It’s difficult to picture an entire city going missing, yet that’s exactly what happened to the places on this list. There are several reasons why a town must be abandoned. Whatever the cause, these vanished towns were forgotten until centuries later when they were found.
Many of the world’s vanished cities were gradually forgotten until some traveler or historian accidentally or purposefully uncovered the ruins. Thanks to these folks, we learned about these magnificent secret locations on the globe.
The list of vanished towns of the ancient world is endless. To simplify things for you, we’ve compiled a list of a few of the world’s forgotten cities that were later discovered.
We have listed The 20 great lost cities of the world below:
1. Sanchi Stupa, India
Sanchi was a city in India’s Madhya Pradesh area found in 1818 by a British officer. Stupas, monasteries, and Buddhist temples dating from the third century BC to the eleventh century AD were discovered.
The Great Stupa in Sanchi is among India’s oldest stone buildings, constructed by The Great Ashoka in the 3rd century BC over the Buddha’s relics.
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2. Peru’s Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu, high in the Peruvian Andes, is the most renowned rediscovered city and among South America’s most popular tourist sites. Hiram Bingham, an adventurer, first saw the magnificent scene on July 24, 1911.
On the other hand, the locals were aware of the remains and even showed Bingham the way – but his findings were the first time the location was made public.
3. Perdida, Ciudad
Ciudad Perdida (“Lost City”) is an ancient city in Colombia’s Sierra Nevada that is thought to have been founded about 800 AD. A series of terraces cut into the slope, a network of tiled pathways and many tiny circular plazas make up the buried city.
Local tribes refer to the city as Teyuna and think it was the hub of a network of communities inhabited by their forefathers, the Tairona. It appears to have been abandoned during the Spanish invasion.
4. Greenland’s Hvalsey
If you enjoy adventure stories, the story of Thorkell Farserk, a Viking strongman who established a homestead in windswept Greenland in 985, is a beautiful place to start.
For approximately 400 years, the ancestors of Farserk and his clan appeared to be doing well on a short strip of Hvalsey fjord near present-day Qaqortoq, Greenland’s central town. The latest published source even indicated Sigrid Bjornsdottir & Thorstein Olafsson marrying in Hvalsey Church in September 1408.
5. Iraq, Ctesiphon
Ctesiphon, situated on the Tigris River near modern Baghdad, was the ancient Persian Civilization’s capital. Its main attraction is the massive vaulted hall, dominated by the world’s most enormous brick-built arch (pictured).
The throne room behind it was 30 meters high and 48 meters long, making it genuinely appropriate for a monarch.
6. Persepolis, Iran
Persepolis, located 60 kilometers northeast of Shiraz in Iran, was the capital of the Achaemenid Empire and is home to some of the last examples of Achaemenid traditional architecture. The site has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979, and its history dates back to 515 BC when Darius I erected it.
It was the capital of Persia and, afterward, a region of the Macedonian Empire. During the 1930s, French archeologist Andre Godard found and exposed the city.
7. Pakistan, Mohenjo-Daro
Mohenjo Daro was one of the world’s ancient forgotten cities until it was discovered in 1922. Excavations showed that it was among the most significant towns of the Indus Valley Civilization and the world’s first urban communities.
The use of fire-burned bricks to build organized structures, as well as the magnificent layout, are what make the city famous. The construction of the Great Bath is among the most famous of all the structures and ruins discovered.
8. India, Vijayanagar, Hamp
Though archaeologists have discovered remnants dating back to roughly 300 BC, the whole excavated city of Vijayanagar in Hampi dates back to the time of the empire of the same name.
However, Hampi is described in the Hindu mythology of Ramayana as Kishkinda – the country of the monkey gods. This is among the world’s most well-known lost ancient cities.
9. Memphis
Memphis is the fabled metropolis of Menes, the King who unified Upper and Lower Egypt and was constructed circa 3,100 BC. It was most likely a citadel from which Menes controlled the land and sea routes between the Delta and Upper Egypt at the time. Saqqara had grown into a significant metropolis by the Third Dynasty.
Under Alexander the Great, it was conquered by Persia, Nubia, Assyria, and Macedonia. The emergence of Christianity and Islam diminished its status as a religious center. After the Muslim invasion of Egypt in 640 AD, it was abandoned. The ancient temple of Ptah, imperial palaces, and a massive statue of Rameses II are among the remains. The Saqqara Pyramids are nearby.
10. Pompeii, Italy
A catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius smothered the adjacent city of Pompeii and a few of its inhabitants under 6 m of ash & rock in 79 CE. The city’s location faded into history, but it was rediscovered in the fifteenth century by an architect proposing to construct on the spot.
Excavations did not commence until 1748 but have subsequently continued. “Pompeii as an archaeological excavation is the world’s longest continuously excavated site”, said Steven Ellis, a classics researcher at the University of Cincinnati. The latter oversees an archaeological study project at Pompeii.
11. Pakistan, Taxila
Taxila or Takshashila appears in Indian and Greco-Roman literary sources and the tales of two Chinese Buddhist travelers, Xuanzang and Faxian. It was India’s largest educational institution. Takshashila was created by King Bharat, Lord Rama’s brother, based on the Hindu epic Ramayana.
The city is claimed to have been called after Bharata’s son Taksha, the city’s first monarch. Excavations, however, could not establish their link to anything before 600 BC.
12. Iraq, Babylon
Babylon, the capital of Babylonia, located on the Euphrates River, was reported to have been the most incredible metropolis in the world, with a population of over 200,000 between 612 to 320 BC and from 1770 to 1670 BC.
It remained an important city in the Assyrian Empire after the turmoil of 1180 BC. It was famed for its luxury under the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, the creator of its famous Hanging Gardens. The ruins of Babylon may now be located in Hillah, Iraq.
13. Guatemala, Tika
The Maya Empire was vast, ranging from the Yucatan Peninsula to present-day Belize, Guatemala, and portions of El Salvador and Honduras. The Mayans were also astute; they excelled at mathematics (introducing the concept of zero and presenting it with a shell) and constructed pyramid temples from hand-cut limestone blocks. It devised an advanced calendar system to keep track of time, and invented Mayan hieroglyphic writing, to name a few.
Tikal in Guatemalan is undoubtedly the most spectacular of the towns they created. Tikal is thought to have been populated for the first time around 3,000 years ago. It grew into a significant ceremonial center between 100CE and 300BCE.
14. Mesa Verde Canyon walls, Colorado, USA
The Mesa Verde National Park was originally home to the Anasazi people, who resided here from the seventh to fifteenth century AD.
It has about 600 cliff homes constructed primarily of sandstone, wood, and mortar beneath the overhang of ridges. Cliff Palace, the most renowned of this ancient metropolis, held roughly 100 people and was reached via ladders.
15. Sukhothai
Sukhothai is among Thailand’s most ancient and significant historical towns. It was formerly a provincial town under the Angkor-based Khmer kingdom, won independence in the 13th century, and became the capital of the first independent United Tai state. According to legend, the old town once housed 80,000 people.
Sukhothai’s importance began to wane after 1351 when Ayutthaya was established as the seat of a powerful competing Tai dynasty. The city was invaded and integrated into the Ayutthaya kingdom in 1438. Therefore, Sukhothai fell into disuse in the 15th century or early 16th century.
16. Zimbabwe, the Great
Great Zimbabwe is a cluster of stone ruins spread across a large territory in modern-day Zimbabwe named for the ruins. The phrase “Great” separates the location from the hundred Zimbabwes scattered around the country. Indigenous Bantu people built it. According to estimations,
Great Zimbabwe had a population of up to 18,000 people at its peak. The deterioration and eventual abandonment of the site have been attributed to a reduction in commerce, political instability, hunger, and water shortages induced by climate change.
17. Alexandria – Heracleion
For years, Egypt’s Lost City of Heracleion was hunted across the vast expanse of Abu Qir Bay. Franck Goddio, a French archaeologist, discovered the site underwater over 6.5 kilometers off the shore of Alexandria.
The submerged ruins include 700 anchors, 64 ships, 16-foot-long standing sculptures, and the remnants of the glorious temple of Amun-Gereb. So, The location is one of the most popular sites to visit in Egypt.
18. Bolivia, Tiwanaku
Tiwanaku was located on the shores of Lake Titicaca in Bolivia. It was a significant religious center from 300 BC to 300 AD, attracting many visitors.
The city evolved into among the most potent Andean settlements, with about 30,000 residents by the 9th century. However, Tiwanaku was abandoned due to a climatic shift around 1000 AD and a rising lack of food in the vicinity.
19. Timgad
Timgad was a Colonial Roman town in Algeria built approximately 100 AD by Emperor Trajan. Originally intended for a population of roughly 15,000 people, the city gradually surpassed its planned dimensions and spilled outside the orthogonal grid in a more haphazard manner.
The city was destroyed by the Vandals in the fifth century and by the Berbers two centuries after that. Until its excavation in 1881, the city vanished from history, becoming one of the Roman Empire’s lost cities.
20. Thebes’ Ancient Tombs, Egypt
Thebes was Egypt’s capital city and the city devoted to Amon, the supreme god sun, from roughly 2040 to 1070 BC. Even now, its beauty is unparalleled. Karnak Complex, The Temple of Luxor, and the Temple of Ramesses II remain among the world’s finest architectural achievements. Not to mention Tutankhamun’s tomb, which is also located here.
Conclusion
We have listed The 20 great lost cities of the world above. We were always captivated by myths and traditions about lost towns or abandoned regions buried in the mists of time, and history was full of them.
Throughout history, explorers have journeyed into remote parts of our planet, hoping to uncover such sanctuaries. We were and continue to be captivated by these legends, which range from El Dorado, the city of gold, to towns devastated by natural disasters, war, and social turmoil, or even Atlantis itself.
History has descriptions of several forgotten towns, some of which have been discovered, while others, such as Thinis, Atil, and Gangga Negara, have yet to be found; thus, explorers and historians continue their hunts.
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