Archaeologists struck gold after the discovery of a 3,000-year-old mining settlement buried beneath Egyptian sands. Dubbed the 'Lost City of Gold', the site has revealed a treasure trove of ancient artefacts.
The lost city of Aten, located near Luxor, was originally discovered in 2021, when it was hailed as one of the 'most important archaeological finds since Tutankhamun's tomb,' the BBC reported at the time.
The lost city has now been fully excavated, and experts say their findings offer important insights into ancient Egypt and a rare glimpse into ancient gold extraction techniques.
Dr Mohamed Ismail Khaled, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities said: "The existence of grinding and filtration stations indicates that ancient Egyptians had mastered the process of separating gold from quartz." He went on to emphasise the significance of the find "in deepening our understanding of the mining techniques used by the ancient Egyptians to extract gold from rock," providing "valuable insights into the social, religious, and economic lives of gold miners in industrial desert settlements throughout history."
The city was once a thriving hub of gold extraction during the reign of Amenhotep III, one of Egypt's most powerful pharaohs, who ruled from 1391 to 1353 BC. Excavations have revealed a vast, well-preserved settlement featuring grinding stations, filtration basins, and clay furnaces - indicating a complex multi-step method.
Among the most remarkable finds were 628 inscribed ostraca, which are fragments of pottery and stone. Researchers found the fragments had inscriptions in hieroglyphic, demotic, and Greek scripts, confirming that Aten was a multicultural hub.