It’s been years since Lagóstena, a professor of ancient history at Cádiz University (UCA), last used trowels, spades and brushes. In just a few days, the Spanish archeologist Lázaro Lagóstena can figure out the complete layout of streets, buildings and ports in ancient cities that were swallowed up by the earth centuries ago. It does not store any personal data.The ground-penetrating radar used in 2017 to uncover the ancient Punic port of Doña Blanca. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Special priests worked as embalmers, treating and wrapping the body. The mummification process took seventy days. How long does it take to mummify an animal? “It has to be really dry, or really wet, or really frozen, or really high elevation.” Bodies left in hot, arid environments can typically mummify in about two weeks, while the process typically takes a couple of months in enclosed locations. Egypt uncovered a funerary temple and the oldest coffins ever found in Saqqara, unlocking more secrets in the ancient burial site and marking another major discovery in the vast necropolis south of Cairo. The temple is located south of Cairo and contains coffins that date back some 3,000 years. Mohenjo-daro What is the largest city ever?Ĭhongqing What was found in Saqqara tomb? What is the oldest lost city in the world? The Incan capital city of Vilcabamba was destroyed and depopulated during the Spanish conquest of Peru in 1572. Roman architects frequently tore the roofs from old buildings and filled their interiors with dirt, to make solid foundations for new structures.Ĭities may become lost for a variety of reasons including natural disasters, economic or social upheaval, or war. How did Rome get buried?Īncient Rome slipped from sight gradually, in a 2,500-year process of natural silting and intentional burial that was already well advanced in classical times. Either something sticks up and gets eroded away or it’s in a low area or other position where dust and other particles can settle and it gets buried. When that happens, there are basically two possibilities. Over time, soil and other materials blow around, there are floods, and so on. The gradual accumulation of soil from the decay of vegetation gradually rises above ground level, and the last remnants of the house eventually become buried under a layer of soil that is slowly deepening. Plants, living creatures, wind, rain, snow, frost, or intense sunlight all contribute to degeneration. However, you can plainly see this process even in an occupied city. Most ancient cities get buried under the dust and rubble of structures that have collapsed over the centuries and millennia that followed their destruction and abandonment.