Egyptian archaeologists discover 3,000-year-old lost golden city

By ANA Reporter On Apr 9, 2021

The discovery may help revive the North African country’s tourism sector after a sharp decline due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered the remains of an old city in the desert outside Luxor from 3,000 years ago. File photo: Pixabay/Pexels

JOHANNESBURG, April 9 (ANA) – Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered the remains of an old city from 3,000 years ago in the desert outside Luxor, Agence France-Presse reported.

The discovery of the “lost golden city” near Luxor, home of the legendary Valley of the Kings, was announced by well-known Egyptologist Zahi Hawass, the news agency said.

“The Egyptian mission under Dr Zahi Hawass found the city that was lost under the sands,” AFP quoted the excavation team as saying in a Thursday statement, calling the find “the largest” ancient city ever uncovered in Egypt.

“The city is 3,000 years old, dates to the reign of Amenhotep III, and continued to be used by Tutankhamun and Ay.”

Items of jewellery have been unearthed, along with coloured pottery vessels, scarab beetle amulets and mud bricks bearing seals of Amenhotep III, a member of the Thutmosid family that ruled Egypt for almost 150 years.

Excavations started last September between the temples of Ramses III and Amenhotep III near Luxor, some 500 kilometres south of the capital Cairo, AFP reported.

Broadcaster BBC quoted Betsy Brian, professor of Egyptology at John Hopkins University in Baltimore in the United States as saying the discovery of this lost city was the second most important archaeological discovery since the tomb of Tutankhamun.

She also said the city would give people a rare glimpse into the life of the ancient Egyptians at the time when the empire was at its wealthiest.

The discovery may revive the North African country’s tourism sector after it declined due to the coronavirus pandemic, Bloomberg reported.

Citing the central bank, the news service said the coronavirus pandemic had cut Egypt’s tourism revenue to US$801 million in the three months from last July, compared to US$4.2 billion in the same quarter a year earlier.

– African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Stella Mapenzauswa