Cities very often have a story to tell, whether they have been ravaged by war or any natural calamity. There have been many cities in the world that one day just vanished into thin air. And suddenly many centuries later have been rediscovered again. Let’s find out about some such cities here.
Helike
Helike has many legends behind its existence and its destruction. As per a Greek legend, Helike was at the receiving end of Poseidon as the Helikonians refused to give up their sea God statue to the Greek colonists residing in Asia Minor (Turkey).
Later on the basis of archaeological discoveries, an earthquake caused the entire city to liquefy; afterward, a tsunami destroyed the entire city. The city disappeared without leaving any survivors in its wake. However, as suddenly as it disappeared it was rediscovered by archeologists in the 1980s and the excavation process is currently going on.
Skara
Skara Brae is another one of Britain’s ancient cities that can be traced back to the Stone Age settlements. Although it isn’t what you can call a city, it can certainly be called a site. It got engulfed by a sand dune with a great storm exposing it in 1850. The buildings have been restored. They have been well-protected under layers of sand. Thanks to radiocarbon dating the site were occupied between 3200 BC and 2200 BC. Encroachment of sand dunes finally led to its abandonment.
Dwarka
Dwarka is a sacred city of the Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists. It is known as the so-called Sapta Puri, or one of the seven sacred cities as per Hinduism, and was home to Lord Krishna. The city was destroyed because of an ensuing battle between Krishna and King Salva. The blasts of energy destroyed the whole city. It was during the 1980s that Indian scientists rediscovered the city. It is said to be one of the oldest cities in the world as it was discovered 9000 years back.
Caral
Caral-Chupacigarro or Caral was another long-term establishment discovered near Supe Valley, Peru. It is just 200 km away from Lima. It has been declared a World Heritage Site in 2009 and Americans have been said to inhabit the city from 2600 BC to 2000 BC. It was a thriving city with around 3000 inhabitants living in it at one time. It was the year 1948 that it was rediscovered again by the collective effort of Paul Kosok and his team.
Timgad
Timgad, also known as the Colonia Marciana Ulpia Traiana Thamugadi to the Romans, was another bustling Roman colony in Algeria. Emperor Trajan discovered the city around 100 AD. This city is located in the Aures Mountains and was named after Marcia, Trajan’s mother. The city was invaded by Vandals in the 5th century and later in the 7th century by the Berbers.
It was later buried under the sands of Sahara till it was rediscovered once again. Today, it is regarded as a great example of the Roman grid system type of town planning. In 1982 it became a part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Great Zimbabwe
Great Zimbabwe has also counted as one another medieval city located in the South Eastern hills of Zimbabwe where the modern city of Masvingo is located. The ancient city was also regarded as the Kingdom of Zimbabwe’s capital during the Late Iron Age. It was built by the people of Bantu who occupied the city around the 11th or 15th centuries for 300 years. There were 18,000 people living in the city. Although Great Zimbabwe was a thriving city, it started declining because of several issues with trade, famine, political turmoil, and other natural disasters such as famine and drought. This ancient city was rediscovered around 1871 as per records.
Sigiriya
Sigiriya was a bustling city around the 5th century AD city in Srilanka. It was located on a rock outcrop that was 200 meters tall. King Kasyapa built it and an interesting thing to note about it is it can only be reached by traveling through a humongous entrance of brick and plaster. King Kasyapa chose this place to build his capital and decorated the sides of the outcrop with colorful frescoes. The city was abandoned after the death of the king. It turned out to be a Buddhist monastery around the 14th century and is now regarded as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The site was rediscovered in 1831!
Have you heard about any of these rediscovered cities? Tell us in the comments section below.
