In a groundbreaking discovery, archaeologists have uncovered the full site of Egypt’s long-lost “City of Gold,” once known as Aten. Buried for over 3,000 years beneath the sands near the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, this ancient gold-mining city has now been revealed in its entirety, offering an unprecedented glimpse into Egypt’s rich history.

The site, located not far from the famous tomb of King Tutankhamun, was first discovered in 2020, and excavations have been ongoing until this week, when the findings were officially completed. Among the treasures unearthed were remnants of homes, workshops, administrative buildings, religious temples, and even bathhouses—offering a rare snapshot of everyday life in this thriving metropolis.

Artifacts recovered from the site date back to multiple periods in Egyptian history, including the Roman era (30 BC to 639 CE) and the Islamic era (642 CE to 1517 AD). This suggests that Aten remained an active and prosperous center for centuries, continuing to produce gold for various dynasties that decorated their tombs and palaces.

A particularly exciting discovery was a collection of 628 fragments of pottery and stone, inscribed with hieroglyphic, demotic, and Greek scripts. These inscriptions provide valuable evidence that Aten was a multicultural and multilingual city, highlighting the diverse nature of its inhabitants.

The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities hailed the completion of the project as a major step in preserving the country’s ancient mining heritage, making it accessible for both researchers and the public to explore.

Aten, which dates back to the reign of Amenhotep III (circa 1391 to 1353 BC), was founded during one of Egypt’s most powerful periods. For years, the city served as Egypt’s primary administrative and industrial hub. However, after the rise of Akhenaten and the subsequent move of the capital to Amarna in the 1350s BC, Aten was abandoned and largely forgotten—until now.

The excavations have provided invaluable insights into Egypt’s ancient mining industry, including remarkably well-preserved gold-processing facilities. Researchers uncovered specialized factories that were used to extract gold from quartz veins. The advanced, multi-step process involved grinding quartz, filtering out sediments into basins, and smelting the ore in clay furnaces to produce pure gold.

This new knowledge will be enhanced once the inscriptions are translated, as they are expected to shed light on Aten’s economy, government, and culture.

In addition to these mining facilities, archaeologists uncovered several notable artifacts, including bronze coins from the Ptolemaic dynasty (305 BC–30 BC), offering a glimpse into Egypt’s later history. They also found five offering tables—stone slabs used for placing food and drinks as gifts for gods or spirits of the deceased—and terracotta figurines of humans and animals.

Other discoveries include stone sculptures of deities, ceramic vessels for perfumes and incense, and exquisite jewelry crafted from precious stones and seashells.

The excavation is the result of a multi-year effort that began after the city was rediscovered five years ago. The initial breakthrough came when archaeologists, led by renowned Egyptologist Zahi Hawass, were digging near the Valley of the Kings, aiming to locate King Tutankhamun’s mortuary temple. Instead, they were astonished to find large formations of mud bricks that led to the discovery of the lost city.

“Within weeks, to the team’s great surprise, formations of mud bricks began to appear in all directions,” Hawass said. “What they unearthed was the site of a large city in an exceptional state of preservation, with nearly complete walls and rooms filled with tools of daily life.”

The discovery of Aten is considered one of the most significant archaeological finds in recent years, providing new insights into the daily lives of ancient Egyptians and their mining practices. While many foreign expeditions had searched for the city over the years, it remained hidden until this remarkable excavation. Now, with the site fully uncovered, historians and archaeologists have a unique opportunity to piece together the rich history of this “Lost City of Gold.”

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