Alexander the Great had created one of the largest empires in history by the age of 30 (Image: Simone Crespiatico via Getty Images)
Archaeologists believe they have finally pinpointed the whereabouts of a long-lost city founded by Alexander the Great — a bustling port which once linked ancient Mesopotamia directly to Persian Gulf trade routes.
The settlement, known as ‘Alexandria on the Tigris’, is thought to be located in southern Iraq near the Gulf, with early reports describing the find as “absolutely stunning”.
Founded in the fourth century BC, the city was one of many ‘Alexandrias’ established by the Macedonian conqueror as he built an empire stretching from Greece to the borders of India.
While Egypt’s Alexandria earned worldwide fame for its lighthouse and library, Alexandria on the Tigris has remained tantalisingly out of reach, existing more in legend than on any map — until now, reports Fox News.
Researchers suggest the site corresponds with expectations for a strategically placed port linking river trade along the Tigris with maritime routes across the Gulf and further afield.
Statue of Alexander the Great (Image: imageBROKER/Michael Weber via Getty Images)
At its height, the city would have functioned as a vital hub for goods, knowledge and travellers passing between the heartlands of Mesopotamia and the wider ancient world.
Over the course of centuries, the Tigris has altered its path and deposited layers of sediment across the lowlands, gradually burying former coastlines and settlements.
The Palace of Aigai, Vergina, Macedonia,where Alexander the Great was crowned king of the Macedonians (Image: Lumir Pecold via Getty Images)
The succession of empires, evolving trade routes, and the devastation wrought by modern conflict have all conspired to conceal the city’s remains from sight.
High-resolution geophysical surveys and drone footage have now mapped fortification walls, street layouts, city blocks and industrial zones.
Temple complexes, workshops housing kilns and furnaces, and the remnants of a harbour-and-canal network have also emerged from beneath the ground — offering a rare and remarkably complete glimpse of an ancient city preserved in time.
Stefan R. Hauser, professor of archaeology at the University of Konstanz, told Fox News Digital that the quality of the findings is “absolutely stunning”, with building walls visible just beneath the surface and preservation “surprisingly good”.
Bronze monument of Alexander the Great in Skopje (Image: LAURENTIU BRATU via Getty Images)
The city’s extent is considerable — approximately 2.5 square miles (around 6.5km2) — which he suggests rivals or even eclipses some of the great capitals of that period.
Excavation work at the site began in the 2010s under the leadership of British archaeologists Jane Moon, Robert Killick, and Stuart Campbell, though progress proved slow and frequently hazardous owing to bouts of conflict and extremist occupation.
