Egypt’s “Lost City of Gold” has finally emerged from the sands after 3,000 years. Archaeologists have completed excavations of Aten, a once-thriving gold-mining city buried near Luxor, home to King Tutankhamun’s tomb. The site—teeming with ancient homes, workshops, temples, and administrative buildings—was Egypt’s industrial powerhouse under Pharaoh Amenhotep III.
Discovered in 2020, Aten was more than just a mining hub. Artifacts from the Roman and Islamic eras suggest the city stayed active for centuries, producing gold for multiple dynasties. Researchers uncovered 628 inscribed pottery and stone fragments, featuring Egyptian hieroglyphs, Greek, and demotic script, proving Aten was a multicultural, multilingual metropolis.
Amenhotep III, one of Egypt’s most powerful rulers (1391–1353 BC), built Aten to be the nation’s administrative and industrial center. The name itself honors the Egyptian sun god, cementing its place in history as a city of influence and wealth. But everything changed when his son, Akhenaten, took the throne. His radical religious reforms led to Aten’s abandonment, shifting Egypt’s capital 250 miles away to Amarna.
Despite its disappearance from history, Aten remained an active site long after its golden age. Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities called the excavation a major step in preserving the country’s ancient mining heritage. What was once lost to time is now open for researchers—and eventually, the world—to see firsthand.
Five Fast Facts
- Amenhotep III’s reign was so prosperous that he built over 250 statues of himself, more than any other pharaoh.
- Akhenaten, who abandoned Aten, also tried to erase the worship of all gods except one—the sun god Aten.
- Luxor, where Aten was discovered, is home to the famous Karnak Temple, the largest religious building ever constructed.
- The Valley of the Kings, where King Tut’s tomb lies, contains more than 60 known royal tombs.
- Gold was so abundant in ancient Egypt that it was considered the “flesh of the gods” and used extensively in religious artifacts.
