A 3000-year-old ‘lost golden city’ discovered in Egypt

Published: 19th Apr, 2021

In the latest development, Egyptian archaeologists have discovered a "lost golden city" in Egypt that dates back to the 14th century B.C.

Context

In the latest development, Egyptian archaeologists have discovered a "lost golden city" in Egypt that dates back to the 14th century B.C.

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What is the “lost golden city”?

The 3,000year-old city near Luxor is known as "The Rise of Aten" and the largest city ever found in Egypt.
The city is thought to belong from the era of 18th-dynasty king Amenhotep III (1391 to 1353 B.C.).
The city is also considered to have been used by Tutankhamun and his successor Ay during a period believed to be the golden era of ancient Egypt.
It is considered the largest administrative and industrial settlement of the pharaonic empire.
Location: West Bank of the Nile River, close to the Colossi of Memnon, MedinetHabu, and the Ramesseum, or mortuary temple of King Ramses II.
Architecture: The city is fenced in by a zigzag wall. It has only one access point leading to internal corridors and residential areas.

Zigzag walls are one of the rare architectural elements in ancient Egyptian architecture which were mainly used at the end of the 18th Dynasty.

The northern part of the city includes the administrative and residential districts and in the southern part workshops, bakery, oven, and pottery storage are found.
Houses are made up of mud-bricks.
Some mud bricks have the seal of Tutankhamun’s grandfather King Amenhotep III, who is known to be one of Egypt’s most powerful pharaohs.
Other findings: The artifacts and tools were also discovered from the reign of the Pharaohs.
The site has also seen a large number of ovens and kilns for making glass and faience.
The clay caps of wine vessels, rings, scarabs, colored pottery, and spinning and weaving tools were also found.
Two burials of a cow or bull are also found inside one of the rooms.
The burial of a person with arms outstretched to his side and remains of a rope wrapped around his knees is also found.

Significance of the finding

The discovery will shed light on one of history's greatest mystery that is why did Akhenaten and Nefertiti decide to move to Amarna.
- Amarna is an extensive Egyptian archeological site that represents the remains of the newly established capital city in 1346 B.C.

Tutankhamun (c. 1342 – c. 1325 BC)

Commonly referred to as King Tut, he was the last of his royal family to rule during the end of the 18th Dynasty Egyptian pharaoh.
His father was the pharaoh Akhenaten.

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