Will You Find The Next Lost City?

Based on our watchings of Disney movies like Atlantis or The Road to El Dorado, many of us have dreamed of discovering a city lost to time. While many ancient civilizations were rediscovered in the 19th or 20th centuries, several of them are still unknown. Check out this list below and see if you’re ready to be the next Indiana Jones.

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1. Atlantis

Considered a fictional island in Plato’s works Timaeus and Critias, the city was described as a naval empire that conquered parts of Europe and the African coast. Plato used it as an allegory on the hubris of nations, and it’s commonly referenced today as a fallen utopia. While widely agreed to be a work of fiction, academics believe the city is based on fact, suggesting that the Egyptian Thera eruption, the Sea Peoples invasion, or the Trojan War all played a part in making this underwater society.

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2. El Dorado

El Dorado is believed to be a city of gold located in South America. While also widely considered a myth, the legend was first recorded back in the 16th century by Spanish colonists. The legend is inspired by the Indigenous people known as the Muisca, who inhabited the Andean Mountains in modern-day Colombia.

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3. City Of Z

The Lost City of Z is considered an Indigenous city that existed in the Mato Grosso state of Brazil. It got its name from Colonel Percy Harrison Fawcett, who believed that a complex civilization once existed after exploring regions of the Amazon River. Fawcett disappeared during an expedition to find evidence of Z in 1925.

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4. Lyonesse

Mentioned first in the Arthurian legend, Lyonesse was a kingdom that occupied the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England, to the Isles of Scilly. It’s said that the people of Lyonesse lived in towns, worked in fertile, low-lying plains, and had a castle-like cathedral built on the Steven Stones Reef. According to legend, the kingdom was lost after being swallowed by the ocean.

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5. Aztlan

Aztlan is considered the ancestral home of the Aztec peoples, and is mentioned in several sources from the colonial period. Records indicate that several groups migrated out of Aztlan from central Mexico, meaning that the speculated location of this mysterious city is Northwestern Mexico or the Southwestern United States.

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6. Cantre'r Gwaelod

According to legend, Cantre'r Gwaelod is a sunken kingdom that sat to the west of present-day Wales. It’s suggested that the area occupied by fertile land between Ramsey Island and Bardsey Island is now considered Cardigan Bay. There is even an ancient submerged forest in Ynyslas, Wales, which is associated with this legend.

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7. Iram of the Pillars

Also known as “Iram” or “City of the pillars,” Iram is a lost city that is mentioned in the Quran. Some academics believe the verses mentioning Iram could refer to a geographic location, a city, or the name of a tribe. It’s believed that the city was likely based around Alexandria, Damascus, or Ubar.

Julieta39 on Wikimedia

8. Dwarka

Also known as Dvarika, this ancient city is prominent in ancient Indian literature. The name Dwarka translates to “the gated city,” and is considered sacred in Hinduist, Jainist, and Buddhist literature. It's said that the city was gifted by the god Krishna.

Grindlay's on Wikimedia

9. The Kalahari

The Lost City of the Kalahari has roots dating back to the 19th century. Historical reports say that explorers found proof of a ruined city in the Kalahari Desert, but after multiple 20th-century expeditions, no further evidence of the city has been found.

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10. Akkad

The lost city of Akkad was the capital of the Akkadian Empire for about 150 years. While its current location is still unknown, archaeologists have focused their areas within an 18.5-mile radius of modern-day Baghdad. Many sources reference this city in other archeological sites, and we can only hope that we come across this ancient city in the near future.

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1. Lothal

Lothal is one of the southernmost cities of the Indus Valley civilization. Located in modern-day Gujarat, India, it’s believed that the city was founded in 2300 BCE. The city was a thriving trade centre, trading beads, gems, and ornaments with civilizations as far as West Asia and Africa.

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2. Ganweriwal

More commonly known as Ganweriwala, this site is considered one of the largest cities that existed within the Indus Valley civilization in southern Pakistan. While the archeological site has been rediscovered, it has not been properly excavated due to the surrounding area being used for agricultural and transportation purposes.

Avantiputra7 on Wikimedia

3. Sanchi

The city of Sanchi was founded in the 3rd century BCE, deserted in the 12th century BCE, and was not rediscovered until 1818. Located in Madhya Pradesh, India, Sanchi is home to the Great Stupa, one of the oldest Buddhist sanctuaries that still stands today. 

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4. Vijayanagara

The city of Vijayanagara was the capital city of the Vijayanagara Empire, and was considered the second-largest medieval-era city worldwide. It was considered a powerful urban centre from the 14th to the 16th centuries, and was pivotal in the reconstruction of Hindu culture. It’s suggested that the city was burnt to the ground in the mid-16th century, and was not rediscovered until the early 19th century.

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5. Mohenjo-daro

This ancient city was built in 2500 BCE, and was likely one of the largest settlements of the Indus Valley civilization. It had an estimated population of 40,000 people and was abandoned along with the other Indus Valley settlements by the 1700s BCE. The site was rediscovered in the 1920s.

Saqib Qayyum on Wikimedia

6. Taxila

Located in the Pothohar region of Pakistan, Old Taxila was the capital city of ancient Gandhāra. Likely founded around 1000 BCE, the city probably became a part of the Archaemenid Empire around 550 BCE, before being claimed by Alexander the Great. The city was destroyed in the 5th century and was rediscovered in the mid-19th century.

Anas Cheema on Wikimedia

7. Machu Picchu

Known as the “Lost City of the Incas,” Machu Picchu was a 15th-century citadel located in southern Peru. It’s believed to have served as an estate for an Incan emperor, but was abandoned a century later during the Spanish conquest. It was rediscovered in the early 20th century.

Allard Schmidt (The Netherlands) on Wikimedia

8. Calakmul

Calakmul is a Maya archaeological site in the Mexican state of Campeche. Located deep in the jungle, the city is considered one of the largest and most powerful ancient cities in the Maya lowlands. It’s estimated that the city had a population of 50,000, and nearly 7 thousand structures have been identified, including one of the tallest Maya pyramids.

Pavel Kirillov from St.Petersburg, Russia on Wikimedia

9. Göbekli Tepe

This Neolithic archaeological site is situated in modern-day Turkey and was inhabited from 9500 to 8000 BCE. The city is home to some of the world’s most ancient megaliths, and was first noted in 1963. As of 2021, only 10% of the site has been excavated.

Teomancimit on Wikimedia

10. The Lost Desert Cities Of Dubai

A more recent area of interest for archeologists and historians, the UAE’s desert is home to many sites of lost civilizations dating back almost 100,000 years. One of the most famous lost cities, Julfar, thrived for a thousand years before falling to ruin. It was rediscovered by archeologists in the 1960s, and many more desert cities in the UAE are still being found today.

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