"After having been buried for thirty-one centuries, and after successive nations have built their houses and palaces high above its summit during thousands of years, this Tower has now again been brought to light, and commands a view, if not of the whole Plain, at least of the northern part and of the Hellespont. May this sacred and sublime monument of Greek heroism forever attract the eyes of those who sail through the Hellespont! May it become a place to which the inquiring youth of all future generations shall make pilgrimage to fan their enthusiasms for knowledge, and above all for the noble language and literature of Greece! "Directly by the side of the Palace of King Priam I came upon a large copper article of the most remarkable form, which attracted my attention all the more as I thought I saw gold behind it. On the top of this copper article lay a stratum of red and calcined ruins, from four and three-quarters to five and one-quarter feet thick, as hard as stone, and above this again lay a wall of fortification (six feet broad and twenty feet high) which was built of large stones and earth, and must have belonged to an early date after the destruction of Troy. In order to withdraw the Treasure from the greed of my workmen, and to save it for archæology, I had to be most expeditious, and although it was not yet time for breakfast, I immediately had breakfast called. While the men were eating and resting I cut out the Treasure with a large knife, which it was impossible to do without the very greatest exertion and the most fearful risk of my life, for the great fortification wall, beneath which I had to dig, threatened every moment to fall down upon me. But the sight of so many objects, every one of which is of inestimable value to archæology, made me foolhardy, and I never thought of any danger. It would, however, have been impossible for me to have removed the Treasure without the help of my dear wife, who stood by me ready to pack the things which I cut out in her shawl and to carry them away. [Illustration: TREASURES OF PRIAM.] "The first thing I found was a large copper shield, in the form of an oval salver, in the middle of which is a knob or boss encircled by a small furrow. It is a little less than twenty inches in length, is quite flat, and surrounded by a rim one and one-half inches high; the boss is two and one-third inches high and four and one-third inches in diameter; the furrow encircling it is seven inches in diameter and two-fifths of an inch deep. This round shield of copper (or bronze?) with its central boss, and the furrow and rim so suitable for holding together a covering of ox-hides, reminds one irresistibly of the seven-fold shield of Ajax (_Iliad_ vii. 219-223):