Lost ancient cities and towns

Persepolis was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (). It is situated in the plains of Marvdasht, encircled by the southern Zagros Mountains, Fars province of Iran. It is one of the key Iranian cultural heritage sites and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

ancient cave temples of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism in Maharashtra, India

ancient Mesopotamian city

ruined city of Federated States of Micronesesia

Ollantaytambo () is a town and an Inca archaeological site in southern Peru some by road northwest of the city of Cusco. It is located at an altitude of above sea level in the district of Ollantaytambo, province of Urubamba, Cusco region. During the Inca Empire, Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley of the Incas was the royal estate of Emperor Pachacuti, after the mid-15th century. He built a town and a ceremonial center there. At the time of the Spanish conquest of Peru, it served as a stronghold for Manco Inca Yupanqui, leader of the Inca resistance. It is now an important tourist attraction on

Thinis (Greek: Θίνις Thinis, Θίς This ; Egyptian: Tjenu; ; ) was the capital city of pre-unification Upper Egypt. Thinis remains undiscovered but is well attested by ancient writers, including the classical historian Manetho, who cites it as the centre of the Thinite Confederacy, a tribal confederation whose leader, Menes (or Narmer), united Egypt and was its first pharaoh. Thinis began a steep decline in importance when the capital was relocated to Memphis, which was thought to be the first true and stable capital after the unification of Egypt by Menes. Thinis's location on the border of th

Tehuacán () is the second largest city in the Mexican state of Puebla, nestled in the southeast of the valley of Tehuacán, bordering the states of Oaxaca and Veracruz. The 2010 census reported a population of 248,716 in the city and 274,906 in the surrounding Tehuacán municipality, of which it serves as municipal seat. The municipality has an area of .

thumb|right|Sideways view of the walls of Sacsayhuamán showing the details of the stonework and the angle of the walls. thumbnail|Muyuq Marka thumb|Close up of stone wall

thumb|300 px|Tartessos, circa 500 BC thumb|Tartessian winged feline statue at the Getty Villa

temple in Ellora, India

lost city, region or tribe mentioned in the Quran

archaeological site in Hidalgo, Mexico

Itjtawy or It-Towy ("Seizer of the Two Lands"), also known by its full name Amenemhat-itjtawy ("Amenemhat seizes the Two Lands"), was an ancient Egyptian royal city established by pharaoh Amenemhat I.

thumb|A map of Mesopotamia showing Waššukanni, [[Nineveh, Hatra, Assur, Nuzi, Palmyra, Mari, Sippar, Babylon, Kish, Nippur, Isin, Lagash, Uruk, Charax Spasinu and Ur, from north to south.]]

thumb|Proposed location of Kussara, bottom right, shown in the context of the Black Sea Region of modern TurkeyKussara (Kuššar) was a Middle Bronze Age kingdom in Anatolia. The kingdom, though apparently important at one time, is mostly remembered today as the origin of the dynasty that would form the Old Hittite Kingdom.

archeological site in Turkey

Zalpa (also called Zalba, Zalpah, Zalpuwa) were ancient regions mentioned in Assyrian, Mari and Hittite records. The toponyms appear in a variety of forms and contexts and likely refer to at least two similarly named regions. They are believed to have been located on the Pontic coast of the Black Sea, along the Euphrates in northern Mesopotamia and along the Balikh river in northern Syria.

Apamea or Apameia () is the name of several Hellenistic cities in western Asia, after Apama, the Sogdian wife of Seleucus I Nicator, several of which are also former bishoprics and Catholic titular see.

thumb|300px|Roman province of Noricum, 1907 map 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 Elder (AD 23 – AD 79). The location of Noreia has not been verified by modern researchers.

Muciṟi (), (),, commonly anglicized as Muziris (, Old Tamil: Mucciṟi or Mucciṟippaṭṭaṇam, possibly identical with the medieval Muyiṟikkōṭŭ), was an ancient harbour and urban centre on India's Malabar Coast. It was the major ancient port city of the Chera dynasty of Ancient Tamilakam.

thumb|300px|Map of the Achaemenid Empire showing the location of Cyropolis in [[Sogdiana.]]

islands or continents supposedly existing during prehistory, having since disappeared

ancient city on the Gulf of Suez

Ocomtún, whose original name could have been Maatz', is an ancient Late Classic Maya city located on the Yucatan Peninsula in the Mexican state of Campeche. Archaeologists from Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History announced the discovery of the city in June 2023, after finding the ruins of several pyramid structures measuring approximately in height in a relatively unexplored area of the state. Analysis of pottery fragments found in the area indicate the area was inhabited by the Maya people between 600 CE and 800 CE, and that the city fell into ruin in around 1000 CE, coinc

first town founded by Alexander the Great in 340 BC

human settlement in Pakistan

Peñico was an ancient Caral city located in the Peruvian province of Huaura in the northern Lima Region. The city is thought to have been founded between 1800 and 1500 BC. The Peruvian Ministry of Culture announced opening the site to the public in July 2025 following eight years of research and restorations. Numerous ancient towns found in the Supe and adjacent valleys are readily apparent and visible in satellite imagery, only a few have developed visitation facilities.

ancient site in Greece

Tugunbulak was a medieval city in the Turkestan Range, located in what is now southeastern Uzbekistan, in the Bakhmal District, close to the village of Guralash and near Zaamin National Park. It and the nearby contemporary site of Tashbulak () were occupied from the 6th to the late 10th centuries CE. Situated at altitudes of , the city was a center of iron mining and production, through which it was connected to the Silk Road trading networks. Tugunbulak's remains occupy an area of approximately , making it medieval Central Asia's largest known high-altitude urban center. It contained extensiv

former city in Coele-Syria

ancient City in Eastern India

Yenoam or Yanoam () is a place in ancient Canaan, or in Syria, known from ancient Egyptian regnal sources from the time of Thutmose III to Ramesses III. One such source is a stela of Seti I found in Beit She'an. Another is the Merneptah Stele.

Ancient Sicilian city

Araplus or Araplos () was an ancient Greek city located in ancient Thrace, located in the region of the Thracian Chersonesus. It is cited in the Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax, in the fifth position of its recitation of the towns of the Thracian Chersonesus, along with Cardia, Ide, Paeon, Alopeconnesus, Araplus, Elaeus and Sestos.

ancient chief town of Chalcidice in Macedonia

ancient city of Epirus

Irridu (Irrite) was a city in northwestern Mesopotamia, likely located between Harran and Carchemish. It flourished in the middle and late Bronze Age before being destroyed by Assyria.

Anemoreia (), subsequently Anemoleia (Ἀνεμώλεια), was a town of ancient Phocis mentioned by Homer in the Catalogue of Ships in the Iliad. It was situated on a height on the borders of Phocis and Delphi, and is said to have derived its name from the gusts of wind which blew on the place from the tops of Mount Parnassus.

Abbassus or Ambasum (Latin: Abbassus; ), was an ancient town of Phrygia, on the frontiers of the Tolistoboii, in Galatia. It is, perhaps, the same as the Alamassus reported by of Hierocles, and the Amadasse whose bishops attended early church councils. The editors of the Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World note that its probable location is near Synnada, however its precise location is not known.

Tegarama (Old Assyrian: Tergarma; Hittite: Takarama; Luwian: Lakarma/Lukarma) was a city in Anatolia during the Bronze Age. It is often identified with Gürün and biblical Togarmah.

human settlement in Greece

thumb|Funan|Funan-era ruins of Nam Linh Son, [[Óc Eo, Vietnam. Óc Eo has been identified multiple times by scholars as the location of Cattigara]] Cattigara is the name of a major port city located on the Magnus Sinus described by various ancient sources. Some modern scholars have linked Cattigara to the archaeological site of Óc Eo in present-day Vietnam.

Salatiwara was a Middle Bronze Age city in south-central Anatolia on a road connecting the kingdoms and Burushattum. The history of the city is known primarily from the Anitta text.

Onoguris, renamed as Stephanopolis in the Byzantine period, was a town in Lazica (in present-day western Georgia, possibly located at modern village Khuntsi) recorded by Byzantine historian Agathias in his narration of the Lazic War between the Byzantine Empire and the Sasanian Empire. Its exact location is still under study.

ancient Greek town mentioned by Homero

Pamatan is the name of a lost city on Lombok Island in Indonesia and the capital of the principal kingdom on Lombok. The city was destroyed by the 1257 Samalas eruption; while the king and at least part of his family survived, many inhabitants were killed. The location of the city is unclear but probably was on the eastern coast of Lombok.

Idrias () was a town of ancient Caria. It has been suggested that Idrias could be identified with the city that the Hittite texts of the Bronze Age call Atriya. Herodotus cites the territory of Idrias, which he names Idriade where rose the Marsyas River (Çine Çay), which is a tributary of the Maeander River. It was a member of the Delian League since it appears in a tribute decree of Athens dated to 425/4 BCE. Subsequently, in the opinion of Mehmet Çetin Şahin, Idrias was called Hiera Kome (meaning 'sacred village'). However, Stephanus of Byzantium quotes Apollonius of Aphrodisias who ide

Ascheion () was a city and polis (city-state) of ancient Achaea.

ancient city of Media

Tibula (Greek: , Ptol.), was an ancient town of Sardinia, near the northern extremity of the island, which appears to have been the customary landing-place for travelers coming from Corsica; for which reason the Itineraries give no less than four lines of route, taking their departure from Tibula as a starting-point. (Itin. Ant. pp. 78–83.)

ancient city of Aeolis in modern-day Turkey

Antinoeis () was a deme of ancient Attica, in the part of the city founded by the emperor Hadrian. The deme was established only in 126 or 127, after the death of Antinous, a favourite of Hadrian.

ancient Greek city in Messenia

Alesiaeum or Alesiaion (), also called Aleisium or Aleision () by Homer and Alesium or Alesion () by Stephanus of Byzantium, was a town of Pisatis in ancient Elis, situated upon the road leading across the mountains from Elis to Olympia. It appears in the Catalogue of Ships in Homer's Iliad.

Acripus or Akripos () was a town of ancient Aetolia, near the border of Acarnania. It is known only through epigraphic testimony mentioning the appointment of a theorodokos of Acripus, about the year 356/5 BCE to welcome the theoroi of Epidaurus.

thumb|Stele for Panaitios of Hamaxanteia (NAMA 884) Hamaxantia or Hamaxanteia () was a deme of ancient Attica, of the phyle of Hippothontis, sending one delegate to the Boule.

Stenyclarus or Stenyklaros (), or Stenyclerus or Stenykleros (Στενύκληρος), was a town in the north of ancient Messenia, and the capital of the Dorian conquerors, built by Cresphontes. Andania had been the ancient capital of the country. The town afterwards ceased to exist, but its name was given to the northern of the two Messenian plains and site of a battle where Messenians defeated a small Spartan army.

Eteonus or Eteonos () was a town of ancient Boeotia, mentioned in the Catalogue of Ships in the Iliad by Homer, who gives it the epithet of πολύκνημος. It lay to the right of the Asopus. Strabo says that it was afterwards called Scarphe (Σκάρφη). It probably lay between Scolus and the frontier of the territory of Tanagra. Historically, another name for the town is Skaphaliai.