The city's walls are well preserved, allowing archaeologists to see where its different districts were located.Įgyptian Ministry of Tourism and AntiquitiesĪs Mia Alberti and Jack Guy report for CNN, the team found an inscription in So’oud Atun dated to 1337 B.C., just one year before Akhenaten established his capital at Amarna. He and his wife, Nefertiti, also moved Egypt’s royal seat from Thebes to a new city called Akhetaten (now known as Amarna). He abandoned all the Egyptian gods except the sun god Aten changed his name from Amenhotep IV to Akhenaten, meaning “devoted to Aten” and oversaw the rise of a new artistic movement. Per National Geographic’s Erin Blakemore, the younger Amenhotep dramatically changed the country’s direction following his father’s death. Toward the end of his reign, he shared power with his eldest son, the soon-to-be Amenhotep IV. He sponsored the construction of a number of huge temples and public buildings. It’s located close to a number of important ancient Egyptian monuments, including the Colossi of Memnon, the Madinat Habu Temple and the Ramesseum.Īmenhotep, ninth king of the 18th Dynasty, ruled during the second half of the New Kingdom period. Bryan, an Egyptian art specialist at Johns Hopkins University who visited the site but was not involved in the excavation, says in a statement that the find is “the second most important archeological discovery since the tomb of Tutankhamun.” (Through his father, Akhenaten, Tut is actually the grandson of Amenhotep.)Īrchaeologists discovered the city in September while searching for a mortuary temple. So far, the research team has identified a bakery, an administrative district and a residential area, as well as scarab beetle amulets, pottery and other everyday items.īetsy M. Many of the Rise of Aten’s walls are well preserved.
As BBC News reports, the city was established during the reign of Amenhotep III, between roughly 13 B.C. Zahi Hawass, a famous-and controversial-Egyptian scholar, announced the discovery of the “lost golden city” near Luxor, site of the ancient city of Thebes, on Thursday. In what experts are lauding as one of the most significant Egyptian archaeological finds of the past century, a team has uncovered the country’s largest known ancient city: So’oud Atun, or the “Rise of Aten.”
Photo by Ahmed Diab / Picture Alliance via Getty Images A team uncovered the lost city while searching for a mortuary temple last September.