Ancient city discovered that disappeared 2000 years ago

After 2000 years of seemingly disappearing into the flow of history, archaeologists have discovered Qalatga Darband - an ancient city built under Alexander the Great.

Although it is impossible to give an exact date, experts believe that this ancient city in Kurdistan, Iraq was founded around the beginning of the war between Alexander III and Darius III - the ancient Persian king. Surprisingly, this city was found with traces of war even though it was quite far from the battle area.

The city has just been discovered after 2,000 years of being thought to have disappeared. (Photo: British Museum).

Bustling wine city

Conquering the world was a great journey and required a lot of “booze”, that is why Qalatga Darband, also known as “Castle on the Mountain Tops”, was built to sell alcohol to soldiers and merchants on their journey to “the pinnacle of glory”.

"Although we are still in the early stages of our research, we believe this was once the busiest city on the trade route between Iraq and Iran," said archaeologist John MacGinnis of the British Museum.

MacGinnis and his team are working on Iraq's Emergency Heritage Management Training program, which aims to train experts to identify and rescue priceless treasures at risk of destruction by the Islamic State group.

Scientists began to suspect strange artifacts spotted in spy satellite images in the 1960s, but wartime conditions in the area prevented experts from investigating further.

The remaining wall of the "wine" city. (Photo: British Museum).

Detected by drone

It wasn’t until the 21st century, with advances in drone technology, that researchers were able to survey the landscape from above. Surprisingly, the archaeological team discovered subtle differences between the wild plants and the ruins.

“The plane really gave us some amazing information,” said MacGinnis. “In places where ancient walls are buried underground, wheat and barley don’t grow well. The crops in the area have different color markings.”

Investigations on the ground have so far uncovered the foundations of several large underground buildings. These include a reinforced wall and stone presses that may have been used in wine or oil production.

Experts also discovered a coin in the city from the time of the Parthian king Orodes II - who ruled between 57 BC and 37 BC. This proves that the city may have existed before the time of Alexander the Great.

The research will continue until 2020 and we will be updated with interesting secrets surrounding this mysterious city. Researchers are still trying to determine when the “Castle on the Mountain Tops” was founded and why it disappeared.

According to Khoahoc.tv