The Lost City (Dungeons & Dragons)
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A lost city is an urban settlement that fell into terminal decline and became extensively or completely uninhabited, with the consequence that the site's former significance was no longer known to the wider world. The locations of many lost cities have been forgotten, but some have been rediscovered and studied extensively by scientists. Recently abandoned cities or cities whose location was never in question might be referred to as ruins or ghost towns. The search for such lost cities by European explorers and adventurers in Africa, the Americas, and Southeast Asia from the 15th century onwards eventually led to the development of archaeology. Lost cities generally fall into two broad categories: those where all knowledge of the city's existence was forgotten before it was rediscovered, and those whose memory was preserved in myth, legend, or historical records but whose location was lost or at least no longer widely recognized.


How cities are lost

Cities may become lost for a variety of reasons including natural disasters, economic or social upheaval, or war. The Incan capital city of Vilcabamba was destroyed and depopulated during the Spanish conquest of Peru in
1572 Year 1572 ( MDLXXII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 16 – Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, is tried for treason, for his part ...
. The Spanish did not rebuild the city, and the location went unrecorded and was forgotten until it was rediscovered through a detailed examination of period letters and documents. Troy was a city located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey. It is best known for being the focus of the Trojan War described in the Greek Epic Cycle and especially in the '' Iliad'', one of the two epic poems attributed to Homer. Repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt, the city slowly declined and was abandoned in the Byzantine era. Buried by time, the city was consigned to the realm of legend until the location was first excavated in the 1860s. Other settlements are lost with few or no clues to their abandonment. For example, Malden Island, in the central Pacific, was deserted when first visited by
Europeans Europeans are the focus of European ethnology, the field of anthropology related to the various ethnic groups that reside in the states of Europe. Groups may be defined by common genetic ancestry, common language, or both. Pan and Pfeil (2004) ...
in 1825, but the remains of temples and other structures on the island indicate that a population of Polynesians had lived there for perhaps several generations in the past. Typically this lack of information is due to a lack of surviving written or oral histories and a lack of archaeological data as in the case of the remote and fairly unknown Malden Island.


Rediscovery

With the development of archaeology and the application of modern techniques, many previously lost cities have been rediscovered.
Machu Picchu Machu Picchu is a 15th-century Inca citadel located in the Eastern Cordillera of southern Peru on a mountain range.UNESCO World Heritage Centre. It is located in the Machupicchu District within Urubamba Province above the Sacred Valley, which ...
is a pre-Columbian Inca site situated on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru. Often referred to as the "Lost City of the Incas", it is perhaps the most familiar icon of the Inca World. Machu Picchu was built around 1450, at the height of the Inca Empire. It was abandoned just over 100 years later, in 1572, as a belated result of the Spanish Conquest. It is possible that most of its inhabitants died from smallpox introduced by travelers before the Spanish conquistadors arrived in the area. In 1911, Melchor Arteaga led the explorer Hiram Bingham to Machu Picchu, which had been largely forgotten by everybody except the small number of people living in the immediate valley. Helike was an ancient Greek city that sank at night in the winter of 373 BCE. The city was located in
Achaea Achaea () or Achaia (), sometimes transliterated from Greek as Akhaia (, ''Akhaïa'' ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Western Greece and is situated in the northwestern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. The ...
, Northern
Peloponnesos The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridge whic ...
, two kilometres (12 stadia) from the
Corinthian Gulf The Gulf of Corinth or the Corinthian Gulf ( el, Κορινθιακός Kόλπος, ''Korinthiakόs Kόlpos'', ) is a deep inlet of the Ionian Sea, separating the Peloponnese from western mainland Greece. It is bounded in the east by the Isth ...
. The city was thought to be legend until 2001, when it was rediscovered in the Helike Delta. In 1988, the Greek archaeologist Dora Katsonopoulou launched the Helike Project to locate the site of the lost city. In 1994, in collaboration with the University of Patras, a
magnetometer A magnetometer is a device that measures magnetic field or magnetic dipole moment. Different types of magnetometers measure the direction, strength, or relative change of a magnetic field at a particular location. A compass is one such device, o ...
survey was carried out in the midplain of the delta, which revealed the outlines of a buried building. In 1995, this target was excavated (now known as the Klonis site), and a large Roman building with standing walls was brought to light. The city was rediscovered in 2001, buried in an ancient lagoon.


Lost cities by continent


Africa


Rediscovered


= Egypt

= * Akhetaten – Capital during the reign of 18th Dynasty pharaoh Akhenaten. Later abandoned and almost totally destroyed. Modern day
Amarna Amarna (; ar, العمارنة, al-ʿamārnah) is an extensive Egyptian archaeological site containing the remains of what was the capital city of the late Eighteenth Dynasty. The city was established in 1346 BC, built at the direction of the Ph ...
. *
Avaris Avaris (; Egyptian: ḥw.t wꜥr.t, sometimes ''hut-waret''; grc, Αὔαρις, Auaris; el, Άβαρις, Ávaris; ar, حوّارة, Hawwara) was the Hyksos capital of Egypt located at the modern site of Tell el-Dab'a in the northeastern r ...
– capital city of the Hyksos in the
Nile Delta The Nile Delta ( ar, دلتا النيل, or simply , is the delta formed in Lower Egypt where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the world's largest river deltas—from Alexandria in the west to Po ...
. * Canopus – Located on the now-dry Canopic branch of the Nile, east of Alexandria. * Memphis – Administrative capital of ancient Egypt. Little remains. Now a UNESCO World Heritage site. * Pi-Ramesses – Imperial city of Rameses the Great, now thought to exist beneath Qantir * Tanis – Capital during the 21st and 22nd Dynasties, in the Delta region.


= The Maghrib, including Libya

= * Carthage – Initially a Phoenician city in Tunisia, 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 697 CE. Now a UNESCO World Heritage site. * Dougga, Tunisia – Roman city located in present-day Tunisia. Now a UNESCO World Heritage site. *
Leptis Magna Leptis or Lepcis Magna, also known by other names Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent fil ...
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. Now a UNESCO World Heritage site. * Timgad, Algeria – Roman city founded by the emperor Trajan around 100 CE, covered by the sand at 7th century. Now a UNESCO World Heritage site.


= Horn of Africa

= * Adulis,
Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...
– a port city of the Adulian kingdom built between 500 and 300 BC. * Qohaito,
Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...
– 1000 BC city of the land of Punt, D'mt kingdom and kingdom of Axum. * Metera,
Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...
– 800 BC lost town. * Keskese,
Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...
– 700 BC lost city. *
Kubar Kobar ( ar, كوبر) is a Palestinian village in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate in the northern West Bank. Kobar is located at an altitude of above sea level with a mean annual rainfall of 669.8 mm. The average annual temperature is ...
,
Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...
– a lost major city of the Habesha land or Alhabesh * Hubat, Ethiopia – capital of
Harla Kingdom Harla Kingdom was a 6th century Harla state centered around what is present day eastern Ethiopia. The kingdom had trading relations with the Ayyubid and Tang dynasties. It also established its own currency and calendar. The kingdom is mentioned in E ...


= Subsaharan Africa

= *
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,
Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...
– Wealthy
Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...
city in medieval Ghana. *
Great Zimbabwe Great Zimbabwe is a medieval city in the south-eastern hills of Zimbabwe near Lake Mutirikwi and the town of Masvingo. It is thought to have been the capital of a great kingdom during the country's Late Iron Age about which little is known. Con ...
– Built between the 11th and the 14th century, this city is the namesake of modern-day Zimbabwe. Now a UNESCO World Heritage site. * Niani – lost capital of the
Mali Empire The Mali Empire ( Manding: ''Mandé''Ki-Zerbo, Joseph: ''UNESCO General History of Africa, Vol. IV, Abridged Edition: Africa from the Twelfth to the Sixteenth Century'', p. 57. University of California Press, 1997. or Manden; ar, مالي, Māl ...


Uncertain or disputed

*
Lost City of the Kalahari The Lost City of the Kalahari is a historical mystery of exploration and archaeology dating to the end of the 19th century. The history reports the existence of a ruined city found in the Kalahari Desert in southern Africa. Origin of the mystery ...
– possibly invented


Undiscovered

* Itjtawy, Egypt – Capital during the 12th Dynasty. Exact location still unknown, but it is believed to lie near the modern town of
el-Lisht Lisht or el-Lisht ( ar, اللشت, translit=Al-Lišt) is an Egyptian village located south of Cairo. It is the site of Middle Kingdom royal and elite burials, including two pyramids built by Amenemhat I and Senusret I. The two main pyramids were ...
. *
Thinis Thinis (Greek: Θίνις ''Thinis'', Θίς ''This'' ; Egyptian: Tjenu; cop, Ⲧⲓⲛ; ar, ثينيس) was the capital city of the first dynasties of ancient Egypt. Thinis remains undiscovered but is well attested by ancient writers, includ ...
, Egypt – Undiscovered city and centre of the
Thinite Confederacy The Thinite Confederacy is an Egyptological term for a hypothesized tribal confederation in ancient Egypt. It is thought to have preceded the full unification of Upper Egypt . The leaders of the Thinite Confederacy were most likely tribal noble ...
, the leader of which, Menes, united Upper and Lower Egypt and was the first pharaoh.


Asia


Central Asia


= Rediscovered

= * Karakorum – Capital of the
Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe, ...
under
Genghis Khan ''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr />Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan'' , birth_name = Temüjin , successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan , spouse = , issue = , house = Borjigin , ...
. * Loulan – Located in the Taklamakan Desert, on the ancient Silk Road route. * Mangazeya, Siberia * Niya – Located in the Taklamakan Desert, on the ancient
Silk Road The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and reli ...
route. *
Old Urgench Konye-Urgench ( tk, Köneürgenç / Көнеүргенч; fa, کهنه گرگانج, ''Kuhna Gurgānj'', literally "Old Gurgānj"), also known as Old Urgench or Urganj, is a city of about 30,000 inhabitants in north Turkmenistan, just south fro ...
– capital of
Khwarezm Khwarazm (; Old Persian: ''Hwârazmiya''; fa, خوارزم, ''Xwârazm'' or ''Xârazm'') or Chorasmia () is a large oasis region on the Amu Darya river delta in western Central Asia, bordered on the north by the (former) Aral Sea, on the ...
. Now a UNESCO World Heritage site. * Otrar – City located along the Silk Road, important in the history of Central Asia. * Sarai – Capital of the Golden Horde * Subashi – Located in the Taklamakan Desert, on the ancient Silk Road route.


= Undiscovered

= *
Abaskun Abaskun was a port that existed in the Middle Ages on the southeastern shore of the Caspian Sea in the area of Gorgan.Bosworth, C. E.Abaskūn". ''Encyclopaedia Iranica''. Accessed on June 6, 2007. Location In his ''Geographia'', Ptolemy mentions a ...
– Medieval Caspian Sea trading port * Atil,
Tmutarakan Tmutarakan ( rus, Тмутарака́нь, p=tmʊtərɐˈkanʲ, ; uk, Тмуторокань, Tmutorokan) was a medieval Kievan Rus' principality and trading town that controlled the Cimmerian Bosporus, the passage from the Black Sea to the Sea ...
,
Sarai Berke Sarai, Serai, or Saraj may refer to: Places *Sarai (city), a large medieval city, and the capital city of the Golden Horde *Saray-Jük, the ''Little Sarai'' of the Golden Horde Azerbaijan * Sarai Village, an old Turkic village in Absheron, Baku ...
– Capitals of the steppe peoples. *
Balanjar Balanjar (''Baranjar'', ''Belenjer'', ''Belendzher'', ''Bülünjar'') was a medieval city located in the North Caucasus region, between the cities of Derbent and Samandar, probably on the lower Sulak River. It flourished between the seventh and t ...
– Earlier Khazar capital * Turquoise Mountain (Firozkoh) – Summer capital of the Ghurid dynasty of Afghanistan, destroyed 1223


East Asia


= Rediscovered

= *
Xanadu Xanadu may refer to: * Shangdu, the ancient summer capital of Kublai Khan's empire in China * a metaphor for opulence or an idyllic place, based upon Coleridge's description of Shangdu in his poem ''Kubla Khan'' Other places * Xanadu (Titan), ...
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
Now a UNESCO World Heritage site.


= Uncertain or Disputed

= * Yamatai
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...


South Asia


= India

=


Rediscovered

* Dholavira – Located in Gujarat, India. City of the
Indus Valley civilization The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form 2600 BCE to 1900&n ...
. * Dvārakā – Ancient city of Krishna, hero of the Mahabharata. Now largely excavated. Off the coast of the Indian state of Gujarat. * Kalibangan – Located in Rajasthan, India – early city of the Indus Valley Civilization. * Lothal – Located in Gujarat, India – early city of the Indus Valley Civilization. *
Pattadakal Pattadakal, also called Paṭṭadakallu or Raktapura, is a complex of 7th and 8th century CE Hindu and Jain temples in northern Karnataka (India). Located on the west bank of the Malaprabha River in Bagalakote district, this UNESCO World Heri ...
– Located in Karnataka, South India. Now a UNESCO World Heritage site. * Puhar, Mayiladuthurai – Located in Tamil Nadu, South India. * Rakhigarhi – Located in Haryana, largest Indus Valley Civilization site, dating back to 4600 BCE. *
Surkotada Surkotada is an archaeological site located in Rapar Taluka of Kutch district, Gujarat, India which belongs to the Indus Valley civilisation (IVC). It is a smaller fortified IVC site with in area. Location and environment The site at Surkota ...
– Located in Gujarat, India – early city of the Indus Valley Civilization. * Vasai – Located in India, former capital (1533–1740) of the Northern Provinces of Portuguese India * Vijayanagara – Located in Karnataka, India. Now a UNESCO World Heritage site.


Uncertain or Disputed

* Kumari Kandam — A fictional lost continent south of India.


Undiscovered

*
Muziris Muziris ( grc, Μουζιρίς, Old Malayalam: ''Muciri'' or ''Muciripattanam'' possibly identical with the medieval ''Muyirikode'') was an ancient harbour and an urban centre on the Malabar Coast. Muziris found mention in the ''Periplus of ...
– Located near
Cranganore Kodungallur (; also Cranganore, Portuguese: Cranganor; formerly known as Mahodayapuram, Shingly, Vanchi, Muchiri, Muyirikkode, and Muziris) is a historically significant town situated on the banks of river Periyar on the Malabar Coast in Thr ...
, Kerala, southern India


= Nepal

= * Lumbini – Located in Rupandehi district, birthplace of Gautam Buddha. Now a UNESCO World Heritage site. * Sinja Valley – Located in Jumla district, capital city of medieval Khasa Kingdom and origin of Khas (Nepali) language. Now a UNESCO World Heritage site.


= Pakistan

=


Rediscovered

* Chanhudaro – Located in Pakistan's Sindh province, an
Indus Valley civilization The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form 2600 BCE to 1900&n ...
city * Ganweriwal – Located in the Cholistan Desert of Punjab, Pakistan – was a large town of the Indus Valley Civilization, not yet excavated. *
Harappa Harappa (; Urdu/ pnb, ) is an archaeological site in Punjab, Pakistan, about west of Sahiwal. The Bronze Age Harappan civilisation, now more often called the Indus Valley Civilisation, is named after the site, which takes its name from a mode ...
– Located in Punjab, Pakistan – early city of the Indus Valley Civilization * Kot Diji – Located in Pakistan's Sindh province
Indus Valley civilization The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form 2600 BCE to 1900&n ...
city * Mehrgarh – Located in Pakistan's Balochistan province
Indus Valley civilization The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form 2600 BCE to 1900&n ...
city * Mohenjo-daro – Located in
Sindh, Pakistan Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of ...
— early city of the
Indus Valley civilization The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form 2600 BCE to 1900&n ...
. The city was one of the early urban settlements in the world. *
Seri Bahlol Seri Bahlol ( ur, ), also Sahr-i Bahlol or Sahri Bahlol, is a city and archaeological site located near Takht-i-Bahi, in Mardan District, about 70 kilometer north-west of Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. History Seri Bahlol is a histor ...
– Located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province — an ancient town, now the site of ruins. * Sokhta Koh – Located near the city of Pasni — another ancient settlement of the Indus Valley. *
Sutkagan Dor Sutkagan Dor (or Sutkagen Dor) is the westernmost known archaeological site of the Indus Valley civilization. It is located about 480 km west of Karachi on the Makran coast near Gwadar, close to the Iranian border, in Pakistan's Baluchista ...
– Located near the Dasht River — was a small settlement in the Indus Valley, now in ruins. *
Takht-i-Bahi Takht-i-Bahi (Persian/ ur, , translation=throne of the water spring), is an Indo-Parthian archaeological site of an ancient Buddhist monastery in Mardan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The site is considered among the most important relics of Budd ...
– Located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province — an ancient
Indo-Parthian The Indo-Parthian Kingdom was a Parthian kingdom founded by Gondophares, and active from 19 CE to c. 226 CE. At their zenith, they ruled an area covering parts of eastern Iran, various parts of Afghanistan and the northwest regions of the Indian s ...
Buddhist monastery site. *
Taxila Taxila or Takshashila (; sa, तक्षशिला; pi, ; , ; , ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. Located in the Taxila Tehsil of Rawalpindi District, it lies approximately northwest of the Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area and ...
– Located in Pakistan's Punjab province.


Undiscovered

* Naga Puram – Located in Pakistan's Sindh province, a city of the
Indus Valley civilization The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form 2600 BCE to 1900&n ...
. The city was on the banks of the Ghaghara River.


= Sri Lanka

=


Rediscovered

* Anuradhapura – Now a UNESCO World Heritage site. * Sigiriya – Now a UNESCO World Heritage site. * Polonnaruwa – Now a UNESCO World Heritage site.


Southeast Asia


= Rediscovered

= * Angkor and surroundings. – Now a UNESCO World Heritage site. *
Ayutthaya Ayutthaya, Ayudhya, or Ayuthia may refer to: * Ayutthaya Kingdom, a Thai kingdom that existed from 1350 to 1767 ** Ayutthaya Historical Park, the ruins of the old capital city of the Ayutthaya Kingdom * Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province (locally ...
– Now a UNESCO World Heritage site. *
Mahendraparvata Mahendraparvata ( km, មហេន្ទ្របវ៌ត) is an ancient city of the Khmer Empire era in Cambodia. The existence of the city has been known for decades, but much of it lay concealed by forest and earth. The city was uncovered ...
* Sukhothai – Now a UNESCO World Heritage site. *
Wilwatikta Majapahit ( jv, ꦩꦗꦥꦲꦶꦠ꧀; ), also known as Wilwatikta ( jv, ꦮꦶꦭ꧀ꦮꦠꦶꦏ꧀ꦠ; ), was a Javanese Hindu-Buddhist thalassocratic empire in Southeast Asia that was based on the island of Java (in modern-day Indonesia) ...
– Capital city of Majapahit Kingdom, now in Trowulan, Mojokerto, East Java, Indonesia.


= Undiscovered

= * Gangga Negara – Malaysia (Malay Archipelago)


= Uncertain or Disputed

= *
Kota Gelanggi Kota Gelanggi is an archaeological site in Johor, Malaysia. It was reported in 2005 and dating to around 650–900 AD and one of the oldest kingdoms on Southeast Asia's Malay Peninsula. The site's existence was announced as a 'discovery' by ...
– Malaysia (Malay Archipelago) * Ma-i – Philippines – was a sovereign polity that pre-dated the Hispanic establishment of the Philippines and notable for having established trade relations with the Kingdom of Brunei, and with Song and Ming Dynasty China. Its existence was recorded both in the Chinese Imperial annals Zhu Fan Zhi (諸番志) and History of Song.


Western Asia


= Rediscovered

= * Ani – Medieval Armenian capital, located on the Turkish side of the Armenia–Turkey border. * Antioch – Ancient Greek city, important stronghold in the time of the Crusades. *
Babylon ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...
*
Caesarea Caesarea () ( he, קֵיסָרְיָה, ), ''Keysariya'' or ''Qesarya'', often simplified to Keisarya, and Qaysaria, is an affluent town in north-central Israel, which inherits its name and much of its territory from the ancient city of Caesare ...
* Çatalhöyük – A Neolithic and Chalcolithic settlement, located near the modern city of Konya, Turkey. *
Choqa Zanbil Chogha Zanbil ( fa, چغازنبيل; Elamite: Dur Untash) is an ancient Elamite complex in the Khuzestan province of Iran. It is one of the few existing ziggurats outside Mesopotamia. It lies approximately southeast of Susa and north of Ahv ...
*
Ctesiphon Ctesiphon ( ; Middle Persian: 𐭲𐭩𐭮𐭯𐭥𐭭 ''tyspwn'' or ''tysfwn''; fa, تیسفون; grc-gre, Κτησιφῶν, ; syr, ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢThomas A. Carlson et al., “Ctesiphon — ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢ ” in The Syriac Gazetteer last modi ...
* Göbekli Tepe * Kourion, Cyprus * Hattusa – Capital of the Hittite Empire. Located near the modern village of Boğazköy in north-central Turkey. * Kish * Lagash * Mada'in Saleh (and capitol
Petra Petra ( ar, ٱلْبَتْرَاء, Al-Batrāʾ; grc, Πέτρα, "Rock", Nabataean Aramaic, Nabataean: ), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu or Raqēmō, is an historic and archaeological city in southern Jordan. It is adjacent to t ...
) – Now a UNESCO World Heritage site. *
Nineveh Nineveh (; akk, ; Biblical Hebrew: '; ar, نَيْنَوَىٰ '; syr, ܢܝܼܢܘܹܐ, Nīnwē) was an ancient Assyrian city of Upper Mesopotamia, located in the modern-day city of Mosul in northern Iraq. It is located on the eastern ban ...
* Persepolis * Samaria * Troy * Ur


= Undiscovered

= *
Akkad Akkad may refer to: *Akkad (city), the capital of the Akkadian Empire *Akkadian Empire, the first ancient empire of Mesopotamia *Akkad SC, Iraqi football club People with the name *Abbas el-Akkad, Egyptian writer *Abdulrahman Akkad, Syrian LGBT act ...
* Arimathea * Dilmun * Ekallatum * Iram of the Pillars * Kussara * Washukanni – Capital of the Hurrian kingdom of Mitanni


= Status unknown

= * Narbata – Hebrew: נרבתא. Jewish city in The Great Revolt. *
Irisaĝrig Irisaĝrig (also Urusagrig, Iri-Saĝrig, and Al-Šarrākī) was an ancient Near East city in Iraq whose location is not known with certainty but is currently thought to be at the site of Tell al-Wilayah, on the ancient Mama-šarrat canal off the T ...
– Southern Iraq, near the town of
Afak , settlement_type = Town , pushpin_map = Iraq , pushpin_label_position = , pushpin_map_caption = , pushpin_mapsize = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Gove ...


Europe


Austria

*
Noreia Noreia is an ancient lost city in the Eastern Alps, most likely in southern Austria. While according to Julius Caesar it is known to have been the capital of the Celtic kingdom of Noricum, it was already referred to as a lost city by Pliny the ...
– the capital of the ancient Celtic kingdom of Noricum. Possibly in southern Austria or Slovenia.


Bosnia and Herzegovina

* Daorson – the capital of ancient Hellenic community in present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina.


Bulgaria

* Perperikon in Bulgaria – The megalith complex had been laid in ruins and re-erected many times in history – from the Bronze Age until Middle Ages. * Seuthopolis, Bulgaria – an ancient Thracian city, discovered and excavated in 1948. It was founded by king Seuthes III around 325 BC. Its ruins are now located at the bottom of the Koprinka Reservoir near the city of Kazanlak.


Croatia

* Heraclea somewhere in the Adriatic on the Croatian coast. Exact location unknown.


Denmark

* Høgekøbing, Denmark * Serridslev, Denmark


Finland

*
Teljä Teljä (also Telja or Tälje) was a late Iron Age and early Middle Ages settlement in Finland at the historical province of Satakunta. According to tradition it was located by the river Kokemäenjoki in the present municipality of Kokemäki. It i ...
, Finland


France

* Quentovic – In 842, the ancient port of ''Quentovicus'' was destroyed by a Viking fleet. * Thérouanne – In 1553, the city was razed, the roads broken up and the fields ploughed and salted by command of Charles V.


Germany

* Damasia – An ancient hill-top settlement on the Lech, of the Licates, a tribe of the Celtic Vindelici. Commonly identified with either the
Auerberg Auerberg is a foothill of the Alps in Allgäu, Bavaria, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most popul ...
or pre-Roman Augsburg. According to folklore, sunken into the
Ammersee Ammersee (English: Lake Ammer) is a Zungenbecken lake in Upper Bavaria, Germany, southwest of Munich between the towns of Herrsching and Dießen am Ammersee. With a surface area of approximately , it is the sixth largest lake in Germany. The lake ...
. * Hedeby, Germany * Rungholt
Wadden Sea The Wadden Sea ( nl, Waddenzee ; german: Wattenmeer; nds, Wattensee or ; da, Vadehavet; fy, Waadsee, longname=yes; frr, di Heef) is an intertidal zone in the southeastern part of the North Sea. It lies between the coast of northwestern conti ...
in Germany, sunk during the " Grote Mandrenke", a storm surge in the North Sea on January 16, 1362 * Niedam near Rungholt * Vineta


Greece

* Akrotiri – On the island of Thera, Greece. *
Chryse Island Chryse ( el, Χρύση, Khrýsē) may refer to: Ancient Greece and Rome * Chryse (mythology), several figures in Greek mythology * Chryse (ancient Greek placename), various places in ancient Greek geography * Chryse, Greek name for Aurea of Ostia ...
in the Aegean, reputed site of an ancient temple still visible on the sea floor. * Helike, Greece on the
Peloponnese The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic regions of Greece, geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmu ...
– Sunk by an earthquake in the 4th century BC and rediscovered in the 1990s. * Mycenae, Greece *
Pavlopetri The city of Pavlopetri ( el, Παυλοπέτρι), in Vatika Bay underwater off the coast of southern Laconia in Peloponnese, Greece, is about 5,000 years old, making it the oldest submerged city known in the world. Pavlopetri is unique in havi ...
, Greece underwater off the coast of southern Laconia in
Peloponnese The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic regions of Greece, geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmu ...
, is about 5,000 years old, and is the oldest submerged archeological town site.


Hungary

*
Avar Ring Avar(s) or AVAR may refer to: Peoples and states * Avars (Caucasus), a modern Northeast Caucasian-speaking people in the North Caucasus, Dagestan, Russia **Avar language, the modern Northeast Caucasian language spoken by the Avars of the North C ...
, Hungary – Central stronghold of the Avars, it is believed to have been in the wide plain between the Danube and the Tisza.


Italy

*
Acerrae Vatriae Acerrae Vatriae is mentioned by Pliny the Elder as having been a town of the Sarranates situated in Umbria, but it was already destroyed in his time, and all clue to its position is lost.Pliny the Elder, ''The Natural History'', tr. by John Bosto ...
– a town of the Sarranates mentioned by Pliny the elder as having been situated in an unknown location in Umbria. *
Castro Castro is a Romance language word that originally derived from Latin ''castrum'', a pre-Roman military camp or fortification (cf: Greek: ''kastron''; Proto-Celtic:''*Kassrik;'' br, kaer, *kastro). The English-language equivalent is '' chester''. ...
- a city in Lazio, capital of a Duchy ruled by the Farnese family. It was destroyed by the Papal army in 1649 * Luni, Italy * Paestum – Greek and Roman city south of Naples. Three famous Greek temples. *
Pompeii Pompeii (, ) was an ancient city located in what is now the ''comune'' of Pompei near Naples in the Campania region of Italy. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area (e.g. at Boscoreale, Stabiae), was buried ...
,
Herculaneum Herculaneum (; Neapolitan and it, Ercolano) was an ancient town, located in the modern-day ''comune'' of Ercolano, Campania, Italy. Herculaneum was buried under volcanic ash and pumice in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. Like the nea ...
and
Stabiae Stabiae () was an ancient city situated near the modern town of Castellammare di Stabia and approximately 4.5 km southwest of Pompeii. Like Pompeii, and being only from Mount Vesuvius, this seaside resort was largely buried by tephra ash ...
in Italy – buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD and rediscovered in the 18th century * Sybaris, Italy – Ancient Greek colonial city of unsurpassed wealth utterly destroyed by its arch-rival Crotona in 510 BC. * Tripergole, Italy – Ancient Roman spa village on the eastern shores of the Lucrine Lake in the Campi Flegrei. The village and most of the lake were buried by tephra in 1538 during the volcanic eruption that created
Monte Nuovo Monte Nuovo ("New Mountain") is a cinder cone volcano within the Campi Flegrei caldera, near Naples, southern Italy. A series of damaging earthquakes and changes in land elevation preceded its only eruption, during the most recent part of the Ho ...
. The exact location of the village and its associated hot springs can no longer be identified.


Lithuania

*
Apuolė Apuolė is a historic village in Skuodas district municipality, Lithuania. It is situated some east of Skuodas on the banks of the Luoba River. It had a population of 132 according to the 2001 census and 119 according to the 2011 census. Having ...


Netherlands

*
Brittenburg Brittenburg was a Roman ruin site west of Leiden between Katwijk aan Zee and Noordwijk aan Zee, presumably identical to the even older Celtic Lugdunum fortress. The site is first mentioned in 1401, was uncovered more completely by storm erosion ...
, ancient Roman settlement, Netherlands *
Dorestad Dorestad (''Dorestat, Duristat'') was an early medieval emporium, located in the southeast of the province of Utrecht in the Netherlands, close to the modern-day town of Wijk bij Duurstede. It flourished during the 8th to early 9th centuries, ...
, Netherlands *
Reimerswaal The name Reimerswaal () can mean: *Reimerswaal (city) A lost city in the Netherlands **Verdronken Land van Reimerswaal The now-drowned land around the city ** Battle of Reimerswaal on 29 January 1574 during the Eighty Years' War *Reimerswaal (munic ...
, Netherlands – flooded in the 16th century. *
Saeftinghe Saeftinghe or Saaftinge was a town in the southwest Netherlands, located in eastern Zeelandic Flanders, near Nieuw-Namen. It existed until 1584. It is now a swamp known as the ( nl, Verdronken Land van Saeftinghe) and an official nature reser ...
, Netherlands – prosperous city lost to the sea in 1584.


Norway

* Kaupang – In Viksfjord near
Larvik Larvik () is a List of cities in Norway, town and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold in Vestfold og Telemark Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Larvik. The municipality ...
, 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.


Poland

* Biskupin * Truso


Portugal

* Conímbriga, Portugal – early trading post dating to the 9th century BC. Abandoned in the 8th century AD.


Romania

*
Sarmisegetuza Regia Sarmizegetusa Regia, also Sarmisegetusa, Sarmisegethusa, Sarmisegethuza, Ζαρμιζεγεθούσα (''Zarmizegethoúsa'') or Ζερμιζεγεθούση (''Zermizegethoúsē''), was the capital and the most important military, religious an ...
, the old capital of the Ancient Dacian Kingdom. * Vicina, a port on the Danube, near the
Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also re ...
.


Russia

* Bolghar – important
Silk Road The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and reli ...
city on the Volga river, razed by the Tatar. *
Ilimsk Ilimsk (russian: link=no, Илимск) was a small town in Siberia, within today's Irkutsk Oblast of Russia. The town was flooded by the Ust-Ilimsk Reservoir in the mid-1970s. Ilimsk was founded in 1630 on the Ilim River, a tributary of the ...
was a small town in Siberia. Flooded by the Ust-Ilimsk Reservoir in the mid-1970s. *
Kitezh Kitezh (russian: Ки́теж) is a legendary and mythical city beneath the waters of Lake Svetloyar in the Voskresensky District of the Nizhny Novgorod Oblast in central Russia. Reference to Kitezh appears for the first time in ''Kitezh Chronicle ...
– Mythical city beneath the waters in central Russia. * Mangazeya, a trading colony on the Pomors' Northern Sea Route, was abandoned in the 17th century after the Northern Sea Route was banned. Mangazeya was considered lost until it was re-discovered by archaeologists in 1967. * Peremyshl – town that was founded in 1152. *
Tmutarakan Tmutarakan ( rus, Тмутарака́нь, p=tmʊtərɐˈkanʲ, ; uk, Тмуторокань, Tmutorokan) was a medieval Kievan Rus' principality and trading town that controlled the Cimmerian Bosporus, the passage from the Black Sea to the Sea ...
was a trading town of Rus' Khaganate


Serbia

* Stari Ras, Serbia – one of the first capitals of the medieval Serbian state of Raška, abandoned in the 13th century.


Slovakia

* Myšia Hôrka (near Spišský Štvrtok), Slovakia – 3500 years old town (rediscovered in the 20th century) and archaeological site; complex is called also Slovak Mycenae.


Spain

* Amaya – either the capital or one of the most important cities of the Cantabri. Probably located in what nowadays is called "Amaya Peak" in Burgos, northern Spain. * Cypsela, drowned Ibero-Greek settlement in the Catalan shore, Spain. Mentioned by Greek, Roman and Medieval chroniclers. *
Reccopolis Reccopolis ( es, link=no, Recópolis; la, Reccopolis), located near the tiny modern village of Zorita de los Canes in the province of Guadalajara, Castile-La Mancha, Spain, is an archaeological site of one of at least four cities founded in Hisp ...
, Spain – One of the capital cities founded in Hispania by the Visigoths. The site was incrementally abandoned in the 10th century. * Tartessos, Spain – A harbor city or an economical complex of small harbors and trade routes set on the mouth of the Guadalquivir river, in modern Andalusia, Spain. Tartessos is believed to be either the seat of an independent kingdom or a community of palatial cities devoted to exporting the mineral resources of the Hispanic mainland to the sea, to meet the Phoenician and Greek traders. Its destruction is still a matter of debate among historians, and one modern tendency tends to believe that Tartessos was never a city, but a culture complex.


Sweden

* Birka,
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
*
Ny Varberg Ny Varberg (New Varberg) was a city founded sometime between 1429 and 1434 about five kilometres north of present-day Varberg, Sweden. It was abandoned around 1612. The city was located at a crossroads where the roads from Småland and Västergöt ...
, Sweden * Uppåkra, Sweden


United Kingdom

*
Calleva Atrebatum Calleva Atrebatum ("Calleva of the Atrebates") was an Iron Age oppidum, the capital of the Atrebates tribe. It then became a walled town in the Roman province of Britannia, at a major crossroads of the roads of southern Britain. The modern villa ...
,
Silchester Silchester is a village and civil parish about north of Basingstoke in Hampshire. It is adjacent to the county boundary with Berkshire and about south-west of Reading. Silchester is most notable for the archaeological site and Roman town of ...
, England – Large Romano-British walled city south of present-day Reading, Berkshire. Just the walls remain and a street pattern can be discerned from the air. * Dunwich, England – Lost to coastal erosion. Once a large town, now reduced to a small village *
Evonium Evonium is a purported lost city in Scotland first described by Hector Boece in his 16th-century '' Scotorum Historiae''. According to Boece, it hosted the coronation of forty kings and was located in the Lochaber area. Boece's translator John Bel ...
, Scotland – purported coronation site and capital of 40 kings * Fairbourne, Wales - managed retreat policy adopted by council in 2019 due to flooding prospects following climate change * Hallsands, Devon - Built on a beach, last resident left in 1960, closed to public. Several derelict buildings still stand. *
Hampton-on-Sea Hampton-on-Sea is a drowned and abandoned village in what is now the Hampton area of Herne Bay, Kent. It grew from a tiny fishing hamlet in 1864 at the hands of an oyster fishery company, was developed from 1879 by land agents, abandoned in 19 ...
, England – A village in what is now the Hampton area of Herne Bay, Kent, drowned and abandoned between 1916 and 1921. * Kenfig, – a village in Bridgend, Wales, encroached by sand and abandoned around the 13th century. *
Nant Gwrtheyrn Nant Gwrtheyrn is a Welsh Language and Heritage Centre, located near the village of Llithfaen on the northern coast of the Llŷn Peninsula, Gwynedd, in northwest Wales. It is sometimes referred to as 'the Nant' and is named after the valley wh ...
former village on the North Welsh coast, abandoned after its quarry closed during World War II. Now regenerated as a language centre. * Old Sarum, England – population moved to nearby Salisbury in the 13th and 14th centuries, although the owners of the archaeological site retained the right to elect a Member of Parliament to represent Old Sarum until the 19th century (see William Pitt). * Ravenser Odd, England - important port near the mouth of the Humber, lost to coastal erosion in the 14th century. * Ravenspurn, England - near to Ravenser Odd, lost to coastal erosion at some time after 1471. * Roxburgh, Scotland – abandoned in the 15th century * Selsey, England – mostly abandoned to coastal erosion after 1043. * Skara Brae,
Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...
, Scotland – Neolithic settlement buried under sediment. Uncovered by a winter storm in 1850. * Trellech, Wales - declined between the 13th and 15th centuries. * Winchelsea, East Sussex – Old Winchelsea, Important Channel port, pop 4000+, abandoned after 1287 inundation and coastal erosion. Modern Winchelsea, inland, was built to replace it as a planned town by Edward I of England


Ukraine

*
Árheimar Árheimar (Old Norse "river home") was a capital of the Goths, according to the Hervarar saga. The saga states that it was located at ''Danparstaðir'' ("Dnieper stead"), which is identified with the ruins of Kamjans'ke Horodyšče, near Kamianka ...
, a capital of the Goths, that was located near the Dnieper river * Bolokhiv, Ukraine abandoned in the 13th century.


North America


Canada


= Rediscovered

= * L'Anse aux Meadows – Viking settlement founded around 1000. Now a UNESCO World Heritage site. *
Lost Villages The Lost Villages were ten communities (nine conventional villages and a populated island) in the Canadian province of Ontario, in the former townships of Cornwall and Osnabruck (now South Stormont) near Cornwall, which were permanently subme ...
– 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 The St. Lawrence Seaway (french: la Voie Maritime du Saint-Laurent) is a system of locks, canals, and channels in Canada and the United States that permits oceangoing vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes of North Americ ...
in 1958.


Caribbean


= Rediscovered

= *
Port Royal Port Royal is a village located at the end of the Palisadoes, at the mouth of Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1494 by the Spanish, it was once the largest city in the Caribbean, functioning as the centre of shipping and co ...
, Jamaica – Destroyed by the
1692 Jamaica earthquake The 1692 Jamaica earthquake struck Port Royal, Jamaica, on 7 June. A stopped pocket watch found in the harbor during a 1959 excavation indicated that it occurred around 11:43 AM local time. Known as the "storehouse and treasury of the West ...
.


Mexico and Central America


= Maya cities

= ''Incomplete list – for further information, see Maya civilization''


Rediscovered

* Calakmul – One of two superpowers in the classic Maya period. Now a UNESCO World Heritage site. *
Chichen Itza Chichen Itza , es, Chichén Itzá , often with the emphasis reversed in English to ; from yua, Chiʼchʼèen Ìitshaʼ () "at the mouth of the well of the Itza people" was a large pre-Columbian city built by the Maya people of the Terminal ...
– This ancient place of pilgrimage is still the most visited Maya ruin. Now a UNESCO World Heritage site. * Coba * Copán – In modern
Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...
. Now a UNESCO World Heritage site. *
Naachtun Naachtun is an archaeological site of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization, situated at the northeastern perimeter of the Mirador Basin region in the southern Maya lowlands, now in the modern-day Department of El Petén, northern Guatemala. Naach ...
– Rediscovered in 1922, it remains one of the most remote and least visited Maya sites. Located south-south-east of Calakmul, and 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 Chiapas (; Tzotzil language, Tzotzil and Tzeltal language, Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...
, known for its beautiful art and architecture. Now a UNESCO World Heritage site. * Tikal — One of two superpowers in the classic Maya period. Now a UNESCO World Heritage site. * Tulum – Mayan coastal city.


= Olmec cities

=


Rediscovered

* La Venta – In the present day
Mexican state The states of Mexico are first-level administrative territorial entities of the country of Mexico, which is officially named Mexico, United Mexican States. There are 32 federal entities in Mexico (31 states and the capital, Mexico City, as a sepa ...
of Tabasco. * San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán – In the present day
Mexican state The states of Mexico are first-level administrative territorial entities of the country of Mexico, which is officially named Mexico, United Mexican States. There are 32 federal entities in Mexico (31 states and the capital, Mexico City, as a sepa ...
of Veracruz.


= Totonac Cities

=


Rediscovered

* Teotihuacan – Pre-Aztec Mexico. Now a UNESCO World Heritage site.


= Other

=


Rediscovered

* Izapa – Chief city of the Izapa civilization, whose territory extended from the Gulf Coast across to the Pacific Coast of
Chiapas Chiapas (; Tzotzil language, Tzotzil and Tzeltal language, Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...
, in present-day Mexico, and
Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
. *
Guayabo Guayabo National Monument ( es, Monumento Nacional Guayabo), is an archaeological site near the city of Turrialba, within the Central Conservation Area in the Cartago Province, Costa Rica. It is almost directly in the center of the country on th ...
– In Costa Rica. It is believed that the site was inhabited from 1500 BCE to 1400 CE, and had at its peak a population of around 10,000.


United States


= Rediscovered

= * The cities of the
Ancestral Pueblo The Ancestral Puebloans, also known as the Anasazi, were an ancient Native American culture that spanned the present-day Four Corners region of the United States, comprising southeastern Utah, northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, a ...
(or Anasazi) culture, located in the
Four Corners The Four Corners is a region of the Southwestern United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. The Four Corners area ...
region of the Southwest United States – The best known are located at Chaco Canyon and Mesa Verde. *
Etzanoa Etzanoa is a historical city of the Wichita people, located in present-day Arkansas City, Kansas, near the Arkansas River, that flourished between 1450 and 1700. Dubbed "the Great Settlement" by Spanish explorers who visited the site, Etzanoa may ...
– located in
Arkansas City, Kansas Arkansas City () is a city in Cowley County, Kansas, United States, situated at the confluence of the Arkansas River and Walnut River in the southwestern part of the county. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 11,974. The n ...
. City of the Wichita culture. It was home to around 20,000 people at its height, and it was inhabited from c. 1450-1700 AD. * Bethel Indian Town, New Jersey
Lenape The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory includ ...
settlement which disappeared as the Lenape were pushed west. * Cahokia – Located near present-day
St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...
. 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. Now a UNESCO World Heritage site. * Pueblo Grande de Nevada a complex of villages, located near Overton, Nevada *
Roanoke Colony The establishment of the Roanoke Colony ( ) was an attempt by Sir Walter Raleigh to found the first permanent English settlement in North America. The English, led by Sir Humphrey Gilbert, had briefly claimed St. John's, Newfoundland, in 15 ...
* Sarabay – a
Mocama The Mocama were a Native American people who lived in the coastal areas of what are now northern Florida and southeastern Georgia. A Timucua group, they spoke the dialect known as Mocama, the best-attested dialect of the Timucua language. Their t ...
settlement in northeast Florida, mentioned in both French and Spanish documents dating to the 1560s.


South America


Inca cities


= Rediscovered

= *
Choquequirao Choquequirao (possibly from Quechua language, Quechua ''chuqi'' metal, ''k'iraw'' infant bed, crib, cot) is an Inca Empire, Incan site in southern Peru, similar in structure and architecture to Machu Picchu. The ruins are buildings and terr ...
– One of the last bastions of Incan resistance against the Spaniards and refuge of Manco Inca Yupanqui. *
Machu Picchu Machu Picchu is a 15th-century Inca citadel located in the Eastern Cordillera of southern Peru on a mountain range.UNESCO World Heritage Centre. It is located in the Machupicchu District within Urubamba Province above the Sacred Valley, which ...
– Possibly
Pachacuti Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui ( qu, Pachakutiq Inka Yupanki) was the ninth Sapa Inca (1418–1471/1472) of the Kingdom of Cusco which he transformed into the Inca Empire ( qu, Tawantinsuyu). Most archaeologists now believe that the famous Inca si ...
's Family Palace. Now a UNESCO World Heritage site. * Vilcabamba – Currently known as Espiritu Pampa, the capital of the Neo-Inca State (1539–1572). *
Vitcos Vitcos was a residence of Inca nobles and a ceremonial center of the Neo-Inca State (1537-1572). The archaeological site of ancient Vitcos, called Rosaspata, is in the Vilcabamba District of La Convención Province, Cusco Region in Peru. The rui ...
– Currently known as Rosaspata, a residence and ceremonial center of the Neo-Inca State.


Other


= Rediscovered

= *
Cahuachi Cahuachi, in Peru, was a major ceremonial center of the Nazca culture, based from 1 AD to about 500 AD in the coastal area of the Central Andes. It overlooked some of the Nazca lines. The Italian archaeologist Giuseppe Orefici has been excavat ...
Nazca Nazca (; sometimes spelled Nasca; qu, Naska) is a city and system of valleys on the southern coast of Peru. It is also the name of the largest existing town in the Nazca Province. The name is derived from the Nazca culture, which flourished in ...
, in present-day Peru. * Caral – An important center of the Norte Chico civilization, in present-day Peru. Now a UNESCO World Heritage site. * Chan ChanChimu. Located near Trujillo, in present-day Peru. Now a UNESCO World Heritage site. * Kuelap – A massive ruined city, still covered in jungle, that was the capital of the Chachapoyas culture in Northern Peru. * Nueva Cádiz, in Venezuela. It was one of the first Spanish settlements in the Americas. *
Santa María la Antigua del Darién Santa María la Antigua del Darién—turned into Dariena in the Latin of Decades of the New World, De Orbo Novo—was a Spanish colonization of the Americas, Spanish colonial town founded in 1510 by Vasco Núñez de Balboa, located in present-d ...
– First permanent European settlement in the mainland of the continental
Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...
, in the Darién region between Panama and
Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
. Founded by Vasco Núñez de Balboa in 1510. Found in 2012. *
Teyuna Ciudad Perdida ( Spanish for "lost city"; also known as Teyuna and Buritaca-200) is the archaeological site of an ancient city in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta of Colombia, within the jurisdiction of the city of Santa Marta. This city is bel ...
(
Ciudad Perdida Ciudad Perdida (Spanish for "lost city"; also known as Teyuna and Buritaca-200) is the archaeological site of an ancient city in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta of Colombia, within the jurisdiction of the city of Santa Marta. This city is believ ...
) located in present-day
Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
* Tiahuanaco – pre- Inca. Located in present-day
Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
. Now a UNESCO World Heritage site.


= Status Unknown

= * La Ciudad Blanca


Undiscovered and fictional lost cities


Legendary

* Ai – important city in the Hebrew Bible * Arthurian Camelot * Atlantis * Aztlán- the ancestral homeland in Aztec mythology * Ciudad de los Cesares (City of the Caesars, also variously known as City of the Patagonia, Elelín, Lin Lin, Trapalanda, Trapananda, or Wandering City) – a legendary city in Patagonia, never found * Dvārakā – An ancient city of Krishna, submerged in the sea. *
El Dorado El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king o ...
* Iram of the Pillars – this may refer to a lost Arabian city in the Empty Quarter, but sources also identify it as a tribe or an area mentioned in the Quran *
Kitezh Kitezh (russian: Ки́теж) is a legendary and mythical city beneath the waters of Lake Svetloyar in the Voskresensky District of the Nizhny Novgorod Oblast in central Russia. Reference to Kitezh appears for the first time in ''Kitezh Chronicle ...
, Russia – legendary underwater city which supposedly may be seen in good weather *
Libertatia Libertatia (also known as Libertalia) was a purported pirate colony founded in the late 17th century in Madagascar under the leadership of Captain James Misson (last name occasionally spelled "Mission", first name occasionally "Olivier"). The ma ...
, Madagascar - (Also known as Libertalia) was a pirate colony founded in the 17th Century by pirate Captain James Misson (occasionally spelled "Mission") that is still disputed by historians today. *
Lost City of Z The Lost City of Z is the name given by Col. Percy Harrison Fawcett, a British surveyor, to an indigenous city that he believed had existed in the jungle of the Mato Grosso state of Brazil. Based on early histories of South America and his own ex ...
– a city allegedly located in the jungles of the
Mato Grosso Mato Grosso ( – lit. "Thick Bush") is one of the states of Brazil, the third largest by area, located in the Central-West region. The state has 1.66% of the Brazilian population and is responsible for 1.9% of the Brazilian GDP. Neighboring ...
region of Brazil, said to have been seen by the British explorer Col. Percy Harrison Fawcett some time before World War I * Lyonesse * Otuken – legendary capital city of Gokturks in Turkic mythology * Paititi – a legendary city and refuge in the
rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...
s where
Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
, Brazil, and Peru meet * The Seven Cities of Gold * Shambhala – Mythical kingdom said to be located in Tibet *
Sodom and Gomorrah Sodom and Gomorrah () were two legendary biblical cities destroyed by God for their wickedness. Their story parallels the Genesis flood narrative in its theme of God's anger provoked by man's sin (see Genesis 19:1–28). They are mentioned frequ ...
* Vineta – legendary city somewhere at the
Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages * Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...
coast of Germany or Poland * Ys – legendary city on the western coast of France That some cities are considered legendary does not mean they did not in fact exist. Some that were once considered legendary are now known to have existed, such as Troy and Bjarmaland.


Fictional

* Brigadoon – from the musical of the same name *
Charn Charn is a fictional city appearing in the 1955 book ''The Magician's Nephew'', the sixth book published in C. S. Lewis's ''Chronicles of Narnia'', written as a prequel to ''The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe''. Charn, and the world of which ...
– from '' The Chronicles of Narnia'' *
Lemuria Lemuria (), or Limuria, was a continent proposed in 1864 by zoologist Philip Sclater, theorized to have sunk beneath the Indian Ocean, later appropriated by occultists in supposed accounts of human origins. The theory was discredited with the di ...
– a supposed Indian-Pacific land * Leng - Antarctic city described in H.P. Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness * Númenor – from '' The Lord of the Rings'' * Opar – from the Tarzan novels * R'lyeh – sunken city referenced in many of the works of H. P. Lovecraft, where the godlike being
Cthulhu Cthulhu is a fictional cosmic entity created by writer H. P. Lovecraft. It was first introduced in his short story "The Call of Cthulhu", published by the American pulp magazine ''Weird Tales'' in 1928. Considered a Great Old One within the pan ...
is buried * Sarnath – city described in H.P. Lovecraft's short story " The Doom that Came to Sarnath" * Shangri-La - fictional place from James Hilton's 1933 novel Lost Horizon * Skull Island – from the King Kong movies *
The Nameless City "The Nameless City" is a short horror story written by American writer H. P. Lovecraft in January 1921 and first published in the November 1921 issue of the amateur press journal ''The Wolverine''. It is often considered the first story set in ...
- ancient city in the Arabian desert described in H.P. Lovecraft's short story
The Nameless City "The Nameless City" is a short horror story written by American writer H. P. Lovecraft in January 1921 and first published in the November 1921 issue of the amateur press journal ''The Wolverine''. It is often considered the first story set in ...
* Valyria - from George R. R. Martin's
A Song of Ice and Fire ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' is a series of epic fantasy novels by the American novelist and screenwriter George R. R. Martin. He began the first volume of the series, ''A Game of Thrones'', in 1991, and it was published in 1996. Martin, who init ...
universe


See also

* Ephemerality * Ghost town *
List of mythological places A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby uni ...
* List of lost lands * Ruins * Societal collapse


References

{{Authority control City Lists of cities