Abstract
The leaders of the University of Cincinnati Expedition to the Troad – Carl W. Blegen, Marion Rawson, and John L. Caskey – have their names emblazoned on the covers of all four double-volumes of the final publication, and they are remembered for their excavation at the legendary site of Troy. Yet little is written about the scores of local workers who conducted the actual digging, even though more than 100 served at several points during the seven seasons between 1932–1938. Blegen does briefly thank them in the introduction of the first volume, and he singles out by name Kâni Barin, who participated in all seven seasons, the last four as foreman. The workers also appear in several published photographs, but only as incidental figures. A single photograph – showing pot washers – specifically focuses on them.
In an attempt to shine a light on these workers, I examine one individual, the aforementioned Kâni Barin, because his experiences – including those before the excavation – mirror those of his fellow workers, nearly all of whom were refugees following the 1923 Compulsory Population Exchange between Greece and Türkiye. The sources for Kâni and the other workers include hitherto unexamined archival records from the Troy collection in the Archives and Special Collections of the Department of Classics at the University of Cincinnati, and this collection includes financial records for each season listing every expense, including labor. Notebooks, unpublished photographs, and two papers that Blegen delivered to a private club in Cincinnati also contribute to ‘digging up’ the workers at Troy.