Egypt announces the discovery of a lost Pharaonic city under the sand in Luxor

An Egyptian mission of archaeologists in Luxor, in the south of the country, discovered a lost ancient city under the sand and described as "the largest city ever in Egypt," dating back to the reign of Pharaonic King Amenhotep III three thousand years ago, according to the famous Egyptologist Zahi Hawass.

"The Egyptian mission headed by Zahi Hawass discovered the lost city under the sand + the Ascent of Aton +, dating back to the reign of King Amenhotep the Third, and the city continued to be used by King Tutankhamun," that is, three thousand years ago, the statement said.

The statement quoted Hawass as saying that the mission "found the largest city ever in Egypt, which was founded by one of the greatest rulers of Egypt, King Amenhotep III, the ninth king of the eighteenth dynasty, who ruled Egypt from 1391 until 1353 BC."

Hawass added, "This city is the largest administrative and industrial settlement in the era of the Egyptian Empire on the West Bank of Luxor."

The mission began excavating in September 2020 in search of the funerary temple of Tutankhamun, in an area between the Temple of Ramses III in Medinet Habu and the temple of Amenhotep III in Memnon in Luxor Governorate.

"Within weeks, formations of mud bricks began to appear in all directions, and the mission was astonished to find that the site was a large city in a good state of preservation, with almost complete walls, and rooms full of tools of daily life," the statement said.

The statement also quoted professor of Egyptology at Johns Hopkins University Betsy Brian, describing the discovery as "the second important archaeological discovery after the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun."

The statement stated that the hieroglyphic inscriptions on pots, rings and mud bricks refer to the period of King Amenhotep III.

The city consists of "three royal palaces of King Amenhotep III, in addition to the administrative and industrial center of the empire," according to the statement.

The statement indicated that several areas were found in the lost city, as the mission found "in the southern part the bakery and the cooking area."

According to the statement, a partial area was revealed that represents the administrative and residential district, in addition to the workshop area, which includes the mud brick production area used to build temples.

Also, according to the mission, "a wonderful burial of a person with his arms stretched out next to him, and the remains of a rope wrapped around his knees (...) and there is more research on this matter."

The mission expects to uncover untouched graves full of treasures, in this city.