Egypt has an aura of mystery surrounding it. Mystery shrouds its origins, its religion, and its monumental architecture. Well, there is more to Egypt than its pyramids and its many ancient monuments, one of the remaining wonders of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
It is almost as if it is a scene playing from the film Indiana Jones. Since recently, archaeologists found the ancient city buried for centuries under Egypt, eluding explorers for decades. With researchers unearthing it, the place full of artifacts gives more information about the pharaohs.
All About the Golden City
The city of Aten has been one of the largest ancient dwellings found in Egypt. Its location is close to Luxor during the reign of Amenhotep III, one of Egypt’s most powerful pharaohs, who went on to rule from 1391 to 1353 BC.
The acclaimed Egyptologist Dr. Zahi Hawass has described the new site as the lost golden city. The excavations of the same began in September 2020. After the excavations began, the archaeologists began discovering mud bricks and the remains of an ancient city. The city was in great condition, complete with walls and full of tools required for daily life. Not only the golden city, but there has also been a world of discoveries hiding behind the stately facade of the country. Here are some of the other most exciting and unexpected discoveries from Egypt.
The Secret of the Skeleton
Egypt has been privy to the remains of many ancient rulers and subjects. However, a skeleton found at Aten has been puzzling archaeologists for years. The figure had its arms outstretched and a rope tied around its knees, it left the archaeologists bamboozled, and the team is still trying to find out how the person died. The site also has an entire cemetery with stone tombs like those in the Valley of the Kings.
The Mysterious Zigzag Wall
Another unusual structure from the lost city is the zigzag wall. The wall is different from the usual excavations. It is something different from what the archeologists have found until now.
The wall has just one entrance leading researchers to think about the guarded entry heavily guarded giving a leeway of an amalgamation of residential and administrative buildings.
Old Preserved Meat
There have been many discoveries from the site, including something as weird as 3,500-year-old meat? Yes, it does sound very un-appetizing. But scientists found a vessel with boiled or dried meat. The container also came with the inscription as Year 37, dressed meat for the third Heb Sed festival from the slaughterhouse of the stockyard.
The inscription gives us a clue about the city and gives us the names of the two active people during the time of king Amenhotep III and his son Akhenaten. It gives an inkling of the times of yore and the lifestyle of the people at that time.
Baked Goodies a Big Thing During Those Times
The excavations reveal a lot about the food habits during that time. People were meat-eaters and were also fond of eating bakery foods. We can say this as they had a thriving bakery.
The kitchen size gave us a glimpse of the catering styles during that time. We believe it catered to the needs of the workers and employees. Archaeologists have an intact structure complete with an elaborate preparation area, ovens, and storage pottery. Not only baking things, but they also found spinning and weaving tools from that site.
Well-Planned Neighborhoods
One of the most amazing discoveries of the city is it is one of the most well-planned ancient cities ever with an impressive state of preservation. The preservation state has unraveled different pieces of information about the place.
There has been the discovery of residential neighborhoods, along with industrial and administrative centers. It tells a lot about the ancient city’s thriving culture and prosperous economy. There has been the display of impressive metalwork and glassmaking. However, the interesting thing to note about the place is that the city was barren. And there seems to be no clue on why the citizens had to abandon the place.
Akhenaten and Nefertiti had asked their subjects to relocate their empire’s capital and transfer to the city of Amarna. However, we still do not know what prompted the mass exodus. But we are sure large-scale excavations will eventually give the reason why.
Isn’t the Lost City of Egypt sound extremely intriguing?