Literary Troy was characterized by high walls and towers, summarized by the epithet "lofty Ilium."
Some other epithets were "well-walled," "with lofty gates," "with fine towers."
Any archaeological candidate for being the literary city would therefore have to show evidence for the walls and towers.
Schliemann's Troy fits this qualification very well.
High walls and towers are in evidence at every hand.
Hisarlik, the name of the hill on which Troy is situated, is Turkish for "the fortress."

The walls of Troy, first erected in the Bronze Age between at least 3000 and 2600 BC, were its main defense, as is true of almost any ancient city of urban size.
Whether Troy Zero featured walls is not yet known.
Some of the known walls were placed on virgin soil (see the archaeology section below).
The early date of the walls suggests that defense was important and warfare was a looming possibility right from the beginning.

The walls surround the citadel, extending for several hundred meters, and at the time they were built were over 17 feet (5.2 m) tall.
They were made of limestone, with watchtowers and brick ramparts, or elevated mounds that served as protective barriers.

The second run of excavations, under Korfmann, revealed that the walls of the first run were not the entire suite of walls for the city, and only partially represent the citadel.
According to Korfmann, "There was also a lower city that went with the Late Bronze Age Troja,...1750-1200 BCE."
This city had a perimeter 0f 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) end enclosed an area 16 times that of the citadel.
It was protected by a ditch surmounted by a wall of mud brick and wood.
Moreover, the citadel walls were surmounted by structures of mud brick.
The stone part of the walls currently in evidence were "...five meters thick and at least eight meters high - and over that a mudbrick superstructure several meters high...," which totals to about 15 metres (49 ft) for the citadel walls at about the time of the Trojan War.
The present-day walls of Troy, then, portray little of the ancient city's appearance, any more than bare foundations characterize a building.
Literary Troy was characterized by high walls and towers, summarized by the epithet "lofty Ilium." Some other epithets were "well-walled," "with lofty gates," "with fine towers." Any archaeological candidate for being the literary city would therefore have to show evidence for the walls and towers. Schliemann's Troy fits this qualification very well. High walls and towers are in evidence at every hand. Hisarlik, the name of the hill on which Troy is situated, is Turkish for "the fortress."
The walls of Troy, first erected in the Bronze Age between at least 3000 and 2600 BC, were its main defense, as is true of almost any ancient city of urban size. Whether Troy Zero featured walls is not yet known. Some of the known walls were placed on virgin soil (see the archaeology section below). The early date of the walls suggests that defense was important and warfare was a looming possibility right from the beginning.
The walls surround the citadel, extending for several hundred meters, and at the time they were built were over 17 feet (5.2 m) tall. They were made of limestone, with watchtowers and brick ramparts, or elevated mounds that served as protective barriers.
The second run of excavations, under Korfmann, revealed that the walls of the first run were not the entire suite of walls for the city, and only partially represent the citadel. According to Korfmann, "There was also a lower city that went with the Late Bronze Age Troja,...1750-1200 BCE." This city had a perimeter 0f 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) end enclosed an area 16 times that of the citadel. It was protected by a ditch surmounted by a wall of mud brick and wood. Moreover, the citadel walls were surmounted by structures of mud brick. The stone part of the walls currently in evidence were "...five meters thick and at least eight meters high - and over that a mudbrick superstructure several meters high...," which totals to about 15 metres (49 ft) for the citadel walls at about the time of the Trojan War. The present-day walls of Troy, then, portray little of the ancient city's appearance, any more than bare foundations characterize a building.
Troy