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{{Short description|Human settlement that has become uninhabited}}
{{For|other uses of the term Lost city|Lost city (disambiguation)}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Refimprove|date=August 2010}}
{{More citations needed|date=August 2010}}
The popular imagination is that '''lost cities''' were real, prosperous, well-populated areas, fell into terminal decline and whose locations have later been lost. Some lost cities at known sites have been studied extensively by scientists. Recently abandoned cities might be referred to as ] or ]s.
] rediscovered the ruins of ] in 1911, preceded by ] in 1902]]
], a city built by the ] in the ], Colombia]]
A '''lost city''' is an ] ] 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 ] or ]s. Smaller settlements may be referred to as ]s. The search for such lost cities by European ] and adventurers in Africa, the Americas, and Southeast Asia from the 15th century onward eventually led to the development of ].<ref>{{cite web|website=infoplease|url=http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/sci/A0856675.html |title=History of Archaeology}}</ref>


Lost ] 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.
Lost ] generally fall into three broad categories:
* no knowledge of the city existed until the time of its rediscovery
* location has been lost but memory has been retained in myths and legends
* their existence and location have been known, but they are no longer inhabited
The search for such lost cities by ] and adventurers in the Americas, Africa and in Southeast Asia from the 15th century onwards eventually led to the development of ].<ref></ref>


{{TOC limit}}
==How cities are lost==
Cities may become lost for a variety of reasons, including geographic, economic and social (e.g. war).


== How cities are lost ==
===Abandonment===
Cities may become lost for a variety of reasons including natural disasters, economic or social upheaval, or war.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2016/08/24/world/cities-destroyed-by-natural-disasters/index.html|title=Cities nearly obliterated by natural disasters|first=Holly|last=Yan|date=24 August 2016|website=CNN|access-date=6 April 2023}}</ref>
Various capitals in the Middle East were abandoned; after ] was abandoned ] became the capital of the new ], and this was in turn passed over in favor of ] (and later ]) for the site of the ] capital.


The ]n capital city of ] was destroyed and depopulated during the ] ] in ]. 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.<ref>{{Cite book|url={{GBurl|id=JKnZCwAAQBAJ|q=1572|pg=PA1}}|title=Turn Right at Machu Picchu: Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time|last=Adams|first=Mark|date=2012|publisher=Plume|isbn=978-0-452-29798-2|pages=306|via=Google Books}}</ref>
An ]n city named ] (Iram of the Pillars) was abandoned after much of the city sank into a sinkhole created by the collapse of an underground cavern, which also destroyed its water supply. The city was rediscovered in 1992 when ] photography revealed traces of the ancient trade routes leading to it.


] was a city located in northwest ] in what is now Turkey. It is best known for being the focus of the ] described in the Greek Epic Cycle and especially in the '']'', one of the two epic poems attributed to ]. Repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt, the city slowly declined and was abandoned in the ] era. Buried by time, the city was consigned to the realm of legend until the location was first excavated in the 1860s.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Troy |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Anthropology |year=2006 |publisher=SAGE Publications, Inc. |location=Thousand Oaks, CA}}</ref>
Other settlements are lost with few or no clues to guide historians, such as the ]. In August 1590, ] returned to the former ] colony, which had housed 91 men (including White), 17 women (two of them pregnant) and 11 children when he left, to find it completely empty, with no indication of struggle or any visible reason for the mass disappearance. The only clue was the word "Croatoan" carved into a post of the fort and "Cro" carved into a nearby tree.


], in the central Pacific, was deserted when first visited by Europeans in 1825, but ruined temples and the remains of other structures found on the island indicate that a small population of ]ns had lived there for perhaps several generations some centuries earlier. Prolonged drought seems the most likely explanation for their demise. The ruins of another city, called ], have been found on the Micronesian island of ]. In more recent times ], ] sank into the ] after an earthquake. Other settlements are lost with few or no clues to their abandonment. For example, ], in the ], was deserted when first visited by ] in 1825, but the remains of temples and other structures on the island indicate that a population of ]ns had lived there for perhaps several generations in the past. Typically this lack of information is due to a lack of surviving written or ] and a lack of archaeological data as in the case of the remote and fairly unknown Malden Island.


===Destruction=== == Rediscovery ==
With the development of archaeology and the application of modern techniques, many previously lost cities have been rediscovered.
Many cities have been destroyed by natural disasters and rebuilt, sometimes repeatedly. But in other cases the destruction has been so complete that the sites were abandoned completely. Classic examples include the Roman cities of ] and ], buried with many of their inhabitants under a thick layer of volcanic ash after an eruption of ]. A lesser known example is ], on the island of ], where in 1967, under a blanket of ash, the remains of a ] city were discovered. The volcanic explosion on Thera was immense, and had disastrous effects on the Minoan civilization. It has been suggested that this disaster was the inspiration that ] used for the story of ].


] is a pre-Columbian Inca site situated on a mountain ridge above the ] 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 ]. It is possible that most of its inhabitants died from ] introduced by travelers before the Spanish conquistadors arrived in the area. In 1911, Melchor Arteaga led the explorer ] to Machu Picchu, which had been largely forgotten by everybody except the small number of people living in the immediate valley.<ref>{{Cite book|url={{GBurl|id=bBHrWwtr_pYC|q=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}}|title=Machu Picchu: Unveiling the Mystery of the Incas|last1=Burger|first1=Richard L. (C. J. MacCurdy Professor and Current Chairman of the Council on Archaeological Studies)|author-link1=Richard L. Burger |last2=Salazar |first2=Lucy C.|date=2004|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=0-300-09763-8|via=Google Books}}</ref> Nevertheless, Peruvian explorer and farmer ] predated this discovery by 9 years, having found the Inca site on July 14, 1902. He left a charcoal inscription bearing the words "A. Lizárraga 1902".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Heaney |first=Christopher |title=Cradle of gold: the story of Hiram Bingham, a real-life Indiana Jones and the search for Machu Picchu |date=2011 |publisher=MacMillan |isbn=978-0-230-11204-9 |location=New York}}</ref>
], a significant port city on the Gulf Coast in much of the latter half of the 19th century, was abandoned shortly after the devastating ] of 1886.


] was an ancient Greek city that sank at night in the winter of 373 BCE. The city was located in ], Northern ], two kilometres (12 stadia) from the ]. 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 ], a ] 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.<ref>{{Cite journal |jstor = 30133726|title = Recurrent Submergence and Uplift in the Area of Ancient Helike, Gulf of Corinth, Greece: Microfaunal and Archaeological Evidence|journal = Journal of Coastal Research|volume = 24|issue = 1A|pages = 110–125|last1 = Alvarez-Zarikian|first1 = Carlos A.|last2 = Soter|first2 = Steven|last3 = Katsonopoulou|first3 = Dora|year = 2008|doi = 10.2112/05-0454.1|s2cid = 140202998}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Paul Kronfield |url=http://www.helike.org/paper.shtml |title=Helike Foundation - Discoveries at Ancient Helike |publisher=Helike.org |access-date=2009-11-12}}</ref>
Less dramatic examples of the destruction of cities by natural forces are those where the coastline has eroded away. Cities which have sunk into the sea include the one-time centre of the English wool-trade, at ], and the city of ] in ] which sank into the ] during a massive storm surge in 1362.


== Lost cities by continent ==
Cities are also often destroyed by wars. This was the case, for instance, with ] and ], though both of these were subsequently rebuilt. Another example is the ] capital at ] was destroyed in a fire after being captured by ]. In modern times, ], ], ], ], and other cities have been rebuilt after being destroyed due to warfare; in antiquity, the same is known to have occurred to ], and during the ], to ] (which became ]). (Those cities are therefore not lost, but their appearances were often largely changed.)
=== Africa ===
==== Rediscovered ====
===== Egypt =====
* ] – capital during the reign of 18th Dynasty ] ]. Later abandoned, almost totally destroyed. Modern day ].
* ] – capital city of the ] in the ].
* ] – located on the now-dry Canopic branch of the ], east of ].
* ] – administrative capital of ancient Egypt. Little remains. Now a UNESCO ].
* ] – imperial city of Rameses the Great, now thought to exist beneath Qantir
* ] – capital during the 21st and 22nd Dynasties, in the Delta region.


===== Maghreb =====
Even some currently existing cities may occupy the sites of lost cities. For example, ] was apparently essentially abandoned at the end of the Roman era, only to be repopulated by ] a few centuries later, spreading from "Lundenwic" (around modern ]).
* ] – initially a ]n city in ], destroyed and then rebuilt by Rome. Later served as the capital of the ] of North Africa, before being destroyed by the Arabs after its capture in 697 CE. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
* ], ] – Roman city located in present-day Tunisia. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
* ] – ] city located in present-day ]. It was the birthplace of Emperor ], 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.
* ], ] – Roman city founded by the emperor Trajan around 100 CE, covered by sand in the 7th century. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
* ], ] – wealthy ] city in ].


===Legends=== ===== Horn of Africa =====
* ], ] – a port city of the Aksumite kingdom built between 500 and 300 BC.
Some cities which are considered lost are (or may be) places of legend such as the ] ], ]n ], ], the ], ], and ]. Others, such as ] and ], having once been considered legendary, are now known to have existed.
* ], ] – 1000 BC city of the ].
* ], ] – 800 BC lost town.
* ], ] – 700 BC lost city.
* ], ] – capital of ]


===== Subsaharan Africa =====
==Lost cities by continent==
* ] – built between the 11th and the 14th century, this city is the namesake of modern-day ]. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
===Africa===
* ], ] – lost capital of the ]
*], ] – Capital during the reign of 18th Dynasty ] ]. Later abandoned and almost totally destroyed. Modern day ].
*] – Located on the now-dry Canopic branch of the ], east of ].
*], Egypt – Capital during the 12th Dynasty. Exact location still unknown, but it is believed to lie near the modern town of ].
*] – Capital during the 21st and 22nd Dynasties, in the Delta region.
*], Egypt - Undiscovered city and centre of the ], the leader of which, ], united ] and was the first ].
*] – Administrative capital of ancient Egypt. Little remains.
*], capital city of the ] in the ].
*] – ] city located in present day ]. It was the birthplace of Emperor ], who lavished an extensive public works programme 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.
*], ] – Roman city located in present day Tunisia.
*] – Initially a ]n city, destroyed and then rebuilt by Rome. Later served as the capital of the ], before being destroyed by the Arabs after its capture in AD 697.
*]
*] – Wealthy ] city in ].
*] - Roman city founded by the emperor Trajan around 100 AD, covered by the sand at 7th century.
*] -- oldest city in Africa.


==== Uncertain or disputed ====
===Asia===
* ] – possibly invented
====Far East Asia====
*] – ]
*] – ]
*Dachang Ancient Town - China (] sank it)<ref>http://www.travelchinaguide.com/river/three.htm</ref>
*Kuizhou Ancient City - China (also sunk by the Three Gorges Dam)<ref>http://www.travelchinaguide.com/river/three.htm</ref>
*] - Kowloon/Hong Kong/ China (demolished before Britain handed over Hong Kong to the Chinese, thus also ending the reason for Kowloon Walled City's existence (it was a lawless chunk of Chinese territory embedded in British colonial territory))
*] - Japan


====Southeast Asia==== ==== Undiscovered ====
* ], ] – capital during the 12th Dynasty. Exact location still unknown, but it is believed to lie near the modern town of ].
*]
* ], ] – undiscovered city and centre of the ], the leader of which, ], united ] and was the first ].
*]
* ], ] – a lost major city of the ]
*] and surroundings.<ref></ref>
* ], ] – capital of the ]
*] - Malaysia (Malay Archipelago)
*] - Malaysia (Malay Archipelago)
*Kembayat Negara - Champa/Vietnam/Cambodia


====South Asia==== === Asia ===
==== Central Asia ====
*] - Located in Gujarat, India ] city.
===== Rediscovered =====
*] – Located in ] Sindh - early city of the ], the city was one of the early urban settlements in the world
* ] – site of a ] city in ], probably a military and economic center.
*] – Located in ]
* ] – capital of the ] under ].
*] – Located in ], South India
* ] – ] centre of trade located in ], mentioned in '']'' as Etzina.
*] – Located in Punjab, Pakistan - early city of the Indus Valley Civilization
* ] – located in the Taklamakan Desert, on the ancient Silk Road route.
*] – Located in Pakistan's Punjab province
* ], ] – a trade colony and eventual city, from the 17th century.
*] – Located in Kodungallur, Kerala, South India
* ] – located in the ], on the ancient ] route.
*] – Located in ], ] - early city of the Indus Valley Civilization
*] – Located in ], India - early city of the Indus Valley Civilization * ] – capital of ]. Now a ] World Heritage Site.
*] – Located in Gujarat, India - early city of the Indus Valley Civilization * ] – city located along the Silk Road, important in the history of ].
*] – ancient seat of ], hero of the ]. Now largely excavated. Off the coast of the Indian state of Gujarat * ] – also known as Paykend, a city in modern ] located on the ].
* ] – located in the Taklamakan Desert, on the ancient Silk Road route.<ref>.</ref>
*] – Located in ], South India
*] – Located in ]
*] – Located in Sri Lanka


====Central Asia==== ===== Undiscovered =====
*] – Medieval ] trading port * ] – medieval ] trading port
* ]
*] – Medieval ] capital
*] - ] capital
*] - Earlier Khazar capital
*] – Located in the ], on the ancient ] route.
*] – Located in the Taklamakan Desert, on the ancient Silk Road route.
*] – Located in the Taklamakan Desert, on the ancient Silk Road route.<ref></ref>
*] – City located along the Silk Road, important in the history of ].
*] – Capital of ].
*] – Capital of ].
*], ]
*] - Capital of Afghanistan, destroyed 1220
*] - Capital of the ]


====Western Asia/Middle East==== ==== East Asia ====
===== Rediscovered =====
*]
* ] – Large stone settlements in ].
*]
* ] – The capitals of ].
*] – A ] and ] settlement, located near the modern city of ], ].
* ] – Important cities of the Yuan dynasty, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
*]
*]
*]
*]
*] – Lost ]n city in the ].
*], ]
*] – Capital of the ]. Located near the modern village of ] in north-central Turkey.
*]
*]
*]
*]
*]
*]
*]
*]
*]
*]


===South America=== ==== Undiscovered ====
====Inca cities====
*] – Possibly ]'s Family Palace.
*] – Currently known as ].
*] – A legendary city and refuge in the ]s where ], ] and ] meet.<ref></ref>
*] - Considered to be the last bastion of Incan resistance against the Spaniards and refuge of ].


* ], historic capital of ]
====Other====
*] – ]. Located near ], in present day ].
*] – pre-]. Located in present day ].
*] – ], in present day ].
*] – An important center of the ], in present day ].
*] - City of the Caesars, A legendary city in ], never found. Also variously known as City of the Patagonia, Wandering City, Trapalanda or Trapananda, Lin Lin or Elelín,
*Santa Maria de la Antigua del Darien – First city in the mainland of the ], in the ] region between ] and ]. Founded by ] in 1510.
*] - A city allegedly located in the jungles of the ] region of ], was said to have been seen by the British explorer Col. Percy Harrison Fawcett sometime prior to ].<ref>, msnbc.com</ref>
*] - A massive ruined city still covered in jungle that was the capital of the ] in Northern Peru.<ref>, News.com.au</ref>
*] (]) located in present day ]


===== Uncertain or disputed =====
===North America===
* ], ]
====Caribbean====
=====Montserrat=====
*] - destroyed in 1995


====Mexico and Central America==== ==== South Asia ====
=====Maya cities===== ===== India =====
====== Rediscovered ======
''incomplete list – for further information, see ]''
*] – This ancient place of pilgrimage is still the most visited Maya ruin. * ] – located in Gujarat. City of the ].
* ] – ancient city of ], hero of the ]. Now largely excavated. Off the coast of the Indian state of Gujarat.
*] – In modern ].
* ] – located in ], India – early city of the Indus Valley Civilization.
*] – One of two "superpowers" in the classic Maya period.
* ] – located in ], ] – early city of the Indus Valley Civilization.
*]
* ] – located in ], India. Now a UNESCO ].
*] – Rediscovered in 1922, it remains one of the most remote and least visited Maya sites. Located 44 km (27 miles) south-south-east of Calakmul, and 65 km (40 miles) north of Tikal, it is believed to have had strategic importance to, and been vulnerable to military attacks by, both neighbours. Its ancient name was identified in the mid-1990s as ''Masuul''.
* ] – located in ], India.
*] — in the Mexican state of ], known for its beautiful art and architecture
* ] – located in ], largest Indus Valley Civilization site, dating back to 4600 BCE.
*] — One of two "superpowers" in the classic Maya period.
* ] – located in Gujarat, India – early city of the Indus Valley Civilization.
*] - Mayan coastal city.
* ] – located in India, former capital (1533–1740) of the Northern Provinces of Portuguese India
* ] – located in ], India. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.


=====Aztec Cities===== ======Uncertain or disputed======
* ] – a fictional lost ] south of ].<ref>{{Cite web|url={{GBurl|id=HKwzAwAAQBAJ|pg=PA91}}|title=Encyclopedia of Imaginary and Mythical Places|first=Theresa|last=Bane|date=March 8, 2014|publisher=McFarland|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url={{GBurl|id=elYyJuYuAhwC|pg=PP1}}|title=The Lost Land of Lemuria: Fabulous Geographies, Catastrophic Histories|first=Sumathi|last=Ramaswamy|date=September 27, 2004|publisher=University of California Press|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url={{GBurl|id=vMDgGwAACAAJ}}|title=Historical Method in Relation to Problems of South Indian History|first=Kallidaikurichi Aiyah Nilakanta|last=Sastri|date=June 9, 1941|publisher=University of Madras|via=Google Books}}</ref>
*]- the ancient home of the Aztecs
*] – Pre-Aztec Mexico.<ref>, The Metropolitan Museum of Art</ref>


=====Olmec cities===== ====== Undiscovered ======
*] – In the present day ] of ]. * ] – located near ], ], southern India
*] – In the present day ] of ].


=====Other===== ===== Nepal =====
* ] – located in ], birthplace of ]. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
*] - Oldest city in Mexico.
* ] – located in ], capital city of medieval ] and origin of ]. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
*] – Chief city of the ] civilization, whose territory extended from the Gulf Coast across to the Pacific Coast of ], in present day ], and ].
*] – It is believed that the site was inhabited from 1500 BCE (BC) to 1400 CE (AD), and had at its peak a population of around 10.000.


====United States==== ===== Pakistan =====
====== Rediscovered ======
*The cities of the ] (or ]) culture, located in the ] region of the ] – The best known are located at ] and ].
* ] – located in Pakistan's Sindh province, an ] city
*] – Located near present-day ]. At its height Cahokia is believed to have had a population of between 40,000 and 80,000 people, making it amongst the largest pre-Columbian cities of the Americas. It is known chiefly for its huge pyramidal mounds of compacted earth.
*] – located in the ] of Punjab, Pakistan – was a large town of the Indus Valley Civilization, not yet excavated.
*] was lost when ] was built.
*] – located in ] – early city of the Indus Valley Civilization
*] - ] settlement which has disappeared as the Lenape migrated west.
* ] – located in Pakistan's Sindh province ] city
*The original location of ] was largely flooded when the Jersey City Reservoir was created. The town of Boonton relocated.
* ] – located in Pakistan's ] province ] city
*] was lost under {{convert|400|ft|m}} of water when ] was built.
* ] – located in ] — early city of the ]. The city was one of the early urban settlements in the world.
*] was a city that was lost when the Yellowtail Dam was built.
*] – located in ] province — an ancient town, now the site of ruins.
*], ], ], and ], ], were submerged beneath the ] in 1938.
*] – located near the city of ] — another ancient settlement of the Indus Valley.
*] was a city along the ] which was destroyed during a flood.
*] – located near the ] — was a small settlement in the Indus Valley, now in ruins.
*]
*] – located in ] province — an ancient ] Buddhist monastery site.
*] was flooded when the Moore Dam was built.
* ] – located in Pakistan's Punjab province.
* Most of what was ] (paradoxically excluding its cemetery) now lies under ], an artificial lake.
*] a complex of villages, located near ]
*]
*] was flooded when ] was built.
*Lost towns of Glen Canyon region of Southern Utah-], ] and ] Created


====Canada==== ====== Undiscovered ======
* ] – located in Pakistan's Sindh province, a city of the ]. The city was on the banks of the ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Durant |first=Will |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/23249604 |title=The story of civilization |date=1963 |publisher=] |others=Ariel Durant |isbn=0-671-54800-X |edition=1st |volume=I: Our Oriental Heritage |location=New York |pages=394 |oclc=23249604}}</ref>
*] – Viking settlement founded around 1000.
*] - The Lost Villages are ten communities (Aultsville, Dickinson's Landing, Farran's Point, Maple Grove, Mille Roches, Moulinette, Santa Cruz, Sheek's Island, Wales, Woodlands) in the Canadian province of Ontario, in the former townships of Cornwall and Osnabruck (now South Stormont) near Cornwall, which were permanently submerged by the creation of the ] in 1958.
*]


===Europe=== ===== Sri Lanka =====
====== Rediscovered ======
*] – a town of the Sarranates mentioned by ] as having been situated in an unknown location in ].
* ] – now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
*] – On the island of ], Greece.
* ] – now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
*], ], ] – Capitals of the ].
* ] – now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
*Attila's Fortified Camp, ] – Probably the great ruins at ] (Zsadany, Jadani, now Cornesti -jud. Timis) from or to which the ] tribe Sadagariem took or gave their name.
*Avar Khan's Fortified Camp, Romania - Probably the re-occupied city of ] at Saden (Zsadany, Jadani, now Cornesti -jud. Timis).
*], Hungary - Central stronghold of the ], it is believed to have been in the wide plain between the ] and the ].<ref></ref>
*], ]
*], ]
*], ] abandoned in the 13 century.
*], ], England - Large Romano-British walled city {{convert|10|mi|km}} south of present day ]. Just the walls remain and a street pattern can be discerned from the air.
*], ] - ]-speaking village in the ] Valley flooded in 1965 to create a reservoir for the City of ]
*], ] abandoned in 1986.
*] in the Aegean, reputed site of an ancient temple still visible on the sea floor.
*] – Sank into the ], ].
* ] - the capital of ancient Hellenic community in present-day ].
*], Netherlands
*], ] – Lost to coastal ].
*], Scotland - purported coronation site and capital of 40 kings
*], ] – A drowned and abandoned village in what is now the Hampton area of Herne Bay, ].
*], Germany
*], ] on the ] – Sunk by an ] in the 4th century BC and rediscovered in the 1990s.
*] - In Viksfjord near ], ]. Largest trading city around the ] during the ] age. As sea levels retreated (the shoreline is 7m lower today than in 1000) the city was no longer accessible from the ocean and was abandoned.
*], ] - Legendary underwater city which supposedly may be seen in good weather.
*], ]
*], ]
*Myšia Hôrka (near ]), ] - 3500 years old town (rediscovered in the 20th century) and archaeological site, complex is called also Slovak ].
*] former village on the North Welsh coast, abandoned after its quarry closed. Now regenerated as a language centre.
*] near ]
*], Sweden
*], ] – population moved to nearby ] although the owners of the archaeological site retained the right to elect a ] to represent Old Sarum until the nineteenth century (see ] ]).
*] - Greek and Roman city south of Naples, abandoned after attacks by Muslim pirates. Three famous Greek temples.
*] in ] - The megalith complex had been laid in ruins and re-erected many times in history - from the Bronze Age till Middle Ages.
*] and ] in ] - buried by the eruption of ] in ] AD and rediscovered in the 18th century
*], ] abandoned in 1986.
*], ] - One of the capital cities founded in Hispania by the ]. the site was incrementally abandoned in the tenth century.
*], Netherlands - flooded in the 16th century.
*], ] - abandoned in the 15th century
*] – ] in ], sunken during the "]", a storm surge in the ] on January 16, 1362
*], ] - prosperous city lost to the sea in 1584.
*], England - mostly abandoned to coastal erosion after 1043.
*], ], ] - Neolithic settlement buried under sediment. Uncovered by a winter storm in 1850.
*], ] - Ancient Greek colonial city of unsurpassed wealth utterly destroyed by its arch-rival ] in ].
*], ]-a harbor city at the mouth of de Guadalquivir river, in modern Andalusia, Spain. Tartessos was the seat of an independent kingdom and important center of Iberian Bronze Age culture that traded tin with the Phoenicians. After the foundation of the Phoenician rival Gades, modern Cádiz, nearby, Tartessos declined into oblivion or was destroyed and its location was actually lost.
*], ]
*], Wales
*], Sweden
*], a port on the ], near the ].
*] – Legendary city somewhere at the ] coast of Germany or ].
*], East Sussex - Old Winchelsea, Important Channel port, pop 4000+, abandoned after 1287 inundation and coastal erosion. Modern Winchelsea, {{convert|2|mi|km}} inland, was built to replace it as a planned town by ]
*] - Legendary city on the western coast of France.


==== Southeast Asia ====
==See also==
===== Rediscovered =====
*]
] was rediscovered by ] in 1860.]]
*]
* ], ] – now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/metropolis-angkor-the-worlds-first-megacity-461623.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080923054500/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/metropolis-angkor-the-worlds-first-megacity-461623.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 23, 2008|title=Metropolis: Angkor, the world's first mega-city|website=]}}</ref>
*]
* ], Thailand – now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
*]
* ], Cambodia
*]
* ], Thailand – now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
*]
* ], ] – capital city of ], now in Trowulan, ], ], Indonesia.


===== Undiscovered =====
==References==
* ], ]

===== Uncertain or disputed =====
* ], Malaysia
* ], ] – 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 =====
* ] – medieval ] capital, located on the Turkish side of the Armenia–Turkey border.
* ] – ancient Greek city, important stronghold in the time of the ].
* ] – Ancient Mesopotamian capital.
* ]
* ] – a ] and ] settlement, located near the modern city of ], ].
* ]
* ] – Capital of the ] and ]s in Iran.
* ] – 12,000 years old ] settlement. It was likely not a city, but rather a temple complex.
* ] – capital of the ]. Located near the modern village of ] in north-central Turkey.
* ] – Paleolithic settlement built by the same culture as Göbekli Tepe.
* ], ]
* ] – the '']'' states that Kish was the first city to have kings following the deluge.<ref> Thorkild Jacobsen, "The Sumerian King List", Assyriological Studies 11, Chicago: University of Chricago Press, 1939</ref>
* ] – Sumerian city.
* ] (and capitol ]) – now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
* ] – capital of the ]
* ] – Second Capital of the ].
* ] – Ceremonial Complex built by ] kings.
* ]
* ]
* ] – Bronze Age anatolian city made famous by ]'s ].
* ] – Sumerian city.

===== Undiscovered =====
* ]
* ]
* ] – second ] capital
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ] – summer capital of the ] of Afghanistan, destroyed 1223
* ] – capital of the ] kingdom of ]

====== Uncertain or disputed ======
* ] – final capital of the ], located in the vicinity of ].
* ]
* ] – Southern ], near the town of ]<ref name="Jarus 2018">{{cite web |last=Jarus |first=Owen |date=2018-05-30 |title=Lost City of Irisagrig Comes to Life in Ancient Stolen Tablets |url=https://www.livescience.com/62688-lost-city-of-irisagrig-ancient-tablets.html |access-date=2022-10-26 |website=livescience.com}}</ref>
* ] – Hebrew: ]. Jewish city in ].
* ] – capital of the ], its status as a separated city from ] is still disputed.
* ]

=== Europe ===
==== Austria ====
* ] – the capital of the ancient Celtic kingdom of Noricum. Possibly in southern ] or ].

==== Bosnia and Herzegovina ====
* ] – the capital of ancient Illyrian community in present-day ].

==== Bulgaria ====
* ] – the megalith complex had been laid in ruins and re-erected many times in history – from the Bronze Age until Middle Ages.
* ] – an ancient Thracian city, discovered and excavated in 1948. It was founded by king ] around 325 BC. Its ruins are now located at the bottom of the ] near the city of ].

==== Croatia ====
* ] somewhere in the Adriatic on the Croatian coast. Exact location unknown.

==== Denmark ====
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://videnskab.dk/kultur-samfund/arkaeologer-finder-spor-fra-druknet-middelalderhavn-hvordan-kunne-den-forsvinde-saa-pludseligt/ | title=Arkæologer finder spor fra druknet middelalderhavn: Hvordan kunne den forsvinde så pludseligt? | date=5 February 2024 }}</ref>

==== Finland ====
* ]

==== France ====
* ] – In 842, the ancient port of ''Quentovicus'' was destroyed by a Viking fleet.
* ] – In 1553, the city was razed, the roads broken up and the fields ploughed and salted by command of ].

==== Germany ====
* ] – An ancient hill-top settlement on the ], of the Licates, a tribe of the Celtic ]. Commonly identified with either the ] or pre-Roman ]. According to folklore, sunken into the ].
* ]
* ] – ] in ], sunk during the "]", a storm surge in the ] on January 16, 1362
* ] – near ]
* ]

==== Greece ====
* ] – on the island of ], Greece.
* ] – in the Aegean, reputed site of an ancient temple still visible on the sea floor.
* ] – sunk by an ] in the 4th century BC and rediscovered in the 1990s.
* ]
* ] – underwater off the coast of southern Laconia in ], is about 5,000 years old, and is the oldest submerged archaeological town site.

==== Hungary ====
* ] – central stronghold of the ], it is believed to have been in the wide plain between the ] and the ].<ref>.</ref>

==== Iceland ====
* ] - a group of islands between Iceland and Greenland that were briefly settled before being destroyed in a volcanic eruption.

==== Italy ====
* ] – a town of the Sarranates mentioned by ] as having been situated in an unknown location in ].
* ] – a city in ], capital of a Duchy ruled by the Farnese family. It was destroyed by a Papal army in 1649.
* ]
* ] – Greek and Roman city south of Naples; three famous Greek temples.
* ], ], and ] – all buried during the eruption of ] in 79 AD and rediscovered in the 18th century.
* ], ] – ancient Greek colonial city of unsurpassed wealth utterly destroyed by its arch-rival ] in 510 BC.
* ] – ancient Roman spa village on the eastern shores of the ] in the ]. The village and most of the lake were buried by ] in 1538 during the volcanic eruption that created ]. The exact location of the village and its associated hot springs can no longer be identified.

==== Lithuania ====
* ]

==== Netherlands ====
* ] – ancient Roman settlement
* ]
* ] – flooded in the 16th century.
* ] – prosperous city lost to the sea in 1584.

==== Norway ====
* ] – In Viksfjord near ], ]. Largest trading city around the ] during the ] age. As sea levels retreated (the shoreline is 7m lower today than in 1000) the city was no longer accessible from the ocean and was abandoned.

==== Poland ====
* ]
* ]
* ]

==== Portugal ====
* ] - Roman villa Abandoned between the 5th and the 9th century AD.
* ] – early trading post dating to the 9th century BC. Abandoned in the 8th century AD.

==== Romania ====
* ] – the old capital of the Ancient Dacian Kingdom.
* ] – a port on the ], near the ].
* ] – a former trading town on the ].

==== Russia ====
* ] – important ] city on the ] river, razed by the ].
* ] – a small town in ]. Flooded by the Ust-Ilimsk Reservoir in the mid-1970s.
* ] – mythical city beneath the waters in central ].
* ] – a trading colony on the ]' ], was abandoned in the 17th century after the Northern Sea Route was banned. Mangazeya was considered lost until it was re-discovered by archaeologists in 1967.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Watkins |first1=Thayer |title=Mangazeya: A 16th Century Arctic Trading City |url=http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/mangazeya.htm |publisher=] |access-date=8 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021125045505/http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/mangazeya.htm |archive-date=25 November 2002 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
* ] – town that was founded in 1152.
* ] – a trading town of ]

==== Serbia ====
* ] – one of the first capitals of the medieval Serbian state of Raška, abandoned in the 13th century.

==== Slovakia ====
* Myšia Hôrka (near ]) – 3500 years old town (rediscovered in the 20th century) and archaeological site.

==== Spain ====
* ] – either the capital or one of the most important cities of the ]. Probably located in what nowadays is called "Amaya Peak" in ], northern ].
* ] – drowned Ibero-Greek settlement in the Catalan shore, Spain. Mentioned by Greek, Roman and Medieval chroniclers.
* ] – one of the capital cities founded in Hispania by the ]. The site was incrementally abandoned in the 10th century.
* ] – a harbor city or an economical complex of small harbors and trade routes set on the mouth of the Guadalquivir river, in modern Andalusia, Spain. Tartessos is believed to be either the seat of an independent kingdom or a community of palatial cities devoted to exporting the mineral resources of the Hispanic mainland to the sea, to meet the Phoenician and Greek traders. Its destruction is still a matter of debate among historians, and one modern tendency tends to believe that Tartessos was never a city, but a culture complex.

==== Sweden ====
* ]
* ]
* ]

==== United Kingdom ====
* ], ], ] – large Romano-British walled city {{convert|10|mi|km}} south of present-day ]. Just the walls remain and a street pattern can be discerned from the air.
* ], ] – purported coronation site and capital of 40 kings
* ], ], Scotland – Neolithic settlement buried under sediment. Uncovered by a winter storm in 1850.

==== Ukraine ====
* ] – a capital of the ], that was located near the ] river
* ] – abandoned in the 13th century.

=== North America ===
==== Canada ====
===== Rediscovered =====
* ] – Viking settlement founded in 1021 AD. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
* ] – The Lost Villages are ten communities (Aultsville, Dickinson's Landing, Farran's Point, Maple Grove, Mille Roches, Moulinette, Santa Cruz, Sheek's Island, Wales, Woodlands) in the Canadian province of Ontario, in the former townships of Cornwall and Osnabruck (now South Stormont) near Cornwall, which were permanently submerged by the creation of the ] in 1958.
=====Undiscovered=====
* ] - A possible Viking settlement south of Staumsfjord in ] alluded to in the ].

==== Caribbean ====
===== Rediscovered =====
* ], ] – Destroyed by the ].

==== Mexico and Central America ====
===== Maya cities =====
''Incomplete list – for further information, see ]''

====== Rediscovered ======
* ] – One of two superpowers in the classic Maya period. Now a UNESCO ].
* ] – This ancient place of pilgrimage is still the most visited Maya ruin. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
* ]
* ] – In modern ]. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
* ] – Rediscovered in 1922, it remains one of the most remote and least visited Maya sites. Located {{convert|44|km|mi|abbr=in}} south-south-east of Calakmul, and {{convert|65|km|mi|abbr=in}} north of Tikal, it is believed to have had strategic importance to, and been vulnerable to military attacks by, both neighbours. Its ancient name was identified in the mid-1990s as ''Masuul''.
* ] – in the Mexican state of ], known for its beautiful art and architecture. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
* ] – One of two major powers in the classic Maya period. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
* ] – Mayan coastal city.

===== Olmec cities =====
====== Rediscovered ======
* ] – In the present day ] of ].
* ] – In the present day ] of ].

===== Totonac Cities =====
====== Rediscovered ======
* ] – Pre-Aztec Mexico.<ref>, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.</ref> Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

===== Other =====
====== Rediscovered ======
* ] – Chief city of the ] civilization, whose territory extended from the Gulf Coast across to the Pacific Coast of ], in present-day ], and ].
* ] – In Costa Rica. It is believed that the site was inhabited from 1500 BCE to 1400 CE, and had at its peak a population of around 10,000.

==== United States ====
===== Rediscovered =====
* ] – an attempt by Spain to found a mission in Virginia in the mid-16th century. The entire party of 30 was massacred by Native Americans in February 1571. Only one survivor was left.
* The cities of the ] (or ]) culture, located in the ] region of the ] – The best known are located at ] and ].
* ] – located in ]. City of the ]. It was home to around 20,000 people at its height, and it was inhabited from c. 1450–1700 AD.
* ] - a Spanish fort build by the Pardo expedition in 1567. Destroyed by Indians one year later. Rediscovered in 2016.
* ] – ] settlement which disappeared as the Lenape were pushed west.
* ] – Located near present-day ]. At its height Cahokia is believed to have had a population of between 40,000 and 80,000 people, making it amongst the largest ] cities of the Americas. It is known chiefly for its huge pyramidal mounds of compacted earth. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
* ] a complex of villages, located near ]
* ]
* Sarabay – a ] settlement in northeast ], mentioned in both French and Spanish documents dating to the 1560s.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.heritagedaily.com/2021/06/archaeologists-uncover-lost-indigenous-ne-florida-settlement-of-sarabay/139419 |title=Archaeologists uncover lost Indigenous NE Florida settlement of Sarabay |website=Heritage Daily |date=8 June 2021 }}</ref>

=== South America ===
==== Inca cities ====
===== Rediscovered =====
* ] – One of the last bastions of Incan resistance against the Spaniards and refuge of ].
* ] – Possibly ]'s Family Palace. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
* ] – Currently known as Espiritu Pampa, the capital of the ] (1539–1572).
* ] – Currently known as Rosaspata, a residence and ceremonial center of the Neo-Inca State.

==== Other ====
===== Rediscovered =====
* ] – ], in present-day ].
* ] – An important center of the ], in present-day ]. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
* ] – ]. Located near ], in present-day ]. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
* ] – A massive ruined city, still covered in jungle, that was the capital of the ] in Northern Peru.<ref>, News.com.au.</ref>
* ] – Largest city of the ] culture. Known for its large semi-pyramidal buildings, ] and ].
* ] – In ], one of the first Spanish settlements in the Americas.
* ] – First permanent ]an settlement in the mainland of the continental ], in the ] region between ] and ]. Founded by ] in 1510. Found in 2012.
* ] (]) located in present-day ]<ref>, Lostcitytour.com.</ref>
* ] – pre-] site, also known as Tiwanaku. Located in present-day ]. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
* ] – Urban complex in Ecuadorian Amazon, discovered in early 2024.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.science.org/content/article/laser-mapping-reveals-oldest-amazonian-cities-built-2500-years-ago | title=Laser mapping reveals oldest Amazonian cities, built 2500 years ago }}</ref>

===== Status Unknown =====
* ] – a ] ] said to be located in the ] of the ] in eastern ].

== Undiscovered and fictional lost cities ==

=== Legendary ===
* ] – important city in the ]
* ] ] – the legendary castle of ]
* ] – mythical lost continent, mentioned in two of ]'s works, ] and ]
* ] – the ancestral homeland in Aztec mythology
* ] (City of the Caesars, also variously known as City of Patagonia, Elelín, Lin Lin, Trapalanda, Trapananda, or Wandering City) – a legendary city in ], never found
* ] – An ancient city of ], submerged in the sea.
* ] – a mythical city of ] in the Americas
* ] – this may refer to a lost ]n city in the ], but sources also identify it as a tribe or an area mentioned in the ]<ref>{{cite book|last=Glassé|first=Cyril|url={{GBurl|id=focLrox-frUC&q=Iram+of+the+Pillars|pg=PA26}}|title=The New Encyclopedia of Islam|author2=Huston Smith|publisher=AltaMira Press|year=2003|isbn=0-7591-0190-6|edition=Revised|page=26|via=Google Books}}</ref>
* ], ] – legendary underwater city which supposedly may be seen in good weather
* ] – An ancient, now sunken, land in the Pacific Ocean
* ], ] – (Also known as Libertalia) was a ] colony founded in the 17th century by pirate Captain James Misson (occasionally spelled "Mission") that is still disputed by historians today.
* ] – a city allegedly located in the jungles of the ] region of ], said to have been seen by the British explorer ] some time before ]<ref>{{cite news|title=Lost cities of the Amazon revealed|work=NBC News|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna3077413}}</ref>
* ] – a stretch of land from ], England, into the Celtic Sea
* ] – legendary capital city of ] in Turkic mythology
* ] – a legendary city and refuge in the ]s where ], ], and ] meet<ref>{{cite news|date=January 2008|title=Ancient 'Lost City' Discovered in Peru, Official Claims|work=National Geographic|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/01/080116-lost-city.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080117073334/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/01/080116-lost-city.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 17, 2008}}</ref>
* The ]
* ] – Mythical kingdom said to be located in ]
* ]
* ] – legendary city somewhere at the ] coast of Germany or ]
* ] – legendary city on the western coast of France

That some cities are considered legendary does not mean they did not in fact exist. Some that were once considered legendary are now known to have existed, such as ] and ].

=== Fictional ===

* ] – from the musical of the same name
* ] – from '']''
* ] – Antarctic city described in ]'s '']''
* ] – from '']'' and other works in ]
* ] – from the ] novels by ] (named for his long-time hometown of ]); the series features several such lost cities, but Opar is the one which appears most often
* ] – sunken city referenced in many of the works of ], where the godlike being ] is buried
* ] – city described in H.P. Lovecraft's short story "]"
* ] – fictional place from ]'s 1933 novel '']''
* ] – capital of the lost African kingdom of Kukuanaland in ] '']''
* ] – created by ] for his Ayesha series of adventure novels
* ] – appearing in ] '']''
* ] – Central Asian lost city in '']'' by ]
* ] – appears in '']'', one of the eighteen ] stories by ], many of which feature lost worlds, races and cities
* ] – from the ] movies
* ] – ancient city in the Arabian desert described in ]'s short story "]"
* ] – created by ] in "]," and later used by ] and many ] writers beginning with ]
* ] – from ]'s '']'' universe

== See also ==
{{portal|Civilizations}}
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]

== References ==
{{reflist}} {{reflist}}
{{Authority control}}


] ]
] ]
] ]

]
]
]
]
]

Latest revision as of 03:17, 11 December 2024

Human settlement that has become uninhabited For other uses, see Lost city (disambiguation).
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Hiram Bingham rediscovered the ruins of Machu Picchu in 1911, preceded by Agustín Lizárraga in 1902
Ruins of Ciudad Perdida, a city built by the Tayrona in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia

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 led 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.

How cities are lost

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 a lack of 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 July 14, 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
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
Subsaharan Africa

Uncertain or disputed

Undiscovered

Asia

Central Asia

Rediscovered
Undiscovered

East Asia

Rediscovered

Undiscovered

Uncertain or disputed

South Asia

India
Rediscovered
Uncertain or disputed
Undiscovered
Nepal
Pakistan
Rediscovered
Undiscovered
Sri Lanka
Rediscovered

Southeast Asia

Rediscovered
Angkor was rediscovered by Henri Mouhot in 1860.
Undiscovered
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
Undiscovered
Uncertain or disputed

Europe

Austria

  • Noreia – the capital of the ancient Celtic kingdom of Noricum. Possibly in southern Austria or Slovenia.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bulgaria

  • Perperikon – the megalith complex had been laid in ruins and re-erected many times in history – from the Bronze Age until Middle Ages.
  • Seuthopolis – an ancient Thracian city, discovered and excavated in 1948. It was founded by king Seuthes III around 325 BC. Its ruins are now located at the bottom of the Koprinka Reservoir near the city of Kazanlak.

Croatia

  • Heraclea somewhere in the Adriatic on the Croatian coast. Exact location unknown.

Denmark

Finland

France

  • Quentovic – In 842, the ancient port of Quentovicus was destroyed by a Viking fleet.
  • Thérouanne – In 1553, the city was razed, the roads broken up and the fields ploughed and salted by command of Charles V.

Germany

Greece

  • Akrotiri – on the island of Thera, Greece.
  • Chryse Island – in the Aegean, reputed site of an ancient temple still visible on the sea floor.
  • Helike – sunk by an earthquake in the 4th century BC and rediscovered in the 1990s.
  • Mycenae
  • Pavlopetri – underwater off the coast of southern Laconia in Peloponnese, is about 5,000 years old, and is the oldest submerged archaeological town site.

Hungary

  • Avar Ring – central stronghold of the Avars, it is believed to have been in the wide plain between the Danube and the Tisza.

Iceland

  • Gunnbjörn's skerries - a group of islands between Iceland and Greenland that were briefly settled before being destroyed in a volcanic eruption.

Italy

  • Acerrae Vatriae – a town of the Sarranates mentioned by Pliny the Elder as having been situated in an unknown location in Umbria.
  • Castro – a city in Lazio, capital of a Duchy ruled by the Farnese family. It was destroyed by a Papal army in 1649.
  • Luni
  • Paestum – Greek and Roman city south of Naples; three famous Greek temples.
  • Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae – all buried during the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD and rediscovered in the 18th century.
  • Sybaris, Italy – ancient Greek colonial city of unsurpassed wealth utterly destroyed by its arch-rival Crotona in 510 BC.
  • Tripergole – ancient Roman spa village on the eastern shores of the Lucrine Lake in the Campi Flegrei. The village and most of the lake were buried by tephra in 1538 during the volcanic eruption that created Monte Nuovo. The exact location of the village and its associated hot springs can no longer be identified.

Lithuania

Netherlands

Norway

  • Kaupang – In Viksfjord near Larvik, Norway. Largest trading city around the Oslo Fjord during the Viking age. As sea levels retreated (the shoreline is 7m lower today than in 1000) the city was no longer accessible from the ocean and was abandoned.

Poland

Portugal

  • Ammaia - Roman villa Abandoned between the 5th and the 9th century AD.
  • Conímbriga – early trading post dating to the 9th century BC. Abandoned in the 8th century AD.

Romania

Russia

Serbia

  • Stari Ras – one of the first capitals of the medieval Serbian state of Raška, abandoned in the 13th century.

Slovakia

  • Myšia Hôrka (near Spišský Štvrtok) – 3500 years old town (rediscovered in the 20th century) and archaeological site.

Spain

  • Amaya – either the capital or one of the most important cities of the Cantabri. Probably located in what nowadays is called "Amaya Peak" in Burgos, northern Spain.
  • Cypsela – drowned Ibero-Greek settlement in the Catalan shore, Spain. Mentioned by Greek, Roman and Medieval chroniclers.
  • Reccopolis – one of the capital cities founded in Hispania by the Visigoths. The site was incrementally abandoned in the 10th century.
  • Tartessos – a harbor city or an economical complex of small harbors and trade routes set on the mouth of the Guadalquivir river, in modern Andalusia, Spain. Tartessos is believed to be either the seat of an independent kingdom or a community of palatial cities devoted to exporting the mineral resources of the Hispanic mainland to the sea, to meet the Phoenician and Greek traders. Its destruction is still a matter of debate among historians, and one modern tendency tends to believe that Tartessos was never a city, but a culture complex.

Sweden

United Kingdom

Ukraine

North America

Canada

Rediscovered
  • L'Anse aux Meadows – Viking settlement founded in 1021 AD. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
  • Lost Villages – The Lost Villages are ten communities (Aultsville, Dickinson's Landing, Farran's Point, Maple Grove, Mille Roches, Moulinette, Santa Cruz, Sheek's Island, Wales, Woodlands) in the Canadian province of Ontario, in the former townships of Cornwall and Osnabruck (now South Stormont) near Cornwall, which were permanently submerged by the creation of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1958.
Undiscovered

Caribbean

Rediscovered

Mexico and Central America

Maya cities

Incomplete list – for further information, see Maya civilization

Rediscovered
  • Calakmul – One of two superpowers in the classic Maya period. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
  • Chichen Itza – This ancient place of pilgrimage is still the most visited Maya ruin. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
  • Coba
  • Copán – In modern Honduras. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
  • Naachtun – Rediscovered in 1922, it remains one of the most remote and least visited Maya sites. Located 44 km (27 miles) south-south-east of Calakmul, and 65 km (40 miles) north of Tikal, it is believed to have had strategic importance to, and been vulnerable to military attacks by, both neighbours. Its ancient name was identified in the mid-1990s as Masuul.
  • Palenque – in the Mexican state of Chiapas, known for its beautiful art and architecture. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
  • Tikal – One of two major powers in the classic Maya period. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
  • Tulum – Mayan coastal city.
Olmec cities
Rediscovered
Totonac Cities
Rediscovered
  • Teotihuacan – Pre-Aztec Mexico. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Other
Rediscovered
  • Izapa – Chief city of the Izapa civilization, whose territory extended from the Gulf Coast across to the Pacific Coast of Chiapas, in present-day Mexico, and Guatemala.
  • Guayabo – In Costa Rica. It is believed that the site was inhabited from 1500 BCE to 1400 CE, and had at its peak a population of around 10,000.

United States

Rediscovered

South America

Inca cities

Rediscovered

Other

Rediscovered
Status Unknown

Undiscovered and fictional lost cities

Legendary

That some cities are considered legendary does not mean they did not in fact exist. Some that were once considered legendary are now known to have existed, such as Troy and Bjarmaland.

Fictional

See also

References

  1. "History of Archaeology". infoplease.
  2. Yan, Holly (24 August 2016). "Cities nearly obliterated by natural disasters". CNN. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  3. Adams, Mark (2012). Turn Right at Machu Picchu: Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time. Plume. p. 306. ISBN 978-0-452-29798-2 – via Google Books.
  4. "Troy". Encyclopedia of Anthropology. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. 2006.
  5. Burger, Richard L. (C. J. MacCurdy Professor and Current Chairman of the Council on Archaeological Studies); Salazar, Lucy C. (2004). Machu Picchu: Unveiling the Mystery of the Incas. Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-09763-8 – via Google Books.
  6. Heaney, Christopher (2011). Cradle of gold: the story of Hiram Bingham, a real-life Indiana Jones and the search for Machu Picchu. New York: MacMillan. ISBN 978-0-230-11204-9.
  7. Alvarez-Zarikian, Carlos A.; Soter, Steven; Katsonopoulou, Dora (2008). "Recurrent Submergence and Uplift in the Area of Ancient Helike, Gulf of Corinth, Greece: Microfaunal and Archaeological Evidence". Journal of Coastal Research. 24 (1A): 110–125. doi:10.2112/05-0454.1. JSTOR 30133726. S2CID 140202998.
  8. Paul Kronfield. "Helike Foundation - Discoveries at Ancient Helike". Helike.org. Retrieved 2009-11-12.
  9. Lost Cities of the Silk Road.
  10. Bane, Theresa (March 8, 2014). "Encyclopedia of Imaginary and Mythical Places". McFarland – via Google Books.
  11. Ramaswamy, Sumathi (September 27, 2004). "The Lost Land of Lemuria: Fabulous Geographies, Catastrophic Histories". University of California Press – via Google Books.
  12. Sastri, Kallidaikurichi Aiyah Nilakanta (June 9, 1941). "Historical Method in Relation to Problems of South Indian History". University of Madras – via Google Books.
  13. Durant, Will (1963). The story of civilization. Vol. I: Our Oriental Heritage. Ariel Durant (1st ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 394. ISBN 0-671-54800-X. OCLC 23249604.
  14. "Metropolis: Angkor, the world's first mega-city". Independent.co.uk. Archived from the original on September 23, 2008.
  15. Thorkild Jacobsen, "The Sumerian King List", Assyriological Studies 11, Chicago: University of Chricago Press, 1939
  16. Jarus, Owen (2018-05-30). "Lost City of Irisagrig Comes to Life in Ancient Stolen Tablets". livescience.com. Retrieved 2022-10-26.
  17. "Arkæologer finder spor fra druknet middelalderhavn: Hvordan kunne den forsvinde så pludseligt?". 5 February 2024.
  18. Charlemagne and the Avars.
  19. Watkins, Thayer. "Mangazeya: A 16th Century Arctic Trading City". San José State University. Archived from the original on 25 November 2002. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  20. Teotihuacan, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
  21. "Archaeologists uncover lost Indigenous NE Florida settlement of Sarabay". Heritage Daily. 8 June 2021.
  22. Amazon jungle gives up lost city of the 'Cloud People', News.com.au.
  23. Lost City Teyuna, Lostcitytour.com.
  24. "Laser mapping reveals oldest Amazonian cities, built 2500 years ago".
  25. Glassé, Cyril; Huston Smith (2003). The New Encyclopedia of Islam (Revised ed.). AltaMira Press. p. 26. ISBN 0-7591-0190-6 – via Google Books.
  26. "Lost cities of the Amazon revealed". NBC News.
  27. "Ancient 'Lost City' Discovered in Peru, Official Claims". National Geographic. January 2008. Archived from the original on January 17, 2008.
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