Archaeologists discover "Lost Golden City of Luxor"

Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of an ancient city in the desert outside Luxor in Egypt. They say it dates back to the golden age of the Pharaohs more than 3,000 years ago. By Dagmar Breitenbach

  • An undated handout photo released 8 April 2021 by the Zahi Hawass Center For Egyptology shows an archaeological discovery as part of the "Lost Golden City" in Luxor, Egypt. The city is 3000 years old, dates to the reign of Amenhotep III, and continued to be used by Tutankhamun and Ay (photo: Zahi Hawass Center For Egyptology via AP)
  • Lost city: remains of walls
    Largest ancient city unearthed in Egypt: the ancient city, reported to be the largest ever found in Egypt, dates back to the era of King Amenhotep III, who ruled the ancient kingdom from 1391 to 1353 BC. That's according to Zahi Hawass, the Egyptian archaeologist who led the expedition. "Many foreign missions had searched for this city and never found it," Hawass, a former antiquities affairs minister, said in an online statement
  • Clay items found in the lost city
    Culture-dating instead of carbon-dating: digs unearthing rings, scarabs, coloured pottery vessels and mud bricks bearing seals of king Amenhotep III have helped confirm the dating of the city, archaeologists say. "The discovery of this lost city is the second most important archaeological discovery since the tomb of Tutankhamun," said Betsy Brian, a professor of Egyptology at John Hopkins University
  • Animal skeleton surrounded by a mud brick wall in the lost city
    Lost under layers of sand: the above photo taken on 8 April 2021 shows a preserved animal skeleton that has been in place for thousands of years under the desert sands. It is part of what was unearthed during seven months of excavations at the site that has been dubbed the "Lost Golden City" in Luxor
  • Large clay pot found in the lost city at Luxor
    Untouched for millennia: excavations between the temples of Ramses III and Amenhotep III near Luxor began in September 2020, about 500 kilometres south of Cairo. Within weeks, the team found mud bricks. "What they unearthed was the site of a large city in a good condition of preservation, with its walls almost intact, and with rooms filled with everyday items," said the archaeology team in a statement
  • Human skeleton found in the lost city
    Human skeleton among digs: the team unearthed several neighbourhoods, discovering things like a bakery complete with ovens and storage pottery, as well as administrative and residential districts. The city "will give us a rare glimpse into the life of the ancient Egyptians at the time where the empire was at its wealthiest," says U.S. professor of Egyptian art and archaeology, Betsy Bryan
  • Golden parade of Pharaohs; procession of vehicles at night
    Pharaoh's Golden Parade: just days ago, King Amenhotep III made the news in connection with a lavish parade of vehicles bearing the mummies of 22 ancient Egyptian kings and queens through Cairo to the new National Museum of Egyptian Civilization. The national treasures are on display at the new Royal Hall of Mummies – among them the mummified remains of Amenhotep III