu'il faut surtout juger dans le contexte du 19ème siècle, bien avant que l'archéologie devienne une science aux méthodes méticuleuses, bien cadrée et poursuivie par des gouvernements et des instituts académiques. Rappelez vous de la découverte des Amériques, autant qu'on tente de faire le portrait d'un aventurier et curieux géographe de l'Amiral Colombus, c'était à la base une expédition motivée par le rêve alléchant de fortunes promises pour la Reine en échange du financement du voyage, et de missions militaires pour l'expansion territoriale du Royaume .. de Howard Carter, le découvreur amateur du tombeau de Tut dans la vallée des Rois en Egypte qui a presque ruiné la momie en la disséquant, tout comme beaucoup d'autres amateurs d'histoire ancienne financés par riches hommes d'affaires et nobles exubérants qu'on nommait d'ailleurs chasseurs de trésors, voire pilleurs de patrimoines ect ..un siècle de colonisation du Sud où tant d'auto-proclamés chercheurs ont creusé à Jérusalem (en recherche de l'arc du covenant, du Graal,) mais frustrés ont tenté de fuir avec d'autres trouvailles précieuses extraites de fouilles illégales.. Des murs des ruines de la Mésopotamie transportés et conservés à Berlin, des momies au Louvre ..
Les magouilles de Schliemann à l'égard de la Turquie, autant condamnables, sont compréhensibles.. C'est une pathologie observable chez beaucoup de collectionneurs, à force de se passionner ils veulent s'approprier ce qui leur semble 'un droit naturel'.
Un livre qui se lit comme on regarde un film au sujet passionnant, la cité perdue de Troie et son trésor décrit dans l'Iliade de Homère..

[Bernie4444 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let us look at Schliemann the way that Caroline Moorehead does.

You already know who Heinrich Schliemann is and probably formed an opinion about his excavation methods. But did you ever ask yourself where his gold has gone?

Luckily the book starts from scratch with who Schliemann is and how he obtained his booty; so, you will not have to pick up other books to find out the background of where this story is going.

It helps if you have read the Iliad to get a background on where the gold came from originally; however, Carolyn Morehead also covers this information in general.

The book contains black-and-white photos of Schliemann, and his family sketches of the gold were found in pictures of important places such as Berlin in 1945.

There is a small, selected bibliography but it is still useful as you will recognize most of the books that are in it.

As with many documentaries or books, you might have read on Schliemann whether on purpose or in passing, they never really address what happened to the gold so this book by Carolyn Morehead is a must-read.

[Kent Fortin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Schliemann gives this author fits. She can’t quite bring herself to praise him, with every plaudit parenthesized between doubts or detractions. I’m going to have to read another book about him to see whether that is merely this author’s bias, but if you’re looking for a picture of how Schliemann’s record and reputation have been complicated, questioned, debated between his own day and ours, this book does good work presenting that.

It’s all spectacular stuff. The context of archaeological discovery and plundering and intrigue in the latter half of the 19th century - spectacular. His life story - spectacular. His discoveries - spectacular. And the historical footnote of what happened to the treasure in the latter half of the 20th century? A spectacular footnote. Worth its own book (The Monuments Men - Edsel, in fact). Just saying - high drama here, there, everywhere. Worth reading because these stories are worth knowing.

If you haven’t read The Iliad first (probably The Odyssey, too), consider doing so.

[Darkpool · Rating 4 out of 5]

There may well be better biographies of Schliemann available, but this is the one I read. I really enjoyed it, and found it a quite gripping tale. This edition was obviously written before the treasures came to light in Moscow, and I believe there is a more recent edition (with a slightly different name)that includes that part of the story as well. Oddly enough, some of the most memorable parts of the story for me involved Schliemann's time in the Americas, rather than his excavations.

[Sandy]

Must read this fascinating book on Schliemann and his archeological finds at Troy! I loved Schliemann and remember reading about him in Gods, Graces and Scholars at NMH..... goodie goodie, another great archeology book find. Haven't read one in years!

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't put it down. I wanted to shake Schliemann and applaud him at the same time.