A group of archaeologists have discovered the largest ancient city ever seen in Egypt. “The Ascension of Aten” dates back 3 years and was found buried under the sand on the west bank of Luxor.
On Thursday April 8, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced the discovery of a lost city, dating from the reign of Amenhotep III, in 1353 BC. Called "The Rise of Aten", the ancient city is the oldest and largest of ancient Egypt ever discovered.
The city's revelation is the most important archaeological find since that of Tutankhamun's remains in 2008. It could provide answers to some of the most occult episodes in ancient Egyptian history. For example, how much in history the skin color of the pharaohs really changed or how the pacifist administration of Amenhotep III resisted the Hurrian kingdom.
A great passage of history buried under the sand
Archaeologist and scholar Zahi Hawass has said that it is "the largest industrial and administrative city at the time of the XNUMXth Dynasty of the Egyptian Empire". Indeed, the time of Amenhotep III marked the height of the ancient Egyptian empire, and the pharaoh was the grandfather of the famous, and allegedly cursed, King Tut (Tutankhamun).
It is therefore indeed an attempt to go back in history that teams of archaeologists from all over the world have been making in Luxor for years. Much of the ancient city is yet to be discovered, and some scientists believe that a temple dedicated to Tut himself could be the next to emerge from the ruins.
The leader of this series of discoveries, Salima Ikram, is one of the greatest Egyptologists of our time. She had directed the excavations of the tomb of Khentkaous III, much older than the current find, she also participated in the discovery of the remains of Tut and she is therefore on the verge of crowning her career with an important conquest of the ancient history of the mysterious kingdom.
She considers this discovery to be that of “an Egyptian version of Pompeii”. But unlike the Etruscan city, "The Rise of Aten" could be the refuge of the pharaohs after their abandonment of Thebes, the ancient capital.