Why did Heinrich Schliemann mistakenly identify Troy II as Homeric Troy?

Heinrich Schliemann mistakenly identified the second layer of the archaeological mound at Hisarlik (Troy II) as the Homeric Troy primarily due to his fervent, uncritical belief in the historical accuracy of Homer’s epics and his desire to find physical evidence of the Trojan War.12

When Schliemann uncovered the ruins of Troy II, he discovered a massive, fortified citadel that had been destroyed by a violent fire. Within the debris of this "burnt layer," he found a significant cache of gold, silver, copper, and bronze artifacts, which he famously dubbed "Priam’s Treasure". Driven by his conviction that the legendary city must be found in the lower levels of the mound, he concluded that this wealth and evidence of destruction confirmed the site as the capital of King Priam.12

However, later archaeological analysis revealed that Troy II predated the era of the Trojan War by centuries, and it is now widely accepted that the Troy described in the Iliad corresponds more closely to the later Troy VIIa layer.1