3,400-Year-Old 'Golden City' Was Discovered In Egypt (8 pics)
While the site was discovered last year, Zahi Hawass, a famous Egyptian scholar, just made the announcement on Thursday that a team had uncovered a “lost golden city” near Luxor, site of the ancient city of Thebes.
The city was first established during the time of Amenhotep III, roughly between 1391 and 1353 B.C. Many of the walls are well preserved and researchers have identified a bakery, an administrative district, and a residential area alongside scarab beetle amulets, pottery, and other everyday items.
According to Betsy M. Bryan, an Egyptian art specialist from Johns Hopkins University, the discovery is the second most important discovery since the tomb of Tutankhamun. Bryan also notes that the newly discovered city offers a “rare glimpse into the life of ancient Egyptians” at the height of the empire.
One inscription found on an old vase show that Amenhotep and Akhenaten ruled the city jointly as the time that it was made.
Alongside the normal finds that one would expect from a 3,000-year-old city, researchers have made some odd discoveries. One of which is a room within the city that contains the burial of two cows or bulls. The other being human remains with rope wrapped around the cadavers knees.
“There’s no doubt about it; it really is a phenomenal find. It’s very much a snapshot in time—an Egyptian version of Pompeii,” said Salima Ikram, an archaeologist at the American University in Cairo.
With the discovery being so new, I am sure that archaeologists will be uncovering more items in time. It will be interesting to see what exactly they come up with. Let us know in the comments what you think of this monumental discovery.
