A group of French archaeologists made a remarkable discovery: The remains of a 3,400-year-old Egyptian city near the modern city of Syria. This citadel may have been built by the pharaoh Akhenaten (father of the pharaoh Tutankhamun).
According to new research published in the journal Antiquity, these brick and mud ruins date back to the 18th Dynasty of Egypt (around 1550-1292 BC), a period famous for its wealth, power and strong changes in religious ideology.
The site, known as Komel-Nugus, is located 43 km west of Syria. Although the excavation began in 2013.
Previously, researchers believe that this area was only settled during the Grecian period, when the Greeks arrived here around 332 BC.
The main archaeologist Sylvain Dhennin at the University of Lyon and the French National Scientific Research Center shared with the New Scientist newspaper: "The discovery of the new Kingdom of Kingdom at this location is a big surprise. This discovery has completely changed the western border history of Egypt in the New Kingdom period."
During the excavation, one of the most notable discoveries was the debris of an amphorae with the name Merytaton engraved on it - believed to be the eldest daughter of the pharaoh Akhenaten and queen Nefertiti. Therefore, Merytaton is the younger sister or sister of pharaoh Tutankhamun's father and mother.
There are signs that the newly opened urban area could be a wine making facility dedicated to Merytaton. This shows that royal trademarks and goods certification activities existed in ancient Egypt.
"The appearance of this stamp can indicate the production of wine production belongs to a royal land.
Other notable discoveries include architectural ruins related to the temple worshiping pharaoh Ramesses II.
The full scale of this urban area has not been determined. However, the presence of a meticulously designed street, cleverly arranged slopes to drain water and protect buildings from erosion shows that this is a town of significant scale.
The discovery of the city is part of a series of important archaeological discoveries in Egypt this year. Last month, archaeologists unearthed the tomb of pharaoh Thutmose II. This is also the first pharaoh burial site discovered since Tutankhamun's mausoleum in 1922.
A few days later, the research team announced that it was likely that a second grave belonging to pharaoh Thutmose II had been found, buried 23 m deep under a mound carefully covered with crushed stone, limestone, ash and high-lying sedge.
Earlier this year, a French-Swedish archaeological team in Egypt discovered the mausoleum of a senior phap su and physician of the Egyptian pharaohs about 4,000 years ago. The lines on the mausoleum identify the owner as Tetinebefou, a famous doctor under the reign of pharaoh Pepi II (about 2305 - 2118 BC).
