The sands of your time in Egypt are famous because they are romanticized. These sands happen to be hiding ancient Egyptian cities for thousands of years. Slowly they are giving up their secrets but it's known there are lots of more found. Egyptologists continue to be discovering lost cities in Egypt.
Recent discoveries have included the “Atlantis” of Egypt Heracleion/Thonis which was lost beneath the Meditteranean Sea and just discovered in 1999 – back in the day Egypt's main trading port. Another city discovered even more recently was Dazzling Aten – which was briefly the main city of Egpyt and was only discovered in 2022!
The Lost Egyptian City of Itjtawy
One of Egypt's lost cities is that of Itjtawy (full Egyptian name Amenemhat-itj-tawy – translating to “Amenemhat, Seizer of the Two Lands”. It was a royal city which was founded by Pharaoh Amenemhat I who ruled between around 1991 BC and 1962 BC but has remained lost for thousands of years.
- Built: Within the 1900s BC
- Capital: It Was Egpyt's Capital For more than 400 Years
- Period: Middle Kingdom
It is considered that the city is somewhere within the Faiyum region of Egypt and that its cemeteries were found at Lisht, el-Lahun, and Dahshur. It is thought that Pharaoh Amenemhat I moved the capital there to be better placed to thwart Asiatic incursions into Egypt. It is thought that the huge site was close to in which the pyramids of the two kings who built are.
So far, it's believed that it existed, but nobody knows exactly where it is. But researchers are on the task. One of them is Dr. Sarah Parcak who's using “space archeology” to try to think it is. She is using NASA topography data to pre-plan the website of Itjtawy and to see where the Nile accustomed to flow 4,000 years ago.
- “Space Archeology”: A Modern Technic Being Used To Discover Lost Cities And Sites
She is applying infrared chemical changes to the landscape brought on by the mud-brick building materials, used by the ancient Egyptians.
But while she's had a large amount of success discovering other things in Egypt she still hasn't managed to discover the Lost City of Itjtawy. Her discoveries include 17 potential pyramids, in addition to 3,100 forgotten settlements and 1,000 lost tombs (according to Discoveringegypt.com).
The Lost City Of Thinis
Another of Egpyt's known-to-be-lost cities may be the lost town of Thinis. It was also the capital of Egypt during the first dynasties of ancient Egpyt.
There is little doubt it existed because it is well attested by ancient writers, including the classical historian Manetho. It is thought that the town went into decline from Dynasty III once the capital was relocated to Memphis (not in Tennessee).
- Earliest Evidence: 4,000 BC
- Probable Location: Near Modern Girga
- Mentioned: In the Book From the Dead
- Capital: Thinis Was The main city of Egpyt
By the Roman period thousands of years later it had lost its position like a regional administrative. Thinis persisted for several years like a significant religious center and housed the tomb and mummy from the regional deity. Thinis also played a role like a mythical devote Egypt's famous Book of the Dead.
While it remains undiscovered, it is thought to happen to be located vicinity of ancient Abydos and modern Girga.
Recently Un-Lost-ed Cities of Ancient Egypt
The Town of Tanis:
The town of Tanis is discovered in 1939 by a French archaeologist named Pierre Montet. It is perhaps most famous to be portrayed in the Indiana Jones movie Raiders from the Lost Ark.
Once the main city of Egypt, Tanis's royal tombs have yielded artifacts on par with the treasures of Tutankhamun.
- Indiana Jones: Tanis Starred In The Movie Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark
- Artifacts: While Little-known, Tanis Has Been A Source Of Many Discoveries
The Sunken City of Heracleion:
Heracleion (also known as Thonis) is probably the best submerged city ever discovered and we're only starting to learn more about it. Excavations are continuing and each year there are more and more discoveries being made from this ancient city that were lost underneath the waves for more than one thousand years.
While another lost cities mentioned here were former capitals it was barely more than a legend that just appeared in a few rare ancient texts. Most historians didn't bother with it much.
- Port: At One Time It Was The primary Port Town of Egypt
- Age: Perhaps As Old As The 12th Century BC
- Mentioned: By Herodotus, Strabo, and Diodorus
