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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 ruins or ghost towns.

Lost cities 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 European explorers and adventurers in the Americas, Africa and in Southeast Asia from the 15th century onwards eventually led to the development of archaeology.

How cities are lost

Cities may become lost for a variety of reasons, including geographic, economic and social (e.g. war).

Abandonment

Various capitals in the Middle East were abandoned; after Babylon was abandoned Ctesiphon became the capital of the new Parthian Empire, and this was in turn passed over in favor of Baghdad (and later Samarra) for the site of the Abbasid capital.

An Arabian city named Ubar (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 satellite photography revealed traces of the ancient trade routes leading to it.

Other settlements are lost with few or no clues to guide historians, such as the Colony of Roanoke. In August 1590, John White returned to the former English 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.

Malden Island, 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 Polynesians 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 Nan Madol, have been found on the Micronesian island of Ponape. In more recent times Port Royal, Jamaica sank into the Caribbean Sea after an earthquake.

Destruction

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 Pompeii and Herculaneum, buried with many of their inhabitants under a thick layer of volcanic ash after an eruption of Vesuvius. A lesser known example is Akrotiri, on the island of Thera, where in 1967, under a blanket of ash, the remains of a Minoan 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 Plato used for the story of Atlantis.

Indianola, Texas, a significant port city on the Gulf Coast in much of the latter half of the 19th century, was abandoned shortly after the devastating hurricane of 1886.

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 Dunwich, England, and the city of Rungholt in Germany which sank into the North Sea during a massive storm surge in 1362.

Cities are also often destroyed by wars. This was the case, for instance, with Troy and Carthage, though both of these were subsequently rebuilt. Another example is the Achaemenid capital at Persepolis was destroyed in a fire after being captured by Alexander the Great. In modern times, Warsaw, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Dresden, and other cities have been rebuilt after being destroyed due to warfare; in antiquity, the same is known to have occurred to Jerusalem, and during the Spanish colonial era, to Tenochtitlan (which became Mexico City). (Those cities are therefore not lost, but their appearances were often largely changed.)

Even some currently existing cities may occupy the sites of lost cities. For example, London was apparently essentially abandoned at the end of the Roman era, only to be repopulated by Anglo-Saxons a few centuries later, spreading from "Lundenwic" (around modern Aldwych).

Legends

Some cities which are considered lost are (or may be) places of legend such as the Arthurian Camelot, Russian Kitezh, Lyonesse, the Seven Cities of Gold, El Dorado, and Atlantis. Others, such as Troy and Bjarmaland, having once been considered legendary, are now known to have existed.

Lost cities by continent

Africa

• Akhetaten, Egypt – Capital during the reign of 18th Dynasty pharaoh Akhenaten. Later abandoned and almost totally destroyed. Modern day el Amarna.
• Canopus, Egypt – Located on the now-dry Canopic branch of the Nile, east of Alexandria.
• Itjtawy, Egypt – Capital during the 12th Dynasty. Exact location still unknown, but it is believed to lie near the modern town of el-Lisht.
• Tanis, Egypt – Capital during the 21st and 22nd Dynasties, in the Delta region.
• Thinis, Egypt - Undiscovered city and centre of the Thinnite Confederacy, the leader of which, Menes, united Upper and Lower Egypt and was the first pharaoh.
• Memphis, Egypt – Administrative capital of ancient Egypt. Little remains.
• Avaris, capital city of the Hyksos in the Nile Delta.
• Leptis Magna – Roman city located in present day Libya. It was the birthplace of Emperor Septimius Severus, 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.
• Dougga, Tunisia – Roman city located in present day Tunisia.
• Carthage – Initially a Phoenician city, 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 AD 697.
• Great Zimbabwe
• Aoudaghost – Wealthy Berber city in medieval Ghana.
• Timgad - Roman city founded by the emperor Trajan around 100 AD, covered by the sand at 7th century.
• Nabta Playa -- oldest city in Africa.

Asia

Far East Asia

• Yamatai – Japan
• Xanadu – China
• Dachang Ancient Town - China (Three Gorges Dam sank it)
• Kuizhou Ancient City - China (also sunk by the Three Gorges Dam)
• Kowloon Walled City - 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))
• Hashima Island - Japan

Southeast Asia

• Sukhothai
• Ayutthaya
• Angkor and surroundings.
• Kota Gelanggi - Malaysia (Malay Archipelago)
• Gangga Negara - Malaysia (Malay Archipelago)
• Kembayat Negara - Champa/Vietnam/Cambodia

South Asia

• Dholavira - Located in Gujarat, India Indus Valley Civilization city.
• Mohenjo-Daro – Located in Pakistan Sindh - early city of the Indus Valley Civilization, the city was one of the early urban settlements in the world
• Vijayanagar – Located in Karnataka
• Poompuhar – Located in Tamil Nadu, South India
• Harappa – Located in Punjab, Pakistan - early city of the Indus Valley Civilization
• Taxila – Located in Pakistan's Punjab province
• Muziris – Located in Kodungallur, Kerala, South India
• Lothal – Located in Gujarat, India - early city of the Indus Valley Civilization
• Kalibangan – Located in Rajasthan, India - early city of the Indus Valley Civilization
• Surkotada – Located in Gujarat, India - early city of the Indus Valley Civilization
• Dwarka – ancient seat of Krishna, hero of the Mahabharata. Now largely excavated. Off the coast of the Indian state of Gujarat
• Pattadakal – Located in Karnataka, South India
• Anuradhapura – Located in Sri Lanka
• Sigiriya – Located in Sri Lanka

Central Asia

• Abaskun – Medieval Caspian Sea trading port
• Ani – Medieval Armenian capital
• Atil - Khazar capital
• Balanjar - Earlier Khazar capital
• Niya – Located in the Taklamakan Desert, on the ancient Silk Road route.
• Loulan – Located in the Taklamakan Desert, on the ancient Silk Road route.
• Subashi – Located in the Taklamakan Desert, on the ancient Silk Road route.
• Otrar – City located along the Silk Road, important in the history of Central Asia.
• Karakorum – Capital of Genghis Khan.
• Old Urgench – Capital of Khwarezm.
• Mangazeya, Siberia
• Turquoise Mountain - Capital of Afghanistan, destroyed 1220
• Sarai - Capital of the Golden Horde

Western Asia/Middle East

• Akkad
• Babylon
• Çatalhöyük – A Neolithic and Chalcolithic settlement, located near the modern city of Konya, Turkey.
• Choqa Zanbil
• Ctesiphon
• Gobekli Tepe
• Gomorrah
• Iram of the Pillars – Lost Arabian city in the Empty Quarter.
• Kourion, Cyprus
• Hattusa – Capital of the Hittite Empire. Located near the modern village of Boğazköy in north-central Turkey.
• Kish
• Lagash
• Mada'in Saleh
• Nineveh
• Persepolis
• Petra
• Samaria
• Sodom
• Troy
• Ur

South America

Inca cities

• Machu Picchu – Possibly Pachacuti's Family Palace.
• Vilcabamba – Currently known as Espiritu pampa.
• Paititi – A legendary city and refuge in the rainforests where Peru, Bolivia and Brazil meet.
• Choquequirao - Considered to be the last bastion of Incan resistance against the Spaniards and refuge of Manco Inca Yupanqui.

Other

• Chan Chan – Chimu. Located near Trujillo, in present day Peru.
• Tiahuanaco – pre-Inca. Located in present day Bolivia.
• Cahuachi – Nazca, in present day Peru.
• Caral – An important center of the Norte Chico civilization, in present day Peru.
• Ciudad de los Cesares - City of the Caesars, A legendary city in Patagonia, 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 American continent, in the Darién region between Colombia and Panama. Founded by Vasco Nuñez de Balboa in 1510.
• Lost City of Z - A city allegedly located in the jungles of the Mato Grosso region of Brazil, was said to have been seen by the British explorer Col. Percy Harrison Fawcett sometime prior to World War I.
• Kuelap - A massive ruined city still covered in jungle that was the capital of the Chachapoyas culture in Northern Peru.
• Tayuna (Ciudad Perdida) located in present day Colombia

North America

Caribbean

Montserrat

• Plymouth, Montserrat - destroyed in 1995

Mexico and Central America

Maya cities

incomplete list – for further information, see Maya civilization

• Chichen Itza – This ancient place of pilgrimage is still the most visited Maya ruin.
• Copán – In modern Honduras.
• Calakmul – One of two "superpowers" in the classic Maya period.
• Coba
• 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
• Tikal — One of two "superpowers" in the classic Maya period.
• Tulum - Mayan coastal city.

Aztec Cities

• Aztlán- the ancient home of the Aztecs
• Teotihuacan – Pre-Aztec Mexico.

Olmec cities

• La Venta – In the present day Mexican state of Tabasco.
• San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán – In the present day Mexican state of Veracruz.

Other

• Hueyatlaco - Oldest city in Mexico.
• 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 – 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

• The cities of the Ancestral Pueblo (or Anasazi) culture, located in the Four Corners region of the Southwest United States – The best known are located at Chaco Canyon and Mesa Verde.
• Cahokia – Located near present-day St. Louis, Missouri. 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.
• Birmingham, Kentucky was lost when Kentucky Dam was built.
• Bethel Indian Town, New Jersey - Lenape settlement which has disappeared as the Lenape migrated west.
• The original location of Boonton, New Jersey was largely flooded when the Jersey City Reservoir was created. The town of Boonton relocated.
• Kennett, California was lost under 400 feet (120 m) of water when Shasta Dam was built.
• Kane, Wyoming was a city that was lost when the Yellowtail Dam was built.
• Dana, Enfield, Greenwich, and Prescott, Massachusetts, were submerged beneath the Quabbin Reservoir in 1938.
• Napoleon, Arkansas was a city along the Arkansas Delta which was destroyed during a flood.
• Lost counties, cities, and towns of Virginia
• Pattenville, New Hampshire was flooded when the Moore Dam was built.
• Most of what was Preston, Texas (paradoxically excluding its cemetery) now lies under Lake Texoma, an artificial lake.
• Pueblo Grande de Nevada a complex of villages, located near Overton, Nevada
• Roanoke Colony
• Monticello, California was flooded when Lake Berryessa was built.
• Lost towns of Glen Canyon region of Southern Utah-Lake Powell, Glen Canyon Dam and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area Created

Canada

• L'Anse aux Meadows – Viking settlement founded around 1000.
• 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.
• Kingdom of Saguenay

Europe

• Acerrae Vatriae – a town of the Sarranates mentioned by Pliny the elder as having been situated in an unknown location in Umbria.
• Akrotiri – On the island of Thera, Greece.
• Atil, Tmutarakan, Sarai Berke – Capitals of the steppe peoples.
• Attila's Fortified Camp, Romania – Probably the great ruins at Saden (Zsadany, Jadani, now Cornesti -jud. Timis) from or to which the Hun tribe Sadagariem took or gave their name.
• Avar Khan's Fortified Camp, Romania - Probably the re-occupied city of Attila at Saden (Zsadany, Jadani, now Cornesti -jud. Timis).
• Avar Ring, Hungary - Central stronghold of the Avars, it is believed to have been in the wide plain between the Danube and the Tisza.
• Birka, Sweden
• Biskupin, Poland
• Bolokhiv, Ukraine abandoned in the 13 century.
• Calleva Atrebatum, Silchester, England - Large Romano-British walled city 10 miles (16 km) south of present day Reading, Berkshire. Just the walls remain and a street pattern can be discerned from the air.
• Capel Celyn, Wales - Welsh-speaking village in the Afon Tryweryn Valley flooded in 1965 to create a reservoir for the City of Liverpool
• Chernobyl, Ukraine abandoned in 1986.
• Chryse Island in the Aegean, reputed site of an ancient temple still visible on the sea floor.
• Damasia – Sank into the Ammersee, Germany.
• Daorson - the capital of ancient Hellenic community in present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• Dorestad, Netherlands
• Dunwich, England – Lost to coastal erosion.
• Evonium, Scotland - purported coronation site and capital of 40 kings
• Hampton-on-Sea, England – A drowned and abandoned village in what is now the Hampton area of Herne Bay, Kent.
• Hedeby, Germany
• Helike, Greece on the Peloponese – Sunk by an earthquake in the 4th century BC and rediscovered in the 1990s.
• 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.
• Kitezh, Russia - Legendary underwater city which supposedly may be seen in good weather.
• Luni, Italy
• Mycenae, Greece
• Myšia Hôrka (near Spišský Štvrtok), Slovakia - 3500 years old town (rediscovered in the 20th century) and archaeological site, complex is called also Slovak Mycenae.
• Nant Gwrtheyrn former village on the North Welsh coast, abandoned after its quarry closed. Now regenerated as a language centre.
• Niedam near Rungholt
• Ny Varberg, Sweden
• Old Sarum, England – population moved to nearby Salisbury although the owners of the archaeological site retained the right to elect a Member of Parliament to represent Old Sarum until the nineteenth century (see William Pitt abandoned).
• Paestum - Greek and Roman city south of Naples, abandoned after attacks by Muslim pirates. Three famous Greek temples.
• Perperikon in Bulgaria - The megalith complex had been laid in ruins and re-erected many times in history - from the Bronze Age till Middle Ages.
• Pompeii and Herculaneum in Italy - buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD and rediscovered in the 18th century
• Prypyat', Ukraine abandoned in 1986.
• Reccopolis, Spain - One of the capital cities founded in Hispania by the Visigoths. the site was incrementally abandoned in the tenth century.
• Reimerswaal, Netherlands - flooded in the 16th century.
• Roxburgh, Scotland - abandoned in the 15th century
• Rungholt – Wadden Sea in Germany, sunken during the "grote Mandraenke", a storm surge in the North Sea on January 16, 1362
• Saeftinghe, Netherlands - prosperous city lost to the sea in 1584.
• Selsey, England - mostly abandoned to coastal erosion after 1043.
• Skara Brae, Shetland, Scotland - Neolithic settlement buried under sediment. Uncovered by a winter storm in 1850.
• Sybaris, Italy - Ancient Greek colonial city of unsurpassed wealth utterly destroyed by its arch-rival Crotona in 510 BCE.
• Tartessos, Spain-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.
• Teljä, Finland
• Trellech, Wales
• Uppåkra, Sweden
• Vicina, a port on the Danube, near the Delta.
• Vineta – Legendary city somewhere at the Baltic coast of Germany or Poland.
• Winchelsea, East Sussex - Old Winchelsea, Important Channel port, pop 4000+, abandoned after 1287 inundation and coastal erosion. Modern Winchelsea, 2 miles (3.2 km) inland, was built to replace it as a planned town by Edward I of England
• Ys - Legendary city on the western coast of France.

See also

• Ruins
• Ghost town
• Lost lands
• Lost World
• Mythical place
• Mythical continents

References

1. History of Archaeology
2. http://www.travelchinaguide.com/river/three.htm
3. http://www.travelchinaguide.com/river/three.htm
4. Metropolis: Angkor, the world's first mega-city
5. Lost Cities of the Silk Road
6. Ancient "Lost City" Discovered in Peru, Official Claims
7. Lost cities of the Amazon revealed, msnbc.com
8. Amazon jungle gives up lost city of the 'Cloud People', News.com.au
9. Teotihuacan, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
10. Charlemagne and the Avars

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