Archeologists are digging entire neighbourhoods of “Egypt’s Pompeii” out of the sand near Luxor.
It is the biggest city ever found in Egypt and was used by boy king Tutankhamun
A 3,400-year-old “lost golden city” has been discovered in Egypt.
Archeologists are digging entire neighbourhoods out of the sand near Luxor.
The city is the biggest ever found in the country and was used by its famous boy king Tutankhamun.
It was founded by king Amenhotep III who ruled Egypt from 1391 till 1353 B.C at the height of its empire.
Experts say the discovery will “give us a rare glimpse” into their lives and likened it to Italy’s Pompeii.
There are hopes it will help solve the mystery over why the pharaoh’s son moved to a newly-built capital city, Amarna.
Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said the famous Egyptologist Dr Zahi Hawass led the team that discovered the city, dubbed The Rise of Aten.
A Facebook post on its page announced: “Zahi Hawass Announces Discovery of ‘Lost Golden City’ in Luxor.”
The team began searching for a mortuary temple near Luxor in September, but within weeks found mud brick formations in every direction, Dr Hawass said in a statement.
They unearthed the well-preserved city that had almost complete walls and rooms filled with tools of daily life along with rings, scarabs, coloured pottery vessels and mud bricks bearing seals of Amenhotep’s cartouche.
Dr Hawass said: “Many foreign missions searched for this city and never found it. We began our work searching for the mortuary temple of Tutankhamun because the temples of both Horemheb and Ay were found in this area.
“The city’s streets are flanked by houses, which some of their walls are up to 3 meters high. We can reveal that the city extends to the west, all the way to the famous Deir el-Medina.”
The city was described as the largest administrative and industrial settlement in the era of the Egyptian empire on the western bank of Luxor.
Betsy Brian, Professor of Egyptology at John Hopkins University in Baltimore USA, said “The discovery of this lost city is the second most important archeological discovery since the tomb of Tutankhamun.
“The discovery of the Lost City, not only will give us a rare glimpse into the life of the Ancient Egyptians at the time where the Empire was at his wealthiest but will help us shed light on one of history’s greatest mystery: why did Akhenaten & Nefertiti decide to move to Amarna.”
SOURCE: dailystar.co.uk
