The boozy truth about life in Troy: Wine was an 'everyday drink' for almost EVERYONE in the ancient city, study finds

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In parts of the ancient word, wine has long been thought as a luxury reserved only for the elite. 

But a new study reveals the mighty ancient city of Troy may have been the exception.

Scientists in Germany have performed chemical analysis on drinking vessels uncovered in ruins of the settlement in western Turkey. 

Their findings prove for the first time that just about everyone in Troy was a wine drinker – whether or not they belonged to the upper classes or the common masses. 

The findings 'rewrite the story of wine' in the early Bronze Age, around 5,000 years ago. 

And they come as something as a surprise, as wine was the most expensive drink at the time.

'Wine was far from being reserved solely for the rich and powerful,' said study author Professor Stephan Blum, an archaeologist at the University of Tübingen. 

'It is clear that wine was an everyday drink for the common people too.'  

Their findings prove for the first time that just about everyone in Troy was a wine drinker – whether or not they belonged to the upper classes or the common masses. Pictured: Eric Bana and Orlando Bloom in the 2004 movie, Troy

Pictured, a depas goblet (depas amphikypellon), excavated by German archeologist Heinrich Schliemann in the 19th century, measuring about 6 inches (15cm) high. This was one type of goblet from which the people of Troy drank wine

Back in 1871, German archeologist Heinrich Schliemann discovered the legendary fortress city of Troy in western Turkey, near the Aegean coast. 

During excavations, Schliemann found several hundred gold and silver objects at Troy, including jewellery, masks, buttons, headwear, weapons and sculptures.  

But he was 'captivated' by a more humble item mentioned in Homer's Iliad – the Depas Amphikypellon, a distinctive Bronze Age drinking cup with two handles. 

'He discovered numerous cylindrical, double-handled goblets thought to be the cup mentioned in the epic tale,' said Professor Blum in a piece for The Conversation. 

'Schliemann believed the vessels had been used either for ritual wine offerings to the Olympian gods or, more likely, by the royal elite for drinking.

'These ceramic vessels were often made on the potter’s wheel, a technological innovation introduced from the near east during this period.' 

According to the team, more than 100 of these distinctive goblets have been found to date in Troy alone covering the period of 2500 to 2000 BC. 

Likely the characteristic double handles allowed the vessels to be passed easily between participants seated next to each other. 

Pictured, Depas Amphikypellon (two-handed drinking cup) found outside the citadel wall of Troy

The site of Troy was first settled in the Early Bronze Age, from around 3000 BC. Troy fell into ruin at the end of the Bronze Age, around 1180 BC

After analysing Depas Amphikypellon fragments, Professor Blum and colleagues found high concentrations of fruit acid traces 'indicative of regular use specifically for wine'.

Firstly, this proves for the first time that they were used for wine-drinking – something that was contested by Schliemann's contemporaries two centuries ago. 

But even more intriguingly, these same fruit acids were also found in remains of plainer cups and beakers from Troy that would have been used by common folk – suggesting wine-drinking was widespread throughout the classes. 

It also suggests any type of vessel would do for the act of wine-drinking – with no particular one set aside for the task. 

The team think farmers, craftsmen and other poorer people living in Toy’s outer settlements, further away from its important fortified citadel, consumed wine as 'an everyday drink'. 

Doing so could have been tied to religious practices, rituals and public banqueting, or simply just for pure enjoyment like today. 

It's surprising as written sources suggest wine was regarded as particularly precious during this time, according to Professor Blum. 

However, Troy was located in a region particularly favourable for the cultivation of wine, which means it would have been more widely available. 

In this image from the paper, (a) and (b) are the Depas Amphikypellon fragments; (c) and (d) are fragments of plainer cups/beakers 

The scientists found traces of grape products in both the standard cups/beakers as well as the Depas Amphikypellon fragments 

The ancient Greek poet Homer told the story of the ill-fated city of Troy and the great Trojan War (fought between the early Greeks and the people of Troy) in his powerful epic, the Iliad. This depicted building was part of Troy's important citadel (strongly fortified area)

The new study, published in American Journal of Archaeology, shows for the first time that wine-drinking in ancient Troy wasn't just for upper classes 'as has long been supposed'.

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'Further examinations at other sites could reveal whether a wider range of vessels were utilized for wine elsewhere,' the study authors say in their paper. 

'[This is] potentially challenging current assumptions about the distribution and consumption of wine during the third millennium BC.' 

The findings also shine more light onto the city of Troy, which was thought to have been purely mythical until Schliemann's discovery. 

The people of Troy fought the great Trojan War against the early Greeks, who famously deceived them with the Trojan Horse. 

Unbeknown to the Trojans, the wooden horse was filled with hidden Greek warriors who were able to enter and destroy the city, ending the war. 

About 400 years later Homer wrote his epic and the story has inspired spinoffs from Virgil's Aeneid, to Shakespeare's Troilus And Cressida and Berlioz's great opera The Trojans. 

What happened in the Trojan wars? 

On April 24, 1184 BC, Greek armies invaded the city of Troy, in modern day Turkey marking the end of the Trojan War.

The war had been sparked a decade prior when Helen, left her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta for Paris of Troy after Goddess Aphrodite made her 'fall in love' with him.

Menelaus convinced his brother Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, to travel to Troy to retrieve Helen. The pair were joined by Odysseus, Nestor and Ajax, and accompanied by a fleet of more than a thousand ships.

The siege lasted 10 years and was interspersed with battles, fights and deaths of legendary figures.

It ended when the Greek armies retreated from their camp, and left a large wooden horse outside the gates of Troy. 

Pictured, a Trojan Horse replica at Çanakkale, the site of ancient Troy, Turkey

Bemused Trojans pulled the 'gift' into the city, but when night fell, a group of Greek warriors climbed out and seiged Troy from within.

The tale has been retold through time, most famously in Homer's Iliad, which recounts the story of Odysseus' journey home to Itchaca.

For centuries, it was widely believed that both war and the city were mythological. 

However, now most scholars believe Troy was real in what is now Hissarlik in Turkey.