Part One: Heinrich Schliemann: The Archaeologist Who Destroyed Troy

October 6, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

The Archaeologist Who Destroyed Troy

Heinrich Schliemann didn't just discover Troy—he wrecked it. The German businessman turned amateur archaeologist blasted through centuries of history with dynamite and pickaxes, destroying more of the ancient city than he ever preserved. But as this episode of Behind the Bastards makes clear, Schliemann was less a villainous exception than an extreme product of a particular moment in history: the era of the gentleman treasure hunter, when wealthy Europeans could ransack the world's cultural heritage with impunity, calling it science.

The Precedent: Giuseppe Ferlini and the Decapitated Pyramids

Before Schliemann, there was Giuseppe Ferlini, an Italian doctor turned treasure hunter who set a destructive precedent that Schliemann would follow. Born in 1797, Ferlini fled an abusive home as a young man, eventually working as a military doctor for Ottoman forces in Egypt. But medicine was never his real ambition—he wanted to get rich digging up ancient gold.

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What you'll learn

1 (00:05) **Episode Intro: The Worst People in History, But Fun** - Robert and guest Kristen Conger (Unladylike, Conspiracy She Wrote) promise a lighter episode about destructive old-timey archaeologists, not mass murder.
2 (05:25) **Warm-Up: The Context of Early Archaeology** - Robert explains that careful archaeology existed long before the 19th century, establishing that the vandals they'll discuss had no excuse.
3 (09:57) **Giuseppe Ferlini: From Army Doctor to Pyramid Hunter** - The story of an Italian adventurer who decides to get rich by ransacking Nubian pyramids.
4 (17:10) **The Decapitation of Queen Amane Shaketo's Pyramid** - Ferlini's impatience leads him to destroy a pyramid with dynamite, claiming he found a secret treasure chamber at the top.
5 (29:34) **The Aftermath of Ferlini's Lie** - Ferlini's lie about the treasure's location inspires a wave of copycats who destroy nearly every other pyramid in Sudan.
6 (35:51) **Heinrich Schliemann: The Man Who Would Find Troy** - Introduction to the episode's main subject, a man as destructive as Ferlini but who achieved lasting respect.
7 (38:36) **Schliemann's Fictionalized Youth** - Schliemann's autobiography is full of lies, including stories of a lost love who shared his passion for Troy.

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Show Notes

This week Robert delves into the background of the most destructive archaeologist in history: Heinrich Schlieman, who destroyed the city of Troy looking for the city of Troy.

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