A lost city is an urban settlement that fell into terminal decline and became extensively or completely uninhabited, with the consequence that the site's former significance was no longer known to the wider world. The locations of many lost cities have been forgotten, but some have been rediscovered and studied extensively by scientists. Recently abandoned cities or cities whose location was never in question might be referred to as ruins or ghost towns. Smaller settlements may be referred to as abandoned villages. The search for such lost cities by European explorers and adventurers in Africa, the Americas, and Southeast Asia from the 15th century onward eventually contributed to the development of archaeology.
Lost cities generally fall into two broad categories: those where all knowledge of the city's existence was forgotten before it was rediscovered, and those whose memory was preserved in myth, legend, or historical records but whose location was lost or at least no longer widely recognized.
Reasons for loss Cities may become lost for a variety of reasons including natural disasters, economic or social upheaval, or war.
The Incan capital city of Vilcabamba was destroyed and depopulated during the Spanish conquest of Peru in 1572. The Spanish did not rebuild the city, and the location went unrecorded and was forgotten until it was rediscovered through a detailed examination of period letters and documents.
Troy was a city located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey. It is best known for being the focus of the Trojan War described in the Greek Epic Cycle and especially in the Iliad, one of the two epic poems attributed to Homer. Repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt, the city slowly declined and was abandoned in the Byzantine era. Buried by time, the city was consigned to the realm of legend until the location was first excavated in the 1860s.
Other settlements are lost with few or no clues to their abandonment. For example, Malden Island, in the central Pacific, was deserted when first visited by Europeans in 1825, but the remains of temples and other structures on the island indicate that a population of Polynesians had lived there for perhaps several generations in the past. Typically this lack of information is due to no surviving written or oral histories and a lack of archaeological data as in the case of the remote and fairly unknown Malden Island.
Rediscovery With the development of archaeology and the application of modern techniques, many previously lost cities have been rediscovered.
Machu Picchu is a pre-Columbian Inca site situated on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru. Often referred to as the "Lost City of the Incas", it is perhaps the most familiar icon of the Inca World. Machu Picchu was built around 1450, at the height of the Inca Empire. It was abandoned just over 100 years later, in 1572, as a belated result of the Spanish Conquest. It is possible that most of its inhabitants died from smallpox introduced by travelers before the Spanish conquistadors arrived in the area. In 1911, Melchor Arteaga led the explorer Hiram Bingham to Machu Picchu, which had been largely forgotten by everybody except the small number of people living in the immediate valley. Nevertheless, Peruvian explorer and farmer Agustín Lizárraga predated this discovery by 9 years, having found the Inca site on 14 July 1902. He left a charcoal inscription bearing the words "A. Lizárraga 1902".
Helike was an ancient Greek city that sank at night in the winter of 373 BCE. The city was located in Achaea, Northern Peloponnesos, two kilometres (12 stadia) from the Corinthian Gulf. The city was thought to be legend until 2001, when it was rediscovered in the Helike Delta. In 1988, the Greek archaeologist Dora Katsonopoulou launched the Helike Project to locate the site of the lost city. In 1994, in collaboration with the University of Patras, a magnetometer survey was carried out in the midplain of the delta, which revealed the outlines of a buried building. In 1995, this target was excavated (now known as the Klonis site), and a large Roman building with standing walls was brought to light.
Lost cities by continent Africa Rediscovered Egypt Akhetaten – capital during the reign of 18th Dynasty pharaoh Akhenaten. Later abandoned, almost totally destroyed. Modern day Amarna. Avaris – capital city of the Hyksos in the Nile Delta. Canopus – located on the now-dry Canopic branch of the Nile, east of Alexandria. Memphis – administrative capital of ancient Egypt. Little remains. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Pi-Ramesses – imperial city of Rameses the Great, now thought to exist beneath Qantir Tanis – capital during the 21st and 22nd Dynasties, in the Delta region.
Maghreb
Carthage – initially a Phoenician city in Tunisia, destroyed and then rebuilt by Rome. Later served as the capital of the Vandal Kingdom of North Africa, before being destroyed by the Arabs after its capture in 697 CE. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Dougga, Tunisia – Roman city located in present-day Tunisia. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Leptis Magna – Roman city located in present-day Libya. It was the birthplace of Emperor Septimius Severus, who lavished an extensive public works program on the city, including diverting the course of a nearby river. The river later returned to its original course, burying much of the city in silt and sand. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Timgad, Algeria – Roman city founded by the emperor Trajan around 100 CE, covered by sand in the 7th century. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Aoudaghost, Mauritania – wealthy Berber city in medieval Ghana.
Horn of Africa Adulis, Eritrea – a port city of the Aksumite kingdom built between 500 and 300 BC. Qohaito, Eritrea – 1000 BC city of the Kingdom of Axum. Metera, Eritrea – 800 BC lost town. Keskese, Eritrea – 700 BC lost city. Hubat, Ethiopia – capital of Harla Kingdom
Subsaharan Africa Great Zimbabwe – built between the 11th and the 14th century, this city is the namesake of modern-day Zimbabwe. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Niani, Guinea – lost capital of the Mali Empire Gede, Kenya – also known as Gedi. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Uncertain or disputed Lost City of the Kalahari – possibly invented
Undiscovered Itjtawy, Egypt – capital during the 12th Dynasty. Exact location still unknown, but it is believed to lie near the modern town of el-Lisht. Thinis, Egypt – undiscovered city and centre of the Thinite Confederacy, the leader of which, Menes, united Upper and Lower Egypt and was the first pharaoh. Kubar, Ethiopia – a lost major city of the Kingdom of Aksum Dakkar, Ethiopia – capital of the Adal Sultanate
Asia Central Asia Rediscovered Ai-Khanoum – site of a Hellenistic city in Afghanistan, probably a military and economic center. Karakorum – capital of the Mongol Empire under Genghis Khan. Khara-Khoto – Western Xia centre of trade located in Inner Mongolia, mentioned in The Travels of Marco Polo as Etzina. Loulan – located in the Taklamakan Desert, on the ancient Silk Road route. Mangazeya, Siberia – a trade colony and eventual city, from the 17th century. Niya – located in the Taklamakan Desert, on the ancient Silk Road route. Old Urgench – capital of Khwarezm. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Otrar – city located along the Silk Road, important in the history of Central Asia. Poykent – also known as Paykend, a city in modern Uzbekistan located on the Oasis of Bukhara. Subashi – located in the Taklamakan Desert, on the ancient Silk Road route.Lost Cities of the Silk Road.
Undiscovered Abaskun – medieval Caspian Sea trading port Alexandria in Margiana – historical region centered on the oasis of Merv, and a minor satrapy within the Achaemenid Empire
East Asia Rediscovered Shimao site – Large stone settlements in Neolithic China. Yinxu – The capitals of Shang dynasty. Xanadu – Important cities of the Yuan dynasty, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Undiscovered
Wanggeom-seong – historic capital of Gojoseon, the first kingdom of Korea, supposedly founded by the legendary king Dangun.
South Asia India Rediscovered
Dholavira – located in Gujarat. City of the Indus Valley civilization. Dvārakā – ancient city of Krishna, hero of the Mahabharata. Now largely excavated. Off the coast of the Indian state of Gujarat. Kalibangan – located in Rajasthan, India – early city of the Indus Valley Civilization. Lothal – located in Gujarat, India – early city of the Indus Valley Civilization. Pattadakal – located in Karnataka, India. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Puhar, Mayiladuthurai – located in Tamil Nadu, India. Rakhigarhi – located in Haryana, largest Indus Valley Civilization site, dating back to 4600 BCE. Surkotada – located in Gujarat, India – early city of the Indus Valley Civilization. Vasai – located in India, former capital (1533–1740) of the Northern Provinces of Portuguese India Vijayanagara – located in Karnataka, India. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Undiscovered Muziris – located near Cranganore, Kerala, southern India
Nepal Lumbini – located in Rupandehi district, birthplace of Gautam Buddha. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Sinja Valley – located in Jumla district, capital city of medieval Khasa Kingdom and origin of Khas (Nepali) language. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Pakistan Rediscovered Chanhudaro – located in Pakistan's Sindh province, an Indus Valley civilization city Ganweriwal – located in the Cholistan Desert of Punjab, Pakistan – was a large town of the Indus Valley Civilization, not yet excavated. Harappa – located in Punjab, Pakistan – early city of the Indus Valley Civilization Kot Diji – located in Pakistan's Sindh province Indus Valley civilization city Mehrgarh – located in Pakistan's Balochistan province Indus Valley civilization city Mohenjo-daro – located in Sindh, Pakistan — early city of the Indus Valley civilization. The city was one of the early urban settlements in the world. Seri Bahlol – located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province — an ancient town, now the site of ruins. Sokhta Koh – located near the city of Pasni — another ancient settlement of the Indus Valley. Sutkagan Dor – located near the Dasht River — was a small settlement in the Indus Valley, now in ruins. Takht-i-Bahi – located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province — an ancient Indo-Parthian Buddhist monastery site. Taxila – located in Pakistan's Punjab province.
Undiscovered Naga Puram – located in Pakistan's Sindh province, a city of the Indus Valley civilization. The city was on the banks of the Ghaghara River.
Sri Lanka Rediscovered Anuradhapura – now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Sigiriya – now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Polonnaruwa – now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Southeast Asia Rediscovered
Angkor, Cambodia – now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Ayutthaya, Thailand – now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Mahendraparvata, Cambodia Sukhothai, Thailand – now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Wilwatikta, Indonesia – capital city of Majapahit Kingdom, now in Trowulan, Mojokerto, East Java, Indonesia.
Undiscovered Gangga Negara, Malaysia
Uncertain or disputed Kota Gelanggi, Malaysia Ma-i, Philippines – was a sovereign polity that pre-dated the Hispanic establishment of the Philippines and notable for having established trade relations with the Kingdom of Brunei, and with Song and Ming dynasty China. Its existence was recorded both in the Chinese Imperial annals Zhu Fan Zhi (諸番志) and History of Song.
Western Asia Rediscovered
Ani – medieval Armenian capital, located on the Turkish side of the Armenia–Turkey border. Antioch – ancient Greek city, important stronghold in the time of the Crusades. Babylon – Ancient Mesopotamian capital. Caesarea Çatalhöyük – a Neolithic and Chalcolithic settlement, located near the modern city of Konya, Turkey.