In photos: the discovery of the “lost city” of Egypt, the largest ever found

“Many foreign missions searched for this city and never found it. We started our work to search for Tutankhamun’s mortuary temple because the temples of Horemheb and Ay were found in this area,” Zahi Hawass said. , head of the discovery team, in a statement released by the Ministry of Antiquities on his Facebook account.

The Egyptian expedition was surprised to discover the largest city ever found in Egypt. Founded by one of Egypt’s greatest rulers, King Amenhotep III, the ninth king of the 18th Dynasty who ruled Egypt from 1391 to 1353 BC, this city was active during the co-regency with his son, the famous Amenhotep IV / Akhenaton. . It was the largest administrative and industrial colony of the time of the Egyptian Empire on the west bank of Luxor.

“The streets of the city are flanked by houses, some of its walls are up to 3 meters high,” Hawass continued, “we can reveal that the city extends to the west, as far as the famous Deir el -Medina. “

Betsy Brian, professor of Egyptology at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, said: “The discovery of this lost city is the second most significant archaeological find since Tutankhamun’s tomb.”

“The discovery of the Lost City will not only give us a rare glimpse into the life of the ancient Egyptians at a time when the Empire was the richest, but it will help shed light on one of the greatest mysteries of the world. story: why Akhenaten and Nefertiti decided to move to Amarna, ”added Brian.

The excavation area is sandwiched between the temple of Ramses III at Medinet Habu and the temple of Amenhotep III at Memnon. The Egyptian mission began to work in this area in search of Tutankhamun’s mortuary temple.

Tutankhamun’s successor, King Ay, built his temple on a site which later adjoined on its southern side the temple of Ramses III at Medinet Habu.

Egyptologists believe that the temple of Ay may have previously belonged to Tutankhamun, as two colossal statues of the young king were found there. The northern part of the temple is still under the sand.

Excavation began in September 2020 and within weeks, much to the team’s surprise, mud brick formations began to appear in all directions. What they unearthed was the site of a large city in good condition, with almost complete walls and rooms filled with tools of everyday life.

The archaeological layers have remained intact for thousands of years, left by ancient residents as if it were yesterday.

The first objective of the mission was to date this regulation. Hieroglyphic inscriptions have been found on clay lids of wine containers. Historical references tell us that the establishment consisted of three royal palaces of King Amenhotep III, as well as the administrative and industrial center of the Empire.

A large number of archaeological finds, such as rings, scarabs, colorful ceramic vessels and mud bricks with cartridge seals of King Amenhotep III, have confirmed the dating of the city.

After only seven months of excavation, several areas or neighborhoods were discovered. In the southern part, the mission found a bakery, a space for cooking and preparing food, with ovens and storage ceramics. Due to its size, the kitchen can be said to have served a large number of workers and employees.

The second area still partially uncovered is the administrative and residential district, with larger and tidy units.

This area is bounded by a zigzag wall, with a single access point leading to internal hallways and residential areas. The single entry makes us think that it was a kind of security, with the possibility of controlling the entry and exit of closed areas.

Zigzag walls are one of the few architectural elements of ancient Egyptian architecture, mainly used towards the end of the 18th Dynasty. The third area is the workshop.

On the one hand, the production area of ​​mud bricks used for the construction of temples and annexes. The bricks are stamped with the cartouche of King Amenhotep III (Neb Maat Ra).

On the other, a large number of foundry molds for the elaboration of amulets and delicate decorative elements. This is further evidence of the vast activity in the city to produce decorations for temples and tombs.

In all the areas excavated, the mission found many tools used in certain types of industrial activities such as spinning and weaving.

Metal and glass slag have also been unearthed, but the main area of ​​this activity remains to be discovered.

In one of the rooms, two unusual burials of a cow or a bull were found. Research is underway to determine the nature and purpose of this practice.

And even more remarkable is the burial of a person found with arms outstretched to sides and the remains of a rope wrapped around his knees. The location and position of this skeleton is quite strange and more research is underway.

One of the most recent finds is a container containing ten kilograms of dried or boiled meat with a valuable inscription: 37th year, meat prepared for the third Heb Sed festival of the Kha Corral slaughterhouse made by butcher Luwy .

This valuable information not only gives us the names of two people who lived and worked in the city, but also confirmed that the city was active and at the time of King Amenhotep III’s co-regency with his son Akhenaton.

The excavation also reveals a clay seal with inscriptions that can be read: “gm pa Aton” which can be translated as “the domain of the dazzling Aten”, it is the name of a temple built by King Akhenaton in Karnak.

As the story goes, a year after this pot was made, the city was abandoned and the capital moved to Amarna. But was it? And why? And was the city repopulated when Tutankhamun returned to Thebes? Only other excavations in the region will reveal what really happened 3,500 years ago.

To the north of the settlement, a large cemetery has been discovered, the extent of which has not yet been determined. So far, the mission has discovered a group of rock-cut tombs of varying sizes that can be reached by rock-cut stairs. This is a common feature of the construction of tombs in the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Nobles.

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