A 3,000-year-old city uncovered in Egypt has been hailed as one of the most important archaeological finds since Tutankhamun’s tomb.
Egyptologist Zahi Hawass announced the discovery of the “lost golden city”, which is near Luxor, home of the Valley of the Kings, on Thursday.
The city, known as Aten, is thought to be the largest ancient city ever uncovered in Egypt.
It dates back to the reign of one of Egypt’s most powerful pharaohs, Amenhotep III, who ruled from 1391 to 1353 BC.
In a statement Dr Hawass said: “The city is 3,000 years old, dates to the reign of Amenhotep III, and continued to be used by Tutankhamun and Ay.”
“The discovery of this lost city is the second most important archaeological discovery since the tomb of Tutankhamun,” Betsy Brian, professor of Egyptology at John Hopkins University in Baltimore, US, said.
She said the city would “give us a rare glimpse into the life of the ancient Egyptians” at the time when the empire was at its wealthiest.
The team began their search in September last year between the temples of Ramses III and Amenhotep III near Luxor, 300 miles south of the capital, Cairo.
In their seven-month search, they found items of jewellery such as rings along with coloured pottery vessels, scarab beetle amulets and mud bricks bearing the seals of Amenhotep III.
“Within weeks, to the team’s great surprise, formations of mud bricks began to appear in all directions,” the team said in a statement.
“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.”
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The team are optimistic they will unearth more, noting they had also discovered groups of tombs reached through “stairs carved into the rock.”
“The mission expects to uncover untouched tombs filled with treasures,” the team added.
After years of political rifts linked to a revolt more than eight years ago, which heavily affected Egypt’s key tourism sector, the country is looking to bring back tourists by promoting its ancient history, the Guardian reported.
Last week, Egypt carried the remains of their country’s ancient rulers through Cairo in a historic procession.
The parade saw 22 mummies - 18 kings and four queens - transported from the neo-classical Egyptian Museum to the new National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation.
Amenhotep III and his wife Queen Tiye were among the mummies transferred to the new resting place.
