comparison

In his eagerness to find a city worthy of Priam, the German archaeologist Schliemann cut through Troy and uncovered a civilization a thousand years older as was the city Homer's heroes knew.

A. older as was the city Homer's heroes knew

B. more ancient than the city known to Hoomer's heroes

C. older than was the city known to Homer's heroes

D. more ancient of a city than Homer's heroes knew

E. older of a city than was the one known to Homer's heroes

Could any NN kindly tell me the exact reason why C is wrong.

给你做个参考：

old， ancient， archaic， antediluvian， obsolete， antique， antiquated
These adjectives describe what belongs to or dates from an earlier time or period.
这些形容词用来描绘那些属于或可追溯到一较早时间或较早时期的东西。
Old  is the most general term:
是最一般性的描述词：
old lace;
破旧的鞋带；
an old saying;
古老的谚语；
old colleagues;
老同事；
an old Dutch painting.
一幅古代荷兰油画。
Ancient  pertains to the distant past:
专指遥远的过去：
“the hills,/Rock-ribbed, and ancient as the sun” (William Cullen Bryant).
“山岩隐现的丘陵/如太阳一样古老” （威廉·卡伦·布赖恩特）。
Archaic  implies a very remote, often primitive period:
暗示遥远且原始的时期：
an archaic Greek bronze of the seventh century b.c.   
公元前 7世纪古希腊的青铜器。
He was convicted under an archaic statute that had never been repealed.
他被一个过时且未被取消的法令定罪。
Antediluvian  applies to what is so old and outdated that it seems to belong to the period preceding the biblical Flood:
用于指某物是如此的过时以至于它看来像是属于圣经所载的洪水时代以前的：
lived in a ramshackle, antediluvian tenement;
住在一间摇摇欲坠，太过于陈旧的廉价公寓里；
“a branch of one of your antediluvian families” (William Congreve).
“你们那些快老掉牙的家族中的一支” （威廉·康格里夫）。
Obsolete  indicates the fact of having fallen into disuse:
指已不再使用的事实：
an obsolete custom;
过时的习惯；
obsolete methods of research.
已过时的研究方法。
“Either man is obsolete or war is” (R. Buckminster Fuller).
“不是人类过时了就是战争被废弃了” (R·巴克敏斯特·富勒）。
Antique  is applied both to what is very old and to what is especially appreciated or valued because of its age:
不仅可指已十分古老的东西，还可指因其年代久远而有价值的东西：
“in hat of antique shape” (Matthew Arnold).
“戴着古董式的帽子” （马修·阿诺德）。
She collects antique French furniture and porcelains.
她搜集旧式的法国家具和瓷器。
Antiquated  describes what is out of date, no longer fashionable, or discredited:
用于描绘过时的，不再时髦的或不再使人相信的事物：
“No idea is so antiquated that it was not once modern. No idea is so modern that it will not someday be antiquated”  (Ellen Glasgow).See also Synonyms at  elderly
“这种想法太过时了，不可能再流行了。这种想法非常时新，将来怎么都不会过时的” （埃莲·格拉斯哥）

文明civilization用ancient和用old修饰都可以。

C的问题可能出现在older than was the city known to Homer's heroes中的was上，全句应该这样:

a civilization (that was) a thousand years older than the city was known to Homer's heroes.因该不要加was较好.

known to 过去分词

I know you better than he (does).
我比他更了解你。

She is a better athlete than I.
与我相比她是个更好的运动员