All you want to know about discovering the lost golden city in Egypt

Egypt does not stop amazing us about its new discoveries from the pharaonic period, and last days we got in the news a new discovery of the golden city in luxor (south Egypt), the city that was the capital of Egypt during the most of Pharaonic period in the Egyptian history.

“this could be the most important discovery since discovering the tomb in king TUT in 1902” those words of Dr. Zahi Hawass head of the team that discovered the golden city, as usual most of the expedition teams found the temples, tombs and many other thigs from the pharaonic time that describe us the pharaonic believes about the life after death, or their ceremonies during praying and mummies mummifications, but this time they discovered a hole city, a city where they lived, and that makes this discovery very important to know more about their daily life, how they lived? How they making the factories in this time? How the keep their crops? How they built their normal houses? and many more about the life during the time of this city, as the city dates to the region of Amenhotep III and continue to be used by King Tut Ankh Amon and King Ay. (3000 years ago)

 As per Dr. Hawass this city is the biggest discovery for an administrative and industrial city in the west bank of the Nile in Egypt, where we can find houses height about 3 meters and it is divided in streets.

Dr. Hawass added that they started the digging on September 2020, and within weeks, the formations of mud bricks began to appear in all directions, and they were astonished when they found that there were about the discover the large city in good condition of preservation, with rooms filled with tools of daily life.

The place of this city is between the temple of Ramses III in Madinat Habu and the temple of Amenhotep III in Memnon. 

After seven months of excavations in this city, several neighborhoods have been uncovered, including a bakery complete with ovens and storage pottery that serving the employees and the workers of the city.

While in the second part of the city they found partially administrative and residential districts, where we can find bigger and good organized buildings, and This area is fenced by a zig-zag wall, with only one entry point leading to interior corridors and residential areas. And this one entrance made us believe it was a kind of security in terms of being able to control entry and exit into closed areas.

And in the third part of the city, It was a workshop, as it includes on one of its sides the production area of mud bricks used to build temples and annexes, and the bricks contain seals bearing the cartouches of King Amenhotep III.

A large number of casting molds have been discovered for producing amulets and delicate decorative elements, and this is another evidence of the widespread activity in the city to produce the decorations of both temples and tombs.

Throughout the excavation areas, the mission found many tools used in industrial activity, such as spinning and weaving work, and rubble of metals and glass were also discovered, but the main area for such activity has not yet been discovered.

Two uncommon burials of a cow or bull were also found inside one of the rooms, and the search is still in progress; To determine the nature and purpose of these burials.

A good condition burial of someone was also found with their arms stretched next to them, and the remains of a rope wrapped around their knees, the location and position of this skeleton is somewhat strange, and there is more research on this matter.

A container containing two gallons of dried or boiled meat (about 10 kg) was found that bears valuable inscriptions that can be read: “Year 37, boiled meat for Love Day of the Third Dam from the butchery of “Kha” made by the butcher “Iwi”.

This valuable information not only gives us the names of two people who lived and worked in the city, but also confirms that the city was active and determined the time of King Amenhotep the Third's participation with his son Akhenaten.

The team also found a text inscribed on the imprint of a seal that reads: “Gem Ba Aten” meaning the province of bright-Aton, and this is the name of a temple built by King Akhenaten at Karnak.

A large cemetery was uncovered, the extent of which has not yet been determined, and the team discovered a group of tombs carved into the rocks of various sizes, which can be accessed through stairs carved into the rock, and there is a common feature of building tombs in the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Nobles.

The work is still in progress and the team expects to uncover untouched tombs full of treasures.