Lost Cities
Cities believed destroyed and/or lost, now uncovered with stories to tell.
11 Pins
·11y
Great Enclosure, Zimbabwe Photograph by James Stanfield Once thought (erroneously) to be a city of the biblical Queen of Sheba, Great Zimbabwe stands as the most important archaeological site yet found in sub-Saharan Africa. Though historians are still seeking answers about the origin and purpose of the city, evidence suggests the Shona, ancestors of the modern Bantu, built it beginning around A.D. 1250 and that it served as a spiritual center.
Nimrud, Iraq Photograph by Randy Olson Nimrud in northern Iraq was once the capital of the Assyrian empire. Feared as bloodthirsty and vicious, the Assyrians arose around the 14th century B.C. and dominated the Middle East for a thousand years. Nimrud and the Assyrian Empire declined rapidly around 612 B.C., after Nimrud's sister city, Nineveh, fell to the Babylonians.
Palmyra, Syria Photograph by James Stanfield There is evidence that the ancient city of Palmyra, also known as Tadmor, was in existence as far back as the 19th century B.C. Its importance grew around 300 B.C. as trading caravans began using it as a way station between Mesopotamia and Persia. Palmyra's strategic location and prosperity attracted the interest of the Romans, who took control of the city in the first century A.D.
Petra, Jordan Photograph by Martin Gray A person standing in the doorway of the Monastery at Petra, Jordan, shows the enormity of the ancient building's entrance. Carved into the sandstone hill by the Nabataeans in the second century A.D., this towering structure, called El-Deir, may have been used as a church or monastery by later societies, but likely began as a temple.
Although the archaeological discovery of Machu Picchu came nearly a hundred years ago, historians are still unsure of the function of this ancient Inca citadel. The Inca had no system of writing and left no written records, and archaeologists have been left to piece together bits of evidence as to why Machu Picchu was built, what purpose it served, and why it was so quickly vacated.
Ruins at Tanis, Egypt Photograph by O. Louis Mazzatenta The city of Tanis is relatively unknown among Egypt's wealth of historical sites, though it yielded one of the greatest archeological troves ever found. Once the capital of all Egypt, Tanis's royal tombs have yielded artifacts on par with the treasures of Tutankhamen. https://www.evernote.com/shard/s299/sh/0ba10c49-4d54-4bf8-84c3-f9296c320726/4c4c97a6d076ee572658c1d574238286
Mohenjo Daro, Pakistan Photograph by Randy Olson The Indus Valley civilization was entirely unknown until 1921, when excavations in what would become Pakistan revealed the cities of Harappa and Mohenjo Daro (shown here). This mysterious culture emerged nearly 4,500 years ago and thrived for a thousand years, profiting from the highly fertile lands of the Indus River floodplain and trade with the civilizations of nearby Mesopotamia.
Palenque, Mexico Photograph by Stephen Alvarez The earliest Maya began to settle the dense rain forests of southwestern Mexico and Guatemala some 3,000 years ago. For nearly 1,400 years, settlements arose throughout the region, with some, like Tikal and Palenque (shown here), expanding into large, vibrant city-states.