Archaeologists have discovered ruins of an ancient city in Luxor, located on the east bank of the Nile River in Southern Egypt. The city is said to be more than 3,000 years old.
According to The Guardian, the mission to find the ‘lost city’ was headed by renowned archaeologist Zahi Hawass, in collaboration with Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities.
The city is known as ‘Aten’ or the ‘lost golden city’ and it dates back to the reign of King Amenhotep III, the ninth king of the 18th dynasty, who ruled Egypt from 1391 till 1353 BC.
It is said that King Amenhotep III ruled for nearly four decades. His reign is known for its opulence and the grandeur of its monuments, including the Colossi of Memnon two massive stone statues near Luxor that represent him and his wife. His kingdom stretched from Euphrates in west Asia to modern-day Sudan.
“The Egyptian mission under Dr Zahi Hawass found the city that was lost under the sands,” the archaeology team said in a statement cited by The Guardian.
“The city is 3,000 years old, dates to the reign of Amenhotep III, and continued to be used by Tutankhamun and Ay,” the statement read.
The team began excavating in September 2020, between the temples of Ramses III and Amenhotep III near Luxor, around 500km south of the capital, Cairo.
“Many foreign missions searched for this city and never found it,” Hawass said.
RARE GLIMPSE OF THE LIFE OF ANCIENT EGYPTIANS
After seven months, the team unearthed jewellery such as rings, along with coloured pottery vessels, scarab beetle amulets and mud bricks bearing the seals of King Amenhotep III. Several neighbourhoods, as well as administrative and residential districts, were also discovered during the excavation.
“The archaeological layers have laid untouched for thousands of years, left by the ancient residents as if it were yesterday,” the archaeologists said.
They noted that the city “will give a rare glimpse into the life of the Ancient Egyptians at the time where the empire was at his wealthiest”.
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