Egypt's Lost Cities
The Ancients

Egypt's Lost Cities

B2Upper-intermediateSeptember 3, 202659 min
  • Interview
  • History

What happens when an entire city disappears? Beneath the sands and wetlands of Egypt lie the remains of forgotten cities that once stood at the heart of one of the ancient world’s greatest civilisations. In this episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by Egyptologist Chris Naunton to uncover the story of Egypt’s lost cities. From the rediscovery of Tanis, the mysterious city immortalised by Indiana Jones, to ancient capitals like Memphis and Amarna, they explore what caused these cities to vanish. And how many more are still waiting to be found? <...

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A royal statue emerges from the earth, followed by golden masks, elaborate coffins, and towering

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0:30

Imagine digging beneath the sands of Egypt and uncovering a forgotten world. A royal statue emerges from the earth, followed by golden masks, elaborate coffins, and towering temple walls covered in hieroglyphs. These are the remains of cities once at the heart of one of the greatest civilizations

1:03

in history, places that were abandoned, buried and undiscovered for centuries before being found again. In 1939, this was the experience of French archaeologist Pierre Montay, who rediscovered the lost city of Tannis, the royal capital of Egypt's 21st and 22nd dynasties, buried

1:28

Beneath the Nile Delta, Tannis revealed stories of unknown kings, of immense wealth, and of a city that functioned as a great commercial hub long before the rise of trading behemoths like Alexandria. It would later become immortalized as the Lost City from Indiana Jones, Raiders of

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