Well-known Egyptologist Zahi Hawass announced the discovery of the “lost golden city”, saying that this place was discovered near Luxor, the home of the Valley of the Kings.
“The Egyptian mission led by Dr. “Zahi Hawass found the city lost under the sand,” said the archeological team. “The city is 3,000 years old, dating back to the reign of Amenhotep III, and Tutankhamun and Ay continued to use it.”
“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,” Hawass said. “The city’s streets are flanked by houses, which some of their walls reach 3 meters high. We can reveal that the city extends to the west, all the way to the famous Deir el-Medina.”
Betsy Bryan, Professor of Egyptian art and archaeology at Johns Hopkins University, said the find was the “second most important archeological discovery since the tomb of Tutankhamun”, according to the team’s statement. Bryan continued to add that it “will not only give us a rare glimpse into the life of the ancient Egyptians at the time. but will help us shed light on one of history’s greatest mysteries: why did Akhenaten and Nefertiti decide to move to Amarna.”
The city is considered a vital clue to the cultural and religious developments of the reign of Amenhotep III whose succession would come at the hands of his son, Akhenaten. The latter’s ambitions had resulted in a move from the capital of Thebes to a newly-built capital near contemporary Minya, Tel-El-Amarna.
After Hawass’ team began excavating in September 2020, several areas and neighborhoods were uncovered, such as the administrative and industrial center and a bakery. The statement adds that the city is in good condition of preservation, with almost complete walls and rooms filled with tools of daily life. Photos of the discovery also reveal the discovery of human and animal remains.
