A lost city dating back 3,000 years has been discovered near Luxor, Egypt.
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NEW CHINA / SIPA
It would be the "largest ancient city in Egypt", according to former Minister of Antiquities and archaeologist Zahi Hawass.
Near Luxor, in the south of the country, an archaeological mission "discovered a buried city […] which dates from the reign of King Amenhotep III and which continued to be used by King Tutankhâmon, that is to say 3,000 years ago" , affirms this archaeological mission in a press release this Thursday.
Arrived on the throne in 1.391 BC, Amenhotep III died in -1.353.
Objects, including jewelry and pottery bearing his seal were discovered in the city, thus confirming the dating, it is specified.
A site "in good state of conservation"
The mission began its excavations in September 2020 between the temples of Ramses III and Amenhotep III.
"Within a few weeks, to the team's surprise, clay brick formations began to appear," the statement said.
And the site is "in a good state of conservation, with almost entire walls and rooms full of tools of daily life."
The city is made up of “three royal palaces […] as well as the administrative and manufacturing center of the Empire”.
Archaeologists also unearthed a “food preparation area” with a “bakery”, an “administrative district” and a construction “workshop”.
Two burials of "cows or bulls" as well as an "unusual" human body were also discovered.
"The discovery of this lost city is the second most important archaeological discovery since the tomb of Tutankhamun", estimates Betsy Brian, professor of Egyptology at John-Hopkins University, in the United States, also quoted in the press release.
It will notably allow "to offer us a rare glimpse into the life of the ancient Egyptians during the most prosperous hours of the [New] Empire".
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