This archaeological mission conducted in Egypt by renowned archaeologist Zahi Hawass unearthed a 3000-year-old ‘Golden City’, also known as the Rise of Aten.
The city they found was built in the reign of Amenhotep III, the 9th king of the 18th Dynasty who ruled Egypt from 1391 to 1353 BC.
This was a bustling city during his co-reign with his son-the famous Amenhotep IV/Akhenaton.
Other future kings also resided in it, including Tutankhamun and Ay.
A 3000-Year-Old Egyptian City Unveiled by Archaeologists
The team of archaeologists was quite surprised to locate the largest administrative settlement from Ancient Egypt.
Hawass explained that a lot of foreign missions have tried to find this city and never succeeded.
Together with his team, he was focused on searching for the mortuary temple of Tutankhamen because those of Horemheb and Ay were located in the area.
The team’s report describes the streets of this ancient city full of houses, some with up to 3-meters of walls. The city extends towards the west, all the way to the ancient village Deir el-Medina.
According to Betsy Brian, the professor of Egyptology at the John Hopkins University in Baltimore, US, this is the second most important archaeological finding since the Tutankhamen tomb.
The finding of the Lost City doesn’t just provide them with a unique glimpse into how Ancient Egyptians lived when the Empire enjoyed its wealthiest period, but may also help answer one of the biggest mysteries in history, i.e. why did Nefertiti and Akhenaten moved to Amarna.
The successor of Tutankhamen, King Ay, built a temple on a site that was later adjoined on the city’s southern side by Rameses III’s temple at the Medinet Habu.
The excavation began in 2020 September and only within weeks; the team found mud brick formations in all directions.
The Ancient City Was in a Very Good Condition, as if People Left Yesterday
They unearthed the site of a big city in good condition with almost entirely complete walls and rooms with tools for daily life. The layers were untouched for thousands of years and they looked as if the ancient residents left yesterday.
The goal of these excavations was to give a date for the settlement and was successful.
They did this by using the hieroglyphic inscriptions on clay caps of vessels for wine as well as ther historical references. They also revealed the settlement had 3 royal palaces, i.e. of the King Amenhotep III and the administrative and industrial centre of the Empire.
Rings, coloured pottery, and mud bricks with seals of this king also confirmed the dating.
In 7 months of excavations, the team revealed several neighbourhoods. In one part of the settlement, they unveiled a bakery, an area for food prep, ovens, and pottery.
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