Frank Calvert (1828–1908) was an English consular official in the eastern Mediterranean region and an amateur archaeologist. He began exploratory excavations on the mound at Hisarlık (the site of the ancient city of Troy), seven years before the arrival of Heinrich Schliemann.
Early life and education Frank Calvert was born into an English Levantine family on Malta, at that time a British naval base, in 1828. He was the youngest of six sons and one daughter born to James Calvert (1778–1852) and Louisa Ann Lander (1792–1867). His mother was the sister of Charles Alexander Lander, James' business partner. In social standing they were of the aristocracy. His father was a distant relative of the Calverts, who had founded Baltimore, Maryland, and Louisa was a direct descendant of the Campbells of Argyll (Scottish clansmen). Not having inherited any wealth, his parents took to the colonies, married in Ottoman Smyrna in 1815, and settled in Malta, which had changed hands from the French colonial empire to the British Empire with the Treaty of Paris (1814). They associated with the "privileged" social circles of Malta, but they were poor. Frank's father James clerked in the mail and grain offices of the Civil Service.
Career Frank was overshadowed by his elder siblings and became involved with the careers of his elder, more flamboyant brothers. He remained unmarried, and had an enduring passion for the Homeric epics and a firm belief that the myths were history, not fiction.
In 1847, his brother Frederick had bought a farm of over 2,000 acres (8 km2) at Akca Koy which included part of mound of Hisarlik in a momentous acquisition. As early as 1822, Hisarlik had been identified by Charles Maclaren as a possible site of Homeric Troy.Hisarlık – Britannica Online Encyclopedia at www.britannica.com
Frank supported his brothers' careers. In 1855, while Frederick was completely engrossed in affairs related to the Crimean War, Frank continued to produce the bulk of official consular correspondence in French and English. On occasion in 1856 and 1858, Frank stood in for Frederick as acting British consul. After standing in for his brother James, Frank in 1874 eventually succeeded him as United States Consular agent, an unpaid position that he held for the rest of his life. Occasionally, he served on local mixed European and Turkish tribunals, assuming from time to time the title of acting British consul.
Apart from performing his consular duties, Calvert carried on careful, exploratory excavations on the family-owned land which incorporated the mound of Hisarlik. He was convinced that this was the site of the ancient city of Troy. In 1908 he died and was never officially associated with the discovery of Troy.
Troy In the field of archaeology, Calvert has been a mere shadow compared to his partner Heinrich Schliemann, who was later accused of manipulating and taking advantage of Calvert. Schliemann had a significantly larger budget than Calvert, and frequently used it to his advantage. Calvert was also shy about his educational experience because he was self-taught. At an early age he began visiting ancient sites, understanding different cultures and learning how they lived. In his teens he visited sites such as Corfu, Athens, Egypt, Brindisi and others, but he mostly stayed in the Troad, the region of Asia Minor believed to have been under Trojan rule.
At the time Schliemann began excavating in Turkey, the site commonly believed to be Troy was at Pınarbaşı, a hilltop at the south end of the Trojan Plain. Schliemann performed soundings at Pınarbaşı, but was disappointed by his findings. Schliemann did not know where to look for Troy and was about to give up his exploration altogether. It was not until Calvert suggested excavating the mound of Hissarlik that Schliemann made any moves to dig at the site. Calvert had already searched in the mound, but he never made it down to the Bronze Age layers; still, he was determined Troy was buried somewhere within the mound.Sture Linnér, "Europas Ungtid" (Wahlström och Widstrand), 2002
Schliemann and Calvert found not only the possible site of Troy but thousands of artefacts such as diadems of woven gold, rings, bracelets, intricate earrings and necklaces, buttons, belts and brooches as well as anthropomorphic figures, bowls and vessels for perfumed oils.
Legacy Calvert's work on Troy is mentioned in the 1985 BBC TV series In Search of the Trojan War, written and presented by Michael Wood.
In 1996 American and British heirs to Calvert sought ownership of a portion of the treasure found by Schliemann on Calvert's land (Calvert only owned half the mound).
The Calverts
The family regarded itself as a single enterprise. They shared property, assisted each other, lived together and had common interests, one of which was the antiquities of the Troad. They did not do well in Malta, but in 1829 the Dardanelles region underwent an upswing of its business cycle due to historical circumstances. The Greek War of Independence was about to be concluded in favor of an independent state by the Treaty of Constantinople (1832). The Levant Company, which had had a monopoly on trade through the Dardanelles, was terminated. The price in pounds of the Turkish piastre fell. A manyfold increase in British traffic through straits was anticipated. A new type of job suddenly appeared: British Consul in the Dardanelles, which brought wealth with it.By Ottoman law every ship entering the Dardanelles from the Aegean must stop at Çanakkale to acquire one or more firmans or permissions for a fee. The total bill included other fees as well. The Turkish officials did not themselves service the ships. Instead they allowed each nation to hire a resident consul or consular agent to reside in Çanakkale and greet and service each ship as it came in. They were allowed to apply a schedule of consular fees in addition for this service. One individual might be an agent for more than one nation. Hard-working agents such as the Calverts grew rich on the fees, regardless of whether they were also paid a salary. Agents were not subject to Turkish law, but they might be removed if complaints of extortion or skimming the Turkish fees were made. The best and richest of the agents made themselves as charismatic as possible by living an ostentatious life, throwing parties and dinners, staging hunting expeditions, loaning money to the natives and just generally being charitable and sympathetic. Large numbers of these agents were soon found in most of the Mediterranean ports of the Ottoman Empire. It was a way to get rich quick. A recent study of these consular positions and men who filled them can be found in
Charles Lander Charles Lander applied, and was made British Consul of the Dardanelles in 1829. He spoke five languages, knew the region well, and had the best connections. A row of new consular offices was being constructed in Çanakkale along the shore of the strait. He was at first poor. In 1833 he bought a house in town ample enough to invite his sister's sons to join him in the enterprise. Without exception they left home at 16 to be tutored in the trade at their uncle's house and placed in lucrative consular positions. Frederick, the eldest, stayed on to assist Charles. The youngest, Frank, at school in Athens, arrived last, but his interest in archaeology led him into a different career.
Çanakkale was a boom town. In 1831 Lander married Adele, a brief but idyllic relationship that gave them three daughters in quick succession. When the Calverts began to arrive, finding quarters in the crowded town proved to be difficult. The Turkish building code requiring buildings of wood, conflagrations were frequent. The family escaped one fire with nothing but the clothes they were wearing. Lander's collection of books on the Troad was totally destroyed. In 1840 Lander suffered a tragedy when his wife, Adele, died in her 40s, leaving three small children. He chose this time to settle his estate, making Frederick his legal heir, guardian of his children, and co-executor (along with himself).
Lander dedicated himself to the consular service, leaving the details of the estate and its responsibilities to Frederick. The family grew wealthy on the fees paid by the ships they serviced. When Frank arrived in 1845 with his sister he had nothing much to do. By this time the family had a new library. Using its books Frank explored the Troad. He and Lander became collectors. The women in the family took a supportive role as well.
Frederick Calvert Lander died in 1846 of a fever endemic to the region, leaving Frederick as executor of the will and head of the family. In 1847 he assumed his uncle's consular position. He was also an agent of Lloyd's of London, which insured ship cargos. Despite Frank's youth he began to play an important role in the family consular business, especially when Frederick was away. A few years prior to the death of Lander, the population of Çanakkale was on the rise, from 10,000 in 1800 to 11,000 in 1842. The British numbered about 40 families. The increase in ship traffic meant prosperity for the Calverts, who expedited the ships of several nations, including the United States. They had other ambitions: James William Whittall, British consul in Smyrna, was spreading his doctrine of the "Trojan Colonization Society," (never more than an idea) which was influential on the Calverts, whom he visited.
Calvert investments in the Troad In 1847 Frederick invested the profits of the family business in two large tracts in the Troad, amounting to many thousands of acres.Legally he was accessing the Lander money as trustee for the children. The properties were in his wife's name, as foreign males were not allowed to own real estate. Deeds were quitclaim. He founded a company, Calvert Bros. and Co., an "extended family company." The first purchase was a farm at Erenköy, on the coast about half-way between Çanakkale and Troy. Frederick used it as a station for ships that could not make Çanakkale. The area was a target for Greek immigration. The family became money-lenders, lending only to Greeks at rates considered high (20%).
Frederick also bought a farm he intended to work, the Batak Farm (named for the Batak wetlands), later changed by Frank to Thymbra Farm, because he believed it was the site of Homeric Thymbra, after which the Thymbra Gate of Homeric Troy had been named. It was located at an abandoned village called Akça Köy, to the southeast of Hisarlik. The farm was the last of the village. It harvested and marketed the cups and acorns of Quercus macrolepis, the Valonia Oak, from which valonia, a compound used in dyeing and tanning, is extracted. The farm also raised cotton and wheat and bred horses. Frederick introduced the plough and drained the wetlands. The farm eventually became famous as a way station for archaeologists and the home of the Calvert collection of antiquities, which Frank kept locked in a hidden room. The main house, featuring multiple guest bedrooms, was situated on a low ridge in a compound with several outbuildings. It was more of a manor, operated by farm workers and domestic servants.
In 1850–1852 Frederick solved the residence problem by having a mansion built for him in Çanakkale. Two Turkish houses were said to have been put together, but Turkish houses were required to be of wood. This one was of massive stone, which was permitted to foreigners, and was placed partly on fill jetting into the straits. It probably was the length of two Turkish houses. It remained the major building of the town until it was removed in 1942, due to earlier earthquake damage. The last of the Calvert descendants still in the region had ceded it to the town in 1939. The Town Hall was then built on the site. The mansion's extensive gardens became a public park.