Heinrich Schliemann was a German businessman and a pioneering figure in the field of archaeology. He was a fervent advocate for the historical reality of places mentioned in the works of Homer and an important excavator of Hisarlik, now presumed to be the site of Troy. Along with his work at Troy, Schliemann also excavated the Mycenaean sites of Mycenae and Tiryns. Despite modern criticism of his archaeological methods, his work lent material evidence to the stories of the Trojan War and the Bronze Age Aegean civilizations.