WINE-DRINKING in ancient Troy was not restricted to the upper classes, as has long been supposed — something our new research has established for the first time. Colleagues at the University of Tubingen and I have discovered that wine was also enjoyed by the common folk, independent of upper-class celebrations and religious rituals.

In the late 19th century, German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann (1822-1890) excavated the ancient city of Troy. He was hoping to discover the residence of Priam, the king of the city besieged by the Greek army under Agamemnon, as immortalised by Homer in the Iliad.

Among Schliemann’s most outstanding achievements was — alongside the identification of the site of Troy itself — undoubtedly the discovery of the so-called “treasure of Priam.”