3,000-Year-Old Lost Golden City: Egypt's Biggest Discovery Since King Tutankhamun's Tomb

Archaeologists in Egypt unearthed the remains of the so-called 'lost golden city' under the sand near Luxor, the home of the legendary Valley of the Kings.

Zahi Hawass, the famous Egyptologist, announced the discovery on Thursday, April 8, in what is said to be built 3,000 years ago for King Tutankhamun's grandfather.

"The Egyptian mission under Dr. Zahi Hawass found the city that was lost under the sands," the excavation team said. "The city is 3,000 years old, dates to the reign of Amenhotep III, and continued to be used by Tutankhamun and Ay."

Biggest Discovery of Ancient Egypt

Archaeologists said that the ancient city was built during the golden age of the pharaohs. Hence it is called the 'lost golden city.' They added that this is the second biggest discovery of Ancient Egypt since archaeologists found the tomb of King Tutankhamun in 1922, Global News reported.

The city, also known as 'The Rise of Aten,' dates back to the reign of one of Egypt's most powerful pharaohs, King Amenhotep III, which began around 1390BC.

It was later on used by his successors Ay and Tutankhamun, whose tomb was found nearly intact in the Valley of Kings by British archaeologist Howard Carter in the 20th century.

"The discovery of this lost city is the second most important archaeological discovery since the tomb of Tutankhamun," said Egyptian Art and Archaeology professor Betsy Bryan, from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

Many tried to look for the 'lost golden city' i the past but failed. Hawass said that his team began the excavation in the western part of Luxor near the Valley of Kings, about 300 miles (500 km) south of the capital Cairo, BBC News reported.

A few weeks later, to their surprise, formations of mud-brick walls started to appear. They realized that it was a large city from many thousands of years ago that is in a good condition of preservation with walls that are almost complete, and rooms with tools they used., Dr. Hawass said.

Luxor Times reported that archaeologists also unearthed jewelry, such as rings, scarab beetle amulets, colored pottery vessels, and seals of the cartouche of Amenhotep.

Dr. Hawass added that further archaeological work in the city will hopefully unearth untouched tombs filled with treasures, such as those that have been found over the years.

Last week, the Egyptian government has transferred the remains of 22 kings and queens to their new home, a high-tech facility in Cairo. It was paraded on the streets of the country's capital in what was dubbed as "The Pharaoh's Golden Parade" even with other people saying the possible repercussions of the myth of Pharaoh's Curse which authorities said is not true.

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