CAIRO – Archaeologists have discovered the ruins of an ancient city in the desert outside of Luxor, which they say are the “largest” ever discovered in Egypt, and date back to the pharaohs’ golden age 3,000 years ago. The “lost golden city” was discovered near Luxor, the birthplace of the legendary Valley of the Kings, according to renowned Egyptologist Zahi Hawass. “Dr. Zahi Hawass’ Egyptian expedition discovered the city, that was buried under the sands,” the exploration team said in a statement on Thursday. “The city is 3,000 years old, dating from Amenhotep III’s rule, and Tutankhamun and Ay started to use it.” The discovery was dubbed “the largest” ancient city ever found in Egypt by the team.
According to the team’s release, Betsy Bryan, a professor of Egyptian art and archaeology at Johns Hopkins University, described the finding as the “second most significant archaeological discovery after the tomb of Tutankhamun” nearly a century ago. Jewelry, coloured pottery pots, scarab beetle amulets, and mud bricks containing Amenhotep III’s seals have all been discovered.
“Many foreign missions looked for this city but never found it,” Hawass, a former antiquities minister, said. In September 2020, the team started excavations near Luxor, about 500 kilometres (300 miles) south of Cairo, between the temples of Ramses III and Amenhotep III. “Within weeks, formations of mud bricks started to emerge in all directions, much to the team’s surprise,” the statement added. “What they discovered was the remains of a big city in excellent shape, with almost full walls and rooms brimming with everyday resources.”
Several neighbourhoods have been discovered after seven months of excavations, including a bakery with ovens and storage pottery, as well as administrative and residential areas. According to ancient historians, Amenhotep III inherited an empire that extended from the Euphrates River in modern Iraq and Syria to Sudan, and he died around 1354 BC. He ruled for nearly four decades, a reign noted for its opulence and the splendour of its temples, which include the Colossi of Memnon, two giant stone sculptures near Luxor that represent him and his queen.
According to the team’s conclusion, “the archaeological layers have lain untouched for thousands of years, left by the ancient inhabitants as if it were yesterday.” “It will give us a rare insight into the life of the ancient Egyptians at a time when the empire was at its wealthiest,” Bryan said of the region. The team expressed optimism that more significant discoveries would be made, adding that they had uncovered groups of tombs accessible through “stairs cut into the ground,” similar to those found in the Valley of the Kings. “The team hopes to find unmarked tombs containing valuables,” the statement continued.
After years of political unrest following the Arab Spring uprising of 2011, which severely harmed Egypt’s tourism industry, the country is attempting to reintroduce tourists, especially through the promotion of its ancient heritage. Last week, Egypt transported the mummified remains of 18 ancient kings and four queens across Cairo from the iconic Egyptian Museum, to the new National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation in a procession dubbed the “Pharaohs’ Golden Parade”. Amenhotep III and his wife Queen Tiye were among the 22 bodies discovered.
Egypt revealed ancient treasures discovered at the massive Saqqara necropolis south of Cairo in January, including more than 50 wooden sarcophagi dated from the New Kingdom (16th to 11th centuries BC), according to Hawass. The former antiquities minister, who has been chastised by some historians for his use of hyperbole in promoting his findings, will lead a press tour of his team’s new discoveries outside Luxor on Saturday.
