Summary

• Tanis, located in Egypt’s Nile Delta, is a legendary lost city once revered as a royal capital during the 21st and 22nd dynasties. Known for its monumental temples, sacred lakes, and rich necropolis, Tanis has yielded golden funerary treasures and pharaohs’ tombs rivaling the Valley of the Kings.
• Though confused with other ancient capitals like Pi-Ramesses, modern archaeology confirmed its unique legacy.
• Tanis inspired global fascination—featured in “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and pivotal to the decipherment of hieroglyphs. Excavations, including satellite mapping, continue to reveal the buried grandeur of this enigmatic city.

The lost city of Tanis has captured the imagination of travelers and archaeologists from every corner of the world for many ages due to the intriguing legends and tales that revolve around some of the most magnificent treasures and artifacts that are mentioned in the holy books like the ark of the covenant that was portrayed in the Indiana Jones movie “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” The golden hidden city of tanis throughout the centuries remains mostly buried in sands where many great figures of history like napoleon who attempted to uncover its secrets and wealth to the entire world.

Explore the Location of the Ancient City of Tanis

Tanis, also known as San al-Hagar, stands as a remarkable archaeological site nestled in the northeastern Nile Delta of Egypt. It is a nahiyah in the district of Arine in the Sharqia Governorate, This city bore in ancient Egypt the Greek designation of “ḏꜥn. It nestled on the Tanitic sector of the Nile River, which made it gradually succumb to silt blockages over time. The distance from Cairo to Tanis is approximately 103 miles, with a 2-hour and 50-minute drive. Guided tours from Cairo are also available, offering historical insights into the hieroglyphs found in Tanis.

Cast Your Eyes On the Golden History of Tanis

Tanis dates back to the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt ( 1292 – 1189 BC) when it served as the main capital of the Fourteenth nome in Lower Egypt. There are temples that carry inscriptions from the time of Ramesses II mentioning the field of Tanis. It is also mentioned in two 20th dynasty (1189 – 1077 BC) documents called the Story of Wenamun and the Onomasticon of Amenope that show a connection to the future Pharaoh Smendes.

The city’s earliest known buildings can be traced back to the 21st Dynasty, but many of its monuments were relocated from nearby Pi-Ramesses. The decline of Pi-Ramesses was attributed to changes in the Nile’s Pelusiac branch, rendering its harbor unusable, which led to Tanis becoming the new Headquarters of power for the 21st and 22nd Dynasties, albeit with a less grandiose scale compared to the New Kingdom (1570 – 1050 BC).

Noteworthy achievements during this time include the construction and expansion of the Grand Temple of Amun-Ra, as well as the establishment of minor temples, which are the worship houses of Khonsu and Mut. These efforts were part of an intentional emulation of Thebes, with the gods bearing their authenticated Theban mythical titles. Even the majestic royal necropolis found at Tanis began to rival the famed Golden Valley of the Kings in Thebes.

Tanis decreased its royal residence status after the 22nd Dynasty but continued as the main capital of the Nineteenth nome of Lower Egypt. During the 30th Dynasty, Tanis witnessed another phase of the development of buildings, which extended into the Ptolemaic Period (350 – 30 BC). It remained inhabited until its eventual abandonment during Roman times.

Tanis later served as the power center of the bishops of Tanis under the authority of the Coptic Orthodox Church. By the 7th century, Tanis had experienced a significant decline, being grouped with 4 other close towns to be a city that could not be qualified.

Explore the Grand Ruins of the Golden City of Tanis

The historical significance of Tanis, an ancient Egyptian city, became prominent during the 19th century when it underwent extensive archaeological exploration. Auguste Mariette initiated these excavations, and in 1866, a crucial discovery was made, which is called the Canopus Decree. Unlike the earlier Rosetta Stone, this inscription contained Greek and Egyptian text, facilitating a direct main comparison and validating Jean-François Champollion’s hieroglyph deciphering approach.

Over the 20th century, French archaeologists, including Pierre Montet, Jean Yoyotte, and Philippe Brissaud, conducted multiple excavation campaigns in Tanis. The profusion of monuments carrying the names of great pharaohs, who are Merenptah or Ramesses II led to misconceptions that Tanis and Pi-Ramesses are the same older Hyksos capital. Subsequently, the rediscovery of some very important cities known as Pi-Ramesses (Qantir) and Avaris (Tell el-Dab’a) clarified this misidentification, which revealed that Tanis housed incredible monuments which was relocated from other cities.

Tanis is renowned for its archaeological treasures, like marvelous temples dedicated to the creator god Amun and a royal necropolis from the Third Intermediate Period. This necropolis uniquely preserves several very intact burials of royal pharaonic burials of great kings which including Amenemope, Psusennes I, and Shoshenq II, which were found by Pierre Montet in 1939 and 1940. These tombs yielded a wealth of treasures, including jewelry, gold, lapis lazuli, and spectacular funerary masks of famous and powerful Pharaohs.

Amun, Mut, and Khonsu were the main gods and goddesses of Tanis, forming a triad akin to Thebes. Notably, Tanis is sometimes referred to as ” The Northern Thebes” due to this similarity. In 2009, archaeologists discovered a well-preserved sacred lake in Mut’s Temple at the glorious temple of Tanis, suggesting its construction during the final days of the 25th–early days of the 26th Dynasty. Furthermore, advanced satellite imagery analysis in 2011 uncovered extensive mud-brick structures, streets, and residences, revealing a comprehensive city plan beneath the surface. However, claims of 17 pyramids were contested.

Enjoy the Recent discoveries in the City of Tanis

Space archaeologist Sarah Parcak 2010 utilized remote-sensing satellites that orbit 435 miles above Earth to reveal the secrets of Tanis. Collaborating with a French team, she employed infrared images to map the entire city, including its buildings, streets, and suburbs, uncovering buried structures, tombs, and settlements. Parcak’s groundbreaking technology allowed her to bring the ancient city to life on screen, offering intricate details of the largest and most continuously occupied capital city in the history of Ancient Egypt.

Uncover the Cultural Impact of the Ancient City of Tanis

Tanis holds cultural significance to its role in hieroglyph decipherment and its cinematic legacy, as it gained fame as a fictitious lost city in the 1981 film “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” The city’s name also graces the significant Tanis fossil site is associated with the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event.

Learn Amazing Facts About the Ancient City of Tanis

• The inaugural investigation of Tanis can be traced back to 1798, during the expedition of Napoleon Bonaparte across the lands and waters of Egypt, where his skilled engineer Pierre Jacotin crafted a map of the entire site.
• Formal excavations commenced in 1825 under the guidance of Jean-Jacques Rifaud, a venture that led to the discovery of 2 pink granite sphinxes, which can be seen showcased in Paris at the Musée du Louvre.
• Subsequent archaeological endeavors unfolded between 1860 and 1864 under the stewardship of François Auguste Ferdinand Mariette and from 1883 to 1886, conducted by William Matthew Flinders Petrie.
• Pierre Montet took up the mantle from 1929 to 1956, culminating in the unearthing of a royal necropolis in 1939, which dates to the Third Intermediate Period.
• The Mission française des fouilles de Tanis (MFFT) has always been actively engaged in research at this magnificent site since 1965 and 2013, led by a succession of directors including Philippe Brissaud, Jean Yoyotte, and François Leclère.
• Among Tanis’ noteworthy features are the conspicuous presence of sizable obelisks dedicated to Amun-Ra that once marked various pylons as seen in other ancient Egyptian temples.
• These imposing structures now lie prostrate on the ground, potentially the result of seismic upheaval in the form of earthquakes during the Byzantine era. The site boasts over twenty of these impressive obelisks.
• Early archaeologists grappled with the notion that Tanis might be the biblical city of Zoan, which was proven to be a wrong hypothesis.
• It wasn’t until the incredible discovery of Qantir & Pi-Ramesses and further excavations overseen by Jean Yoyotte that Tanis was unequivocally situated within its accurate historical context within the delta’s chronology.