lost cities

Lost cities are ancient urban settlements that were abandoned and subsequently forgotten, often buried, overgrown, or otherwise hidden from knowledge until rediscovered.

Some, like Pompeii or Machu Picchu, were real places recovered through archaeology; others, like Atlantis or El Dorado, exist primarily in legend and may never have existed at all.

The phrase evokes mystery and adventure, conjuring images of explorers hacking through jungle to find crumbling temples.

He spent his career searching for lost cities in the Amazon basin.