Archaeologists unearth 'ancient Egyptian Pompeii' near Luxor

Archaeologists said on Thursday they had uncovered a large ancient pharaonic city that had lain unseen for centuries near some of Egypt's best-known monuments.

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The city was built more than 3,400 years ago during the opulent reign of Amenhotep III, one of Egypt's most powerful pharaohs, the Egyptian archaeologist overseeing the excavations, Zahi Hawass, said.

Video: Reuters

The team began searching for a mortuary temple near Luxor in September, but within weeks found mud-brick formations in every direction, Zahi Hawass said in a statement.

They unearthed the well-preserved city that had almost complete walls and rooms filled with tools of daily life along with rings, scarabs, coloured pottery vessels and mud bricks bearing seals of Amenhotep's cartouche.

 

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Reuters via the Zahi Hawass Center for Egyptology and High Council of Antiquities Joint Mission

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1. Reuters via the Zahi Hawass Center for Egyptology and High Council of Antiquities Joint Mission

2. AFP/Khaled Desouki

3. Reuters via the Zahi Hawass Center for Egyptology and High Council of Antiquities Joint Mission

4. Workers standing next to a display of artifacts uncovered at the archaeological site of a 3,000 year old city, "The Rise of Aten," April 10, 2021 (AFP/Khaled Desouki)

A picture taken on April 10, 2021, shows workers standing next to a display of artifacts uncovered at the archaeological site of a 3000 year old city, dubbed The Rise of Aten, dating to the reign of Amenhotep III, uncovered by the Egyptian mission near Luxor. - Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of an ancient city in the desert outside Luxor that they say is the "largest" ever found in Egypt and dates back to a golden age of the pharaohs 3,000 years ago. Famed Egyptologist Zahi Hawass announced the discovery of the "lost golden city", saying the site was uncovered near Luxor, home of the legendary Valley of the Kings. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP)

5. Reuters via the Zahi Hawass Center for Egyptology and High Council of Antiquities Joint Mission

6. Reuters via the Zahi Hawass Center for Egyptology and High Council of Antiquities Joint Mission

"The city's streets are flanked by houses ... some of their walls are up to three meters high," Hawass said.

The excavations lie on the West Bank of Luxor near the Colossi of Memnon, Medinet Habu, and the Ramesseum, or mortuary temple of King Ramses II, not far from the Valley of the Kings.

"This is a very important discovery," Peter Lacovara, director of the US-based Ancient Egyptian Heritage and Archaeology Fund, told Reuters.

The state of preservation and the number of items from everyday life brought to mind another famous excavation, he added.

"It is a sort of ancient Egyptian Pompeii and shows the critical need to preserve this area as an archaeological park," said Lacovara, who has worked at the Malqata palace area for more than 20 years but was not involved in the excavations.

The site contains a large number of ovens and kilns for making glass and faience, along with the debris of thousands of statues, said Betsy Bryan, a specialist of Amenhotep III's reign.

"Just to locate the manufacturing centers opens up the detail of how the Egyptians under a great and wealthy ruler such as Amenhotep III did what they did. This will furnish knowledge for many years to come," she added.

The city extends west to the ancient workmen's village of Deir el-Medina, Hawass said.

According to historical references it included three of Amenhotep III's palaces and the empire's administrative and industrial center, Hawass's statement added.

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