The most famous lost cities in history
The top 3 according to 2 votes from people: Mohenjo-daro (Pakistan) · Hampi (India) · Pompeii (Italy). (Updated Sep 14, 2025.)
Pompeii buried by Vesuvius, Machu Picchu rediscovered in 1911, Petra carved into the rock, Troy stepping out of Homer's poems: the great cities that were abandoned and later found again. Which would you like to visit?
Automatically translated (original in Italiano). See the original
Top 20
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1
Mohenjo-daro (Pakistan)
One of the largest cities of the Indus Valley Civilisation, 4,500 years old.
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2
Hampi (India)
The capital of the Vijayanagara Empire.
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3
Pompeii (Italy)
Buried by the ash of Vesuvius in AD 79.
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4
Machu Picchu (Peru)
The Inca city rediscovered by Hiram Bingham in 1911.
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5
Petra (Jordan)
The Nabataean capital, carved into the rock.
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6
Ani (Turkey)
The ancient Armenian capital, destroyed by an earthquake in 1319.
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7
Troy (Turkey)
Nine layers of city; Heinrich Schliemann proved it existed.
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8
Teotihuacan (Mexico)
The city of the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon.
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9
Chichén Itzá (Mexico)
The great Maya city, at its height around the year 1000.
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10
Great Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe)
A stone city that flourished from the 11th to the 15th century.
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11
Angkor (Cambodia)
The capital of the Khmer Empire, swallowed by the jungle.
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12
Hattusa (Turkey)
The capital of the Hittite Empire.
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13
Persepolis (Iran)
Destroyed by Alexander the Great in 330 BC.
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14
Tikal (Guatemala)
Maya temples built between AD 250 and 900.
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15
Palenque (Mexico)
A Maya city at its height around AD 500.
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16
Ephesus (Turkey)
Home of the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders.
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17
Sukhothai (Thailand)
The first Thai capital, in the 13th century.
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18
Heracleion (Egypt)
A sunken port found under the sea in 2000.
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19
Cahokia (United States)
The largest pre-Columbian settlement north of Mexico.
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20
Leptis Magna (Libya)
Roman ruins that lay under the dunes for centuries.
How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.
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