Lost Cities of the Ancient World

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A fascinating tour of cities that have been lost to history, from the Neolithic period up to the late Roman Empire, that offers a fresh new perspective on the roots of urban life

What happened to the places that history forgot – the cities submerged under water, decimated by invading armies or swallowed up by the sands of time? Where are they, and what can they tell us about our past?

From the sunken city of Thonis off the coast of Egypt to the deep cave dwellings of Derinkuyu in Turkey, Philip Matyszak brings to life the cities that time forgot, exploring sites from across Europe, the Middle East and Asia and covering four thousand years of human history.

Matyszak reveals a dynamic network of peoples and cultures who fought and traded between themselves, exchanging inventions, ideas and philosophies, with the result that peoples as far apart as Çatalhoyuk in Turkey and Skara Brae in the Orkney Islands shared much of a common heritage. Where archaeological remains and artefacts have vanished completely, Matyszak turns to ancient texts to discover what happened to the cities that have never been found. The trials, tribulations and triumphs that they faced, including how they coped with the challenges of climate change, displacement and conflict, have lessons for the present.
Extent: 288 pp
Format: Hardback
Illustrations: 192
Publication date: 2023-10-12
Size: 24.0 x 17.0 cm
ISBN: 9780500025659
Introduction: Ghosts of the Past The Oldest Cities 1. Çatalhöyük 2. Skara Brae 3. Akkad 4. Pavlopetri 5. Zoar 6. Hattusa 7. Mardaman 8. Thebes 9. Phaistos From Troy to Rome 10. Troy 11. Thonis 12. Mycenae 13. Seleucia-on-the-Tigris 14. Sybaris 15. Plataea 16. Taxila 17. Tigranocerta 18. Persepolis 19. Numantia Across the Roman Empire 20. Glanum 21. Falerii Novi 22. Cyrene 23. Tipasa 24. Baiae 25. Volubilis 26. Stabiae 27. Maiden Castle 28. Timgad 29. Antinopolis The Empire’s Edge and Beyond 30. Palmyra 31. Waldgirmes 32. Sarmizegetusa Regia 33. Gerasa 34. Venta Silurum 35. Dura-Europos 36. Beta Samati 37. Derinkuyu Epilogue

Press Reviews

Matyszak skilfully weaves engaging stories and connects scholarly research with various tales and legends an enjoyable read and will be picked up again and again to visit the stories of these ancient cities and the people who lived in them
Antiquity

Readable, well-illustrated
Nature



About the Author

Philip Matyszak has a doctorate in Roman history from St Johns CollegebrOxford He is the author of numerous books on the ancient world includingbriForgotten Peoples of the Ancient Worldi 2020 iThe Greek and Roman Mythsi 2010 and iAncient Magici 2019 all published by Thames Hudson

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