8 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

3,000-Year-Old “Lost Golden City” Found in Luxor

Approximately 3000 years old “lost golden city” has been unearthed in Luxor city in southern Egypt. The archaeological mission said in a statement on Thursday that it may be the most important discovery in Egypt since the tomb of the boy-king Tutankhamun.

The lost city, known as Aten, is believed to have been founded by King Amenhotep III, the ninth king of the 18th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, who ruled the country from 1391 to 1353 B.C., says the mission statement. It is believed to be the largest administrative and industrial settlement of the time, located on the west bank of Luxor.

Archaeologists began excavations in September in the area between the temples of King Ramses III and Amenhotep III. The original purpose of the mission was to find the mortuary temple of King Tutankhamen, the statement said.

“Within weeks, to the team’s great surprise, formations of mud bricks began to appear in all directions,” the statement said. “What they unearthed was the site of a large city in a good condition of preservation, with almost complete walls, and with rooms filled with tools of daily life.

“The archaeological layers have [lain] untouched for thousands of years, left by the ancient residents as if it were yesterday,” it said.



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



“Many foreign missions searched for this city and never found it,” Zahi Hawass, an Egyptian archaeologist and former minister of state for antiquities affairs who led the mission, said in the statement.

Zahi Hawass
Famous Egyptologist Zahi Hawass announces the discovery of the Lost City of Luxor. Source: https://www.elnacional.cat/

The city was active during the reign of Amenhotep III as well as during his co-regency with his son, Amenhotep IV, also known as Akhenaton. The city was later used by Tutankhamen and his successor, King Ay.

Hawass said the city’s streets are flanked by houses, some of which have walls nearly 10 feet high.

The archaeological team dated the settlement through hieroglyphic inscriptions found on wine vessels, rings, scarabs, pottery, and mud bricks bearing the seals of King Amenhotep III’s cartouche, the statement said.

So far, several enclaves in the city have been discovered. The statement said that in the south, archaeologists found a bakery and a large kitchen equipped with ovens and crockery to store food. They also found an administrative and residential area surrounded by a jagged wall with only one entrance, implying that it was to provide security.

In a third area was a workshop. The team found casting molds to produce amulets and ornaments, apparently for temples and tombs, according to the statement.

“All over the excavated areas, the mission has found many tools used in some sort of industrial activity like spinning and weaving,” the statement said, adding that metal and glassmaking slag has also been found.

In other parts of the city, the graves of two cows or bulls were found in a room. And in another area where the remains of a person, found with arms outstretched to his side and a rope wrapped around his knees. The team is investigating both cases to glean more information about social practices during that era, the statement said.

A large cemetery was found to the north of the city, as well as a group of tombs cut from the rock.

“Work is underway and the mission expects to uncover untouched tombs filled with treasures,” the statement read.

This lost city is the latest in a series of archaeological discoveries excavated in the country in recent months, which gave people a new understanding of the dynasty that ruled ancient Egypt. The Egyptian government hopes that these discoveries will boost the country’s most important tourism industry, which has been hit by the coronavirus pandemic, attacks by Islamic radicals, and political unrest in recent years.

Cover Photo: The photo is illustrative / iStock / Getty Images

Related Articles

The historic Egyptian Palace is being demolished, it may hold a surprise underneath

27 August 2021

27 August 2021

The cause for the evacuation and demolition of the ancient Tawfiq Pasha Andraos Palace, located in the precincts of the...

Egyptian mission discovered five ancient water wells in North Sinai

1 March 2022

1 March 2022

A team of Egyptian archeologists working in the Tell El Kedwa discovered five ancient wells which are believed to be...

The World’s First Pet Cemetery May Have Been Found in Ancient Egypt

2 March 2021

2 March 2021

Hundreds of animal skeletons found in Berenice harbor in 2011 made researchers think that this place was used as a...

Polish researchers reveal what ancient Egyptian faience has to do with gold

31 December 2022

31 December 2022

Powdered quartz used to make faience vessels discovered by Polish archaeologists during excavations in the ancient city of Athribis in...

Archaeologists uncovered a 3,500-year-old Egyptian Royal Retreat in the Sinai Desert

5 May 2024

5 May 2024

An Egyptian mission uncovered the ruins of a 3,500-year-old “royal fortified rest area” at the Tel Habwa archaeological site in...

The Cairo University archaeological mission unearths the tomb of Ramses II’s royal treasurer at Saqqara necropolis

1 November 2021

1 November 2021

Archaeologists working at the Saqqara necropolis have unearthed the tomb of Ptah-M-Wiah, a high-ranking ancient Egyptian official and head of...

3,500-Year-Old Tomb of King Thutmose II Discovered: The First Royal Burial Unearthed Since King Tutankhamun

19 February 2025

19 February 2025

Egyptian officials have announced a groundbreaking discovery: the long-lost tomb of King Thutmose II, marking the last of the royal...

Female pharaoh’s temple reveals teamwork of Egypt’s ‘ancient masters’

18 November 2021

18 November 2021

Despite the widely acknowledged monumentality and durability of ancient Egyptian sculpture, carved reliefs, and paintings the makers of these works...

Egyptian Pharaoh Slain in Battle Because of the Hippos

17 February 2021

17 February 2021

The mummy of Pharaoh Seqenenre Taa II, found in 1880, was re-analyzed. When it was found, the deep wounds on...

Archaeologists unearth 3,500-Year-Old Gold Jewelry in Egypt

14 December 2022

14 December 2022

Archaeologists discovered a collection of ornate jewelry at the Tell El-Amarna necropolis on the Nile River’s eastern bank in modern-day...

Buddha statue discovered in ancient city of Berenice, Egypt

29 April 2023

29 April 2023

Archaeologists excavating in the ancient Egyptian seaport Berenice Troglodytica on the western shore of the Red Sea have unearthed a...

Khufu Boat moved to its New Museum by Smart Vehicle

8 August 2021

8 August 2021

A 4,600-year-old intact wooden boat bearing the name of an Egyptian pharaoh, Khufu, was transported to a new museum about...

The Volcanic Eruption Caused the Abandonment of the Ancient City of Berenike

30 March 2021

30 March 2021

In 275 BC, Egyptian King Ptolemy II (Philadelphos) established a shipping port on the coast of the Red Sea and...

Ancient rubbish dump under Hatshepsut temple reveals hundreds of artifacts

24 November 2021

24 November 2021

Polish archaeologists uncovered a 3,500-year-old dump while working on the reconstruction of the Hathor Goddess Chapel, which is part of...

The enigma behind King Tut’s’space dagger,’ according to archaeologists, has finally been solved

24 February 2022

24 February 2022

Archaeologists have finally solved the enigma of King Tutankhamun’s dagger, which was discovered 3,400 years ago. A new examination of...