Egyptologists uncover ‘lost golden city’ buried under the sands

Egyptologists uncover ‘lost golden city’ buried under the sands

CAIRO: Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of an ancient city in the desert outside Luxor that they say is the "largest" ever found in Egypt and dates back to a golden age of the pharaohs 3, 000 years ago. Famed Egyptologist Zahi Hawass announced the discovery of the "lost golden city," saying the site was uncovered near Luxor, home of the legendary Valley of the Kings. "The Egyptian mission under Dr. Zahi Hawass found the city that was lost under the sands," the excavation team said in a statement Thursday. "The city is 3, 000 years old, dates to the reign of Amenhotep III, and continued to be used by Tutankhamun and Ay." The team called the find "the largest" ancient city ever uncovered in Egypt. Betsy Bryan, professor of Egyptian art and archaeology at Johns Hopkins University, said the find was the "second most important archaeological discovery since the tomb of Tutankhamun" nearly a century ago, according to the team's statement. Items of jewelry have been unearthed, along with colored pottery vessels, scarab beetle amulets and mud bricks bearing seals of Amenhotep III. "Many foreign missions searched for this city and never found it," said Hawass, a former antiquities