What is the name of the lost city? Five legendary lost cities that have not yet been found

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The legend of Atlantis tells of a lost land that disappeared without a trace in the depths of the sea. In the cultures of many nations, there are similar legends about cities that disappeared under water, in the sands of the desert or overgrown with forests. Let's look at five lost cities that were never found.

Percy Fawcett and the Lost City of Z

Ever since Europeans first arrived in the New World, there have been rumors of a golden city in the jungle, sometimes called El Dorado. Spanish conquistador Francisco Orellana was the first to venture along the Rio Negro in search of the legendary city.

In 1925, a 58-year-old researcher Percy Fawcett went deep into the jungles of Brazil in order to find a mysterious lost city, which he called Z. Fostt's team and himself disappeared without a trace, and this story became the reason for numerous publications. Rescue operations failed - Fossett was not found.

In 1906, the Royal Geographical Society of England, which sponsors scientific expeditions, invited Fawcett to explore part of Brazil's border with Bolivia. He spent 18 months in the state of Mato Grosso, and during his expeditions Fawcett became obsessed with the idea of lost civilizations in the region.

In 1920, in the National Library of Rio de Janeiro, Fawcett came across a document called "Manuscript 512". It was written in 1753 by a Portuguese explorer. He claimed that in the Mato Grosso region, in the Amazon rainforest, he found a fortified city that resembles an ancient Greek one.

The manuscript described a lost city with multi-story buildings, towering stone arches, and wide streets leading to a lake where the explorer saw two white Indians in a canoe.

In 1921, Fawcett embarked on the first of his expeditions in search of the lost city of Z. His team suffered many difficulties in the jungle, surrounded by dangerous animals, people were exposed to serious illnesses.

ABOUTDean from Percy's routes

In April 1925, he tried to find Z for the last time. This time he prepared thoroughly and received more funding from newspapers and societies, including the Royal Geographical Society and the Rockefellers.

In the last letter home delivered by a member of his team, Fawcett wrote a message to his wife Nina: "We hope to get through this area in a few days... Don't be afraid of failure." This turned out to be his last message to his wife and the world.

Although Fawcett's Lost City of Z has not been found, ancient cities and traces of religious sites have been discovered in recent years in the jungles of Guatemala, Brazil, Bolivia and Honduras. New technologies for scanning areas give new hope that the city of Z will be found.

The Lost City of Aztlan - Home of the Aztecs

The Aztecs, a powerful empire of ancient America, lived in what is now Mexico City. The lost island of Aztlan, where they created a civilization before their migration to the Valley of Mexico, is considered to be the epicenter of Aztec culture.

Skeptics consider the Aztlan hypothesis to be a myth, similar to Atlantis or Camelot. Thanks to legends, images of ancient cities live on, but it is unlikely that they will be found. Optimists dream of the joy of finding legendary cities. The search for Aztlan Island stretches from Western Mexico all the way to the deserts of Utah. However, these searches are fruitless, because the location of Aztlan remains a mystery.

An unusual map from 1704, drawn by Giovanni Francesco Gemelli Careri. The first publicly published version of the legendary Aztec migration from Aztlan.

According to Nahuatl legend, seven tribes lived in Chicomostoc, “the place of the seven caves.” These tribes represented seven Nahua groups: Acolhua, Chalca, Mexica, Tepaneca, Tlahuica, Tlaxcalan and Xochimilca (sources give variant names). Seven tribes with a similar language left the caves and settled together near Aztlan.

The word Aztlan means “land to the north; the land from which the Aztecs came." One theory is that the people of Aztlan became known as the Aztecs and later migrated from Aztlan to the Valley of Mexico.

The Aztec migration from Aztlan to Tenochtitlan is a turning point in Aztec history. It began on May 24, 1064, the first solar year of the Aztecs.

Seekers of the Aztec homeland, hoping to find the truth, undertook many expeditions. But ancient Mexico is in no hurry to reveal the secrets of Aztlan.

The Lost Land of Lionesse - a city at the bottom of the sea

According to Arthurian legend, Lyonesse is the birthplace of the main character in the story of Tristan and Isolde. This mythical land is now called the "lost land of Lionesse". It is believed that she sank into the sea. Although Lyonesse is mentioned in legends and myths, it is believed that it sank at sea many years ago. It is difficult to determine the line between fiction and reality of hypotheses and legends.

Lyonesse is a large city surrounded by one hundred and forty villages. He disappeared on November 11, 1099 (although some accounts give the year 1089, and some say the 6th century). Suddenly the land was flooded by the sea, people drowned.

Although the story of King Arthur is a legend, Lyonesse is believed to be a real place adjacent to the Isles of Scilly in Cornwall, England. In those days, sea level was lower.

Scilly is the westernmost and southernmost point of England, as well as the southernmost point of Great Britain

Fishermen from the Isles of Scilly say they have pulled pieces of buildings and other structures from their fishing nets. Their words are not supported by evidence and are subject to criticism.

Stories about Tristan and Isolde, the final battle between Arthur and Mordred, the legend of the city that was swallowed up by the sea, stories about Lionesse encourage you to find a ghost town.

The search for Eldorado - the lost city of gold

For hundreds of years, treasure hunters and historians have searched for the lost city of gold, Eldorado. The idea of a city filled with gold and other riches tempted people from different countries.

The number of people wishing to find the greatest treasure and ancient miracle is not decreasing. Despite numerous expeditions across Latin America, the golden city remains a legend. No traces of his existence were found.

The origins of Eldorado originate in the stories of the Muisca tribe. After two migrations - one in 1270 BC. and another between 800 and 500. BC. - The Muisca tribe occupied the Cundinamarca and Boyaca regions of Colombia. According to the legend in El Carnero by Juan Rodríguez Fraile, the Muisca performed rituals for each new king using gold dust and other treasures.

The new king was brought to Lake Guatavita and covered naked with gold dust. The retinue, led by the king, went to the center of the lake on a raft with gold and precious stones. The king washed gold dust from his body, and his retinue threw pieces of gold and precious stones into the lake. The meaning of this ritual was to make a sacrifice to the Muisca god. For the Muisca, Eldorado is not a city, but a king, who was called “he who is gilded.”

Although the meaning of “el dorado” is originally different, the name has become synonymous with the lost city of gold.

In 1545, conquistadors Lazaro Fonte and Hernán Pérez de Quesada wanted to drain Lake Guatavita. Gold was found along the shores, which fueled suspicions among treasure hunters about the presence of treasures in the lake. They worked for three months. The workers passed water in buckets along the chain, but did not completely drain the lake. They didn't make it to the bottom.

In 1580, Antonio de Sepulveda made another attempt. And again gold items were found on the shores, but the treasures remained hidden in the depths of the lake. There were other searches at Lake Guatavita. The lake is estimated to contain $300 million worth of gold.

However, the search was stopped in 1965. The Colombian government has declared the lake a protected area. However, the search for Eldorado continues. The Muisca legends and ritual sacrifice of treasure eventually evolved into the current story of El Dorado, the lost city of gold.

Dubai's Lost Cities: A Buried History

Dubai maintains the image of an ultra-modern city with stunning architecture and effortless opulence. However, hidden in the deserts are forgotten cities. History shows how the early inhabitants of the sands adapted and overcame dramatic climate change in the past.

The lost city is a legend of Arabia - medieval Julfar. Historians knew of its existence from written evidence, but could not find it. Home to the Arab sailor Ahmed ibn Majid and supposedly to the fictional Sinbad the Sailor, Julfar flourished for a thousand years before falling into ruin and disappearing from human memory for two centuries.

In the Middle Ages, Julfar was known as a prosperous port city - a center of trade in the southern part of the Persian Gulf. It was located on the coast of the Persian Gulf, north of Dubai, but its actual location was discovered by archaeologists in the 1960s. Traces found at this site date back to the 6th century. Residents of the port conducted regular trade with India and the Far East.

The 10th to 14th centuries marked a golden age for Julfar and long-distance Arab trade, with Arab sailors regularly sailing halfway around the world.

Arabs sailed into European waters long before Europeans managed to sail across the Indian Ocean and into the Persian Gulf. Julfar played an important role in the maritime adventures of the Persian Gulf for more than a thousand years. Arab merchants considered the extremely difficult 18-month sea voyages to China commonplace. The range of goods will surprise modern traders.

Julfar attracted constant attention from competing powers. In the 16th century, the Portuguese took control of the port. There were already 70 thousand people living in Julfar.

A century later, the Persians captured the city, but lost it in 1750. It then fell into the hands of the Qawazim tribe from Sharjah, who had established themselves nearby in Ras al-Khaimah, which they continue to rule to this day. And old Julfar gradually fell into decay until its ruins, located among the coastal sand dunes, were forgotten.

Today, much of Julfar appears to still remain hidden beneath the sands north of Ras al-Khaimah.

Ancient chronicles contain many records of fantastic cities and lands, such as Hyperborea, Eldorado, and Atlantis. People believed that their inhabitants were happy and did not know wars and suffering. Many adventurers went in search of these mythical places, but to no avail. Be that as it may, the location of the legendary lands still excites the minds of modern scientists and researchers.

Kitezh

Every year on Ivan Kupala, Old Believers come to Lake Svetloyar, located near Nizhny Novgorod. They sing songs there and perform rituals, but they do not swim in the lake. The thing is that, according to legend, the city of Kitezh is located at the bottom of Svetloyar. Old Believers claim that in this way the residents protected themselves from Batu’s invasion. Be that as it may, from time to time you can hear the hum of distant bells in the area.

Hyperborea

The legendary Hyperborea has haunted historians for hundreds of years. Judging by the records of ancient Greek and Roman thinkers, this was a very real country. Literally, the name Hypeborea means “beyond Boreas,” that is, beyond the north. Some believe that the country was located on the territory of Greenland, others attribute it to the Urals or the northern regions of Russia. In his prophecies, Nostradamus referred to the Russians as Hyperboreans. Many compare the legendary country with the sunken Atlantis. And some speculate that they may be the same place.

Sannikov Land

At the beginning of the 19th century, the fur trader Sannikov reported that he had seen an island located north of Novosibirsk, but numerous searches by polar explorers could not confirm his words. The fact that Sannikov Land may not be a fiction after all is confirmed by the birds. Every spring, polar geese fly north of the New Siberian Islands, and return with their offspring in the fall. From this it follows that somewhere there is land suitable for life.

El Dorado

It is believed that initially Eldorado was not the name of a city or country, but the name of a golden man - the leader of one of the Indian tribes. In the morning it was sprinkled with gold dust, and in the evening it was washed off. By the time the conquistadors arrived, the tribe had almost no gold left and the ritual of the “golden leader” had almost disappeared. But the Spaniards, blinded by gold, rushed in search of the Golden Country in the Amazon jungle. According to Indian legends, Eldorado was located on the shores of Lake Parima. But no one managed to find either gold, or the city, or the lake.
The lands presented in this review have not been seen by anyone and cannot confirm their reality. But today he can find no less

Today, in many corners of our planet, perfectly preserved ruins of ancient cities, built using unknown technologies, have been discovered. Tall buildings made of stone, unusual altars and ceremonial halls, rock paintings and ancient writings - there is a lot of evidence of the life of ancient civilizations that disappeared from the face of the earth for reasons unknown to us.

There are several of the most majestic and famous cities lost in our world.

Of course, absolutely everyone knows the legend about the sunken Atlantis, but many assure humanity that this city was found, and several countries claim this unique event. Atlantis is an ancient city, the patron and creator of which is considered to be the god Poseidon himself. The first mention of Atlantis comes from the young Plato, to whom the greatest minds of Atlantis opened their city. The Egyptian priests also knew about him. This island-city was inhabited by Atlanteans, who developed their possessions and built beautiful cities with elegant palaces and beautiful statues, and the most stunning building was the Temple of Poseidon, made of pure gold. At that time, Atlantis reached its strongest development with enormous military power, its own economy and politics. After a few centuries, people on Atlantis began to change, they were more interested in the thirst for power and gold, and they stopped honoring basic human laws and moral values, which unpleasantly surprised the gods. Because of this attitude, the Gods decided to get rid of the entire continent by destroying Atlantis, drowning it in the waters of the ocean.

This is another famous city that was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. In those days, it was the greatest city with a developed infrastructure and beautiful temples, which scientists were able to almost completely recreate thanks to the outlines of architectural structures strewn with volcanic ash. The unexpected volcanic eruption took the city's residents by surprise and no one was able to avoid a tragic fate. Today, the ruins of Pompeii are a popular attraction in Italy, home to the ruins of delightful temples, amazingly beautiful statues, ritual tables for sacrifices and other buildings of unknown purpose.

This is a city of untold riches, hidden in the tropical jungles of Mexico. Eldorado still remains a great treasury, sought after by millions of treasure hunters and antiquities hunters. Myths and fabulous legends about this golden city are formed in many countries. It was assumed that the inhabitants of El Dorado were a highly advanced society, having mastered the unknown technologies of stone and gold processing, which allowed them to build such magnificent temples and statues. Jewels and gold ornaments have been found in some parts of the world, which have interested scientists, but so far the lost city has not been found and remains a fairy-tale legend about a beautiful life. Others believe that modern Mexico City was built on the site of the lost city of El Dorado, where the ruins of one of the temples of the mysterious legendary city were discovered.

City of the Holy Grail

This city is also known as Petra. This mysterious city is located in Jordan. The Holy Grail is a kind of cup with a magical drink from a miraculous source that appeared when Moses struck a stone with the staff of Moses. Excavations of this ancient city gave people hope for a legendary find, but no one has yet been able to find this shrine, and it is unlikely that they will ever be able to. The entire city is carved into pink rocks and is one of the greatest wonders of the world. The most beautiful temples and buildings have been preserved quite well to this day, and the internal passages and caves are still being explored in attempts to learn the true history of humanity and ancient civilizations.

Once upon a time there was a luxurious city of Mohenjo-Daro in the territory of modern Pakistan, where the Harappan civilization developed. Today the site contains only the ruins of stunning architectural structures, cobbled streets and rock carvings. But in those days, our ancestors lived in caves and hunted wild animals to get food. How developed were the inhabitants of this city and why they disappeared - no one knows. The city suffered several earthquakes, floods and wars along the way, which most likely contributed to its severe destruction.

This is the Greek Minorian civilization, which lived many millennia ago under the reign of the mythical king Minos, who built the labyrinth famous according to legend. We learned this story only after the discovery of the ruins of a palace in the city of Knossos. Today, here are the remains of the former city, on the modern resort of Greece - the island of Santorini. Most scientists agree that the city was buried under the lava of the erupting volcano Fera, thanks to which some buildings and monuments of ancient architecture have perfectly preserved their appearance.

This is one of the oldest Inca cities, discovered in Peru, on the top of a mountain. This world is often called a city in the sky. All the inhabitants of this mysterious city disappeared without a trace in 1532. Among the ruins of the city found, one can distinguish several temples and palace complexes, altars for sacrifices, several residential stone houses, agricultural terraces and other structures. At the moment, the mysterious city of Machu Picchu is a popular attraction in Peru and a historical monument to one of the developed civilizations of the ancient world.

Tikal is the ancient abode of one of the tribes of the Mayan civilization. Today the ruins of this city are located in Guatemala. A majestic temple in the shape of an unusual pyramid, ruins of palaces, prisons, playgrounds and stadiums were found here. The city was not destroyed, all the inhabitants of a huge tribe simply abandoned it, as a result of which the city was covered with vegetation and merged with the wild jungle. The discovery of such well-preserved historical monuments of architecture and ancient history was the greatest find of the 19th century.

This is an unusually beautiful settlement of the ancient peoples of the Indian continent. Ancient temples with carved decorations and columns carved from solid stone are perfectly preserved here. The village of Hampi is considered the most interesting for archaeologists and tourists, with striking examples of Hindu temples and numerous sculptures of the former majestic empire of ancient civilizations. Chief among the ancestral architectural structures is the Pampapathi temple, whose construction date exceeds the age of the lost city of Vijayanagar.

This is an ancient Roman lost city discovered in what is now Algeria in North Africa. Even the ruins of this mysterious place exude an atmosphere of romance and unknown adventures. The city was home to military settlements, which were often subject to raids by nomads and looting. Gradually the city grew, turning into a powerful metropolis with trade routes and Christian churches. But the buildings of Timgrad destroyed by vandals in the 7th century led the city into decline and the inhabitants left this place. After many centuries, archaeologists discovered among the sands of the Sahara the ruins of a huge ancient city, which retained enough information about its history. Here you can see amphitheaters, the Temple of Jupiter, Trajan's triumphal arch, baths and huge columns standing at the entrance to the city.

This is another of the mysterious cities of the Mayan civilization, found in one of the Mexican states - Chiapas. The perfectly preserved architectural structures of the Mayan people amaze with their beauty and grace. The date of construction of the city reaches approximately 100 AD. Among the historical buildings here you can see an ancient temple of inscriptions with plaster bas-reliefs, a similar pyramidal temple on Tikal and other equally important finds. The city was abandoned, but no one will know for sure where all the inhabitants of the famous Mayan civilization went.

Other ancient cities of different nations of the world are also known, which used technologies for the production of building materials unknown at that time and erected amazing works of art of ancient architecture. Such cities have been discovered in Turkey, India, Syria, Egypt, Zimbabwe and other countries of the world. There are still many unsolved mysteries and mysteries on our planet that the strongest minds of humanity are struggling with.

Let's look at five lost cities that were never found.

1. Percy Fawcett and the Lost City of Z

In 1925, 58-year-old explorer Percy Fawcett went deep into the jungles of Brazil in order to find a mysterious lost city, which he called Z. Fostt's team and himself disappeared without a trace. Rescue operations failed and Fossett was not found.

The manuscript described a lost city with multi-story buildings, towering stone arches, and wide streets leading to a lake where the explorer saw two white Indians in a canoe.

In 1921, Fawcett embarked on the first of his expeditions in search of the lost city of Z. His team endured many hardships in the jungle, surrounded by dangerous animals.

In April 1925, Fawcett tried to find Z for the last time. This time he prepared thoroughly and received more funding from newspapers and societies, including the Royal Geographical Society and the Rockefellers.

Although the Lost City of Z has never been found, ancient cities and traces of religious sites have been discovered in the jungles of Guatemala, Brazil, Bolivia and Honduras in recent years. New technologies for scanning areas give new hope that the city of Z will be found.

2. The Lost City of Aztlan - the birthplace of the Aztecs

The Aztecs, a powerful empire of ancient America, lived on the territory of today's Mexico City. The lost island of Aztlan, where they created a civilization before their migration to the Valley of Mexico, is considered to be the epicenter of Aztec culture.

Skeptics consider the Aztlan hypothesis to be a myth, similar to Atlantis or Camelot. Thanks to legends, images of ancient cities live on, but it is unlikely that they will be found.

Optimists dream of discovering legendary cities. The search for Aztlan Island stretches from Western Mexico to the deserts of Utah. However, these searches are fruitless; the location of Aztlan remains a mystery.

According to Nahuatl legend, seven tribes lived in Chicomostoc, “the place of the seven caves.” These tribes represented seven Nahua groups: Acolhua, Chalca, Mexica, Tepaneca, Tlahuica, Tlaxcalan and Xochimilca (other names are also found). Seven tribes with a similar language left the caves and settled together near Aztlan.

The Aztec migration from Aztlan to Tenochtitlan is a turning point in Aztec history. It began on May 24, 1064, the first solar year of the Aztecs.

Seekers of the Aztec homeland, hoping to find the truth, undertook many expeditions. But ancient Mexico is in no hurry to reveal the secrets of Aztlan.

3. The Lost Land of Lionesse - a city at the bottom of the sea

According to the legend of King Arthur, Lionesse is the birthplace of the main character in the story of Tristan and Isolde. This mythical land is now called the "lost land of Lionesse". It is believed that she sank into the sea.

Although Lyonesse is mentioned in legends and myths, it is believed that it sank at sea many years ago. It is difficult to determine the line between fiction and reality of hypotheses and legends.

Although the story of King Arthur is a legend, Lioness is believed by some to be a real place adjacent to the Isles of Scilly in Cornwall, England. In those days, sea level was lower.

SEALY is the westernmost and southernmost point of England, as well as the southernmost point of Great Britain. Photo: NASA/wikipedia/Public Domain

Fishermen from the Isles of Scilly say they have pulled pieces of buildings and other structures from their fishing nets. Their words are not supported by evidence and are subject to criticism.

Stories about Tristan and Isolde, the final battle between Arthur and Mordred, the legend of the city that was swallowed up by the sea, stories about Lionesse encourage you to go looking for a ghost town.

4. Search for Eldorado - the lost city of gold

For hundreds of years, treasure hunters and historians have searched for the lost city of gold, Eldorado. The idea of a city filled with gold and other riches tempted people from different countries. The number of people wishing to find the greatest treasure and ancient miracle is not decreasing.

Despite numerous expeditions across Latin America, the golden city remains a legend. No traces of his existence were found.

El Dorado in the middle of the lake. Photo: Andrew Bertram/wikipedia/CC BY-SA 1.0

According to the legend in El Carnero by Juan Rodríguez Fraile, the Muisca performed rituals for each new king using gold dust and other treasures.

The meaning of this ritual was to make a sacrifice to the Muisca god. For the Muisca, Eldorado is not a city, but a king, who was called “he who is gilded.”

Although the meaning of “el dorado” is originally different, the name has become synonymous with the lost city of gold.

They worked for three months. The workers passed water in buckets along the chain, but did not completely drain the lake. They didn't make it to the bottom.

"Manoa, or Eldorado" on the shores of Lake Parime. Map of Hessel Gerrits (1625). El Dorado was charted near Parime from the time of Walter Raleigh (1595) to Alexander Humboldt (1804). Photo: Hessel Gerritsz/wikipedia/Public domain

The search was stopped in 1965. The Colombian government has declared the lake a protected area. However, the search for Eldorado continues.

The legends of the Muisca tribe and the ritual sacrifice of treasure eventually evolved into the current story of Eldorado, the lost city of gold.

5. Lost in the Desert Cities of Dubai: Buried History

Dubai maintains the image of an ultra-modern city with stunning architecture and opulence. However, hidden in the deserts are forgotten cities. History shows how the early inhabitants of the sands adapted and overcame dramatic climate change in the past.

The lost city is a legend of Arabia - medieval Julfar. Historians learned of its existence from written evidence, but were unable to find it.

Home to the Arab sailor Ahmed ibn Majid and the supposedly fictional Sinbad the Sailor, Julfar flourished for a thousand years before falling into ruin and disappearing from human memory for two centuries.

Ahmed ibn Majid is from Julfar. Photo: wikipedia/Public Domain

Traces found at this site date back to the 6th century. Residents of the port conducted regular trade with India and the Far East.

Simbad. Photo: René Bull/wikipedia/Public Domain

The 10th to 14th centuries were the golden ages for Julfar and long-distance Arab trade, with Arab sailors regularly sailing halfway around the world.

Arabs sailed into European waters long before Europeans managed to sail across the Indian Ocean and into the Persian Gulf.

Julfar played an important role in the maritime adventures of the Persian Gulf for more than a thousand years. Arab merchants considered the extremely difficult 18-month sea voyages to China commonplace. The range of goods would surprise modern traders.

Julfar attracted constant attention from competing powers. In the 16th century, the Portuguese took control of the port. There were already 70 thousand people living in Julfar.

Exclaves of Oman and the UAE Oman Abu Dhabi (UAE) Dubai (UAE) Sharjah (UAE) Ajman (UAE) Umm al-Qaiwain (UAE) Ras al-Khaimah (UAE) Fujairah (UAE) Photo: Jolle and Nickpo/wikipedia/CC BY 3.0

A century later, the Persians captured the city, but lost it in 1750. Then he fell into the hands of the Qawazim tribe from Sharjah, who had established themselves in the neighborhood.

Old Julfar gradually began to decline until its ruins, located among the coastal sand dunes, were forgotten.

Today, much of Julfar appears to still remain hidden beneath the sands north of Ras al-Khaimah.

Lost cities have always excited the minds of not only antiquity hunters, but also simply adventurers. Some of these objects were hidden in the jungle for hundreds of years and were discovered by accident, others rested under layers of earth and were found during or on the construction site, and there are those that are mentioned in ancient documents, but they have not yet been discovered.

Thousands of people annually visit mysterious places where they once lived, since the secret of the lost city is a profitable tourist product that is eagerly snapped up by adventurers.

Babylon

Babylon is a city whose existence was known to archaeologists not only thanks to the Bible, but also from the records of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, whose work “Histories” has survived to this day. Ancient lost cities of such a scale as Babylon or Troy have haunted researchers. The main reason for this is the desire to prove that this or that object is not the fiction of a poet or a biblical “fairy tale”, but a really existing settlement that had its own life and death.

If we take biblical history as a basis, then Babylon was founded by a descendant of Ham, Nimrod. In fact, it is not known exactly how in the second half of the 3rd millennium BC. e. a settlement appeared on the banks of the Euphrates, which later became the capital of the world, as the Babylonians themselves believed.

Thanks to its advantageous location, Babylon became the capital of Mesopotamia for a thousand years, attracting people from all over the world. It mixed many cultures, languages and religions, but the main god of the rulers was Marduk, and the goddess was Ishtar. During excavations that took place from 1899 to 1917, fragments of one of the 8 gates of the city were found - the Ishtar Gate.

This majestic structure, covered with blue glazed tiles, can be seen in Berlin.

Inca cities

The Inca people, who once inhabited the countries known today as Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia and parts of Chile, have become a mystery to scientists. This young civilization, whose history dates back to just 1200 BC. e., was destroyed by the Spaniards. Descendants of a once great people today live in the Andes.

It was the lost cities of the Incas, which were simply “hidden” from human eyes by the jungle, that became a mystery. These settlements were well-equipped, had a clear structure and all the necessary city communications, but nevertheless, for some reason, the residents abandoned them.

The most famous - once lost - city of Machu Picchu is today visited by up to 2,500 tourists daily.

It was found in the jungle in 1911 by the American archaeologist Bingham, who discovered perfectly preserved pyramids. The UNESCO organization, which declared Machu Picchu a heritage site of the Incas, allows a limited number of visitors to go up - no more than 800 people per day, and even then they want to reduce this number in order to preserve the pyramids.

Mayan cities

The Mayans were not a civilization in the sense that is commonly believed in scientific circles. They built settlements, each of which was a separate state. Perhaps the most famous lost cities in the world belong to the Mayans.

The most famous and most frequently visited by tourists from all over the world are such sites as Chichen Itza, Uxmal and Coba on

Chichen Itza was abandoned by its inhabitants in 1194 for unknown reasons. Archaeologists have never been able to figure out why the settlement was deserted 400 years after its founding. This is more than strange, because roads were built between the Mayan cities in Yucatan, they had a clear layout, highly developed communications for that time and a thriving culture. But in the 13th century, all the Indians left Yucatan, so the Spaniards, who landed there in the 16th century, were left with only ruins.

And only after centuries, the lost cities of this mysterious people, who gave the world the calendar, astronomy, the counting system and the concept of zero, were rediscovered by the civilized world and even came under the protection of the UNESCO organization, and the city of Chichen Itza was named

Troy

The most famous “discovered” lost city is Troy. Few believed that she even existed. It was considered a place, fictitious by Homer, where the legendary ancient Greek poet-storyteller placed the heroes of his epic poem “The Iliad.”

The first who believed and decided to find the legendary city was the amateur archaeologist and treasure hunter Heinrich Schliemann. Being a rich man, he could conduct excavations wherever he wanted, and therefore worked both in Crete and on the Hissarlik hill.

During the excavations, he found many artifacts, but the most significant find, of course, is Troy, excavated in 1870.

Today no one doubts that this city actually existed, and the events that Homer covered in such detail in his works could really have taken place in history. It is enough to go to Turkey to see the existence of the legendary Ilion with your own eyes.

Angkor

Lost cities in the jungle are perhaps the most attractive places for lovers of secrets, treasures and adventures.

A notable example is the city of Angkor in Cambodia, which was rediscovered in the 19th century by French archaeologists.

For 6 centuries, this settlement was the center of the Khmer state, after which it was captured by Thai troops and abandoned by local residents. This is a rare case where the jungle has preserved numerous houses and numerous monuments virtually intact.

Lost in the jungle, a traveler from France, Henri Muo, accidentally came across the largest temple in the world - Angkor Wat.

This happened on January 22, 1861. Soon the whole world learned about the discovery in the jungle. Today Angkor is a city of temples that are part of the heritage of Cambodia and are under the protection of UNESCO.

Skara Brae

The lost cities of Europe are not as famous as Thebes and Memphis in Egypt or Angkor in Cambodia, but they are no less interesting and educational in terms of studying the history and culture of the peoples who inhabited them.

The town of Skara Brae in Scotland was discovered in 1850 due to a storm, after which part of the land was washed into the sea, exposing a fairly well-preserved settlement that was once inhabited. Archaeologists have determined that the inhabitants abandoned it in 3100 BC. e., presumably due to sudden climate change.

The small settlement consisted of only 8 buildings, but they had high-quality sewage systems, as evidenced by toilets and bathrooms found in the houses. Unfortunately, there is no information about who exactly lived in these houses, in which not only the layout, but also the furniture was the same.

Atlantis

The lost cities of Atlantis excite the minds of more than one generation of treasure and artifact seekers. Of the historical documents that mention this civilization, the only ones that inspire hope that it existed are the works of Plato. Although this does not convince skeptics...

Thousands of hypotheses and disputes regarding the location of the mysterious civilization have been going on since the time of the mentioned philosopher, but no evidence has been found that Atlantis existed at all.

Among modern scientists, the opinion is becoming increasingly popular (by the way, allegedly confirmed by archaeological finds) that Atlantis is the island of Santorini, the central part of which went under water during a geological disaster. Whether this is actually the case remains to be verified.

Only one thing is known for certain: wherever Atlantis is located, the treasures of the lost city haunt treasure hunters. To this day, enthusiasts organize dives to the bottom of the Atlantic in the hope of discovering the mysterious island. Well, let's hope that if not us, then at least our descendants will be able to solve the mystery of this ancient civilization...