阿顿_(城市)2020

历史

阿顿约在阿蒙霍特普三世时期建立，即约3400年前。考古学家透过大量碑文确定此城历史，其中一篇碑文写道阿顿建于公元前1337年，时为阿肯那顿（阿蒙霍特普四世）当政。阿肯那顿于公元前1336年迁都阿玛纳并让此城废弃，原因不明。

目前发现的线索表明，阿顿后来由图坦卡顿（图坦卡门）统治。再到后来，在城市不同处的地层证明，此地直至科普特时期（公元3至7世纪）才再度有人居住。

发现

过去许多考古团队皆尝试找到阿顿，但都以失败告终。阿顿大致位于拉美西斯三世神庙梅迪涅特哈布与阿蒙霍特普三世神庙之间，考古学家札希·哈瓦斯带领团队在2020年9月时发现了该城南部。

札希·哈瓦斯原先欲寻找图坦卡门神殿遗迹，偶然间发现了阿顿，其为当时最大的行政、工业中心。

阿顿是阿蒙霍特普宫殿群马尔卡塔的一部分，札希·哈瓦斯在2021年4月8日宣布确认阿顿的存在。埃及学家贝琪·布莱恩称这是继KV62图坦卡门墓后埃及最重要的考古发现。

结构

阿顿目前已发现数个皱褶曲柄墙街区，当中包含一烘焙区，里面有许多艺术、工业及日常用品。

考古团队在阿顿发现3座不同的宫殿，而该城北部与墓园虽已被发现，但尚未挖掘。

Aten, properly called The Dazzling Aten though dubbed initially by archaeologists the Rise of Aten, is the remains of an ancient Egyptian city on the west bank of the Nile in the Theban Necropolis near Luxor. Named after Egyptian sun god Aten, the city appears to have remained relatively intact for over three millennia. Since excavation began in late 2020, it is emerging as the largest city of its kind in ancient Egypt, with a remarkable degree of preservation, leading to comparisons with Pompeii.

History

The city's foundation is dated to the period of Amenhotep III, some 3,400 years ago (1386–1353 BCE). A number of inscriptions enabled archaeologists to establish precise dates for the city's history. One refers to 1337 BCE, coinciding with the reign of Akhenaten, who is thought to have shifted to his new capital at Akhetaten the following year. Traces uncovered so far suggest that Aten subsequently fell under the rule of Tutankhaten, who changed his name to Tutankhamun after another Egyptian god, and thereafter was used by the penultimate ruler of the Eighteenth Dynasty, Ay. So far four distinct settlement layers attest to renewed habitation as late as the Coptic Byzantine era, from the 3rd to 7th centuries CE.

Discovery

Many previous exploratory missions had endeavoured to locate the city only to meet with failure. Excavations at the site, roughly in an area between the respective mortuary temple of Ramses III and that of Amenhotep III were carried out under the direction of Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass, and began in September 2020, beginning with what turned out to be the southern quarters of the city. The city's remains were stumbled upon when Hawass and his team were searching for the remains of the funerary temple of Tutankhamun. The find turned out to reveal what appears to be the greatest administrative and industrial centre of that period.

It forms part of Amenhotep's palace complex (Malkata, also known originally as "the Dazzling Aten") lying just north of the new area. The confirmation of the discovery was announced by Hawass on 8 April 2021. Egyptologist Betsy Bryan hailed it as the most important archaeological discovery in Egypt since the excavation of the tomb of Tutankhamun.

Structure

To date several distinct neighbourhoods, formed by zigzagging mudbrick walls, have been uncovered, including a bakery quarter, replete with items of everyday life and work related to the town's artistic and industrial life. Three distinct palaces have been identified. As of April 2021, the northern quarters and the town's cemetery have been located, but are unexcavated.