It's hard to imagine how an entire city can get lost but that's exactly what has happened to the following lost cities. There are actually many reasons why a city has to be abandoned. War, natural disasters, climate change and the loss of important trading partners to name a few. Whatever the cause, these lost cities were forgotten in time until they were rediscovered centuries later. Troy is a legendary city in what is now northwestern Turkey, made famous in Homer's epic, the Iliad. According to the epic, this is where the Trojan War took place. The archaeological site of Troy contains several layers of ruins.  Sanchi site has a building history of more than one thousand year, starting with the stupas  of the 3rd century BC and concluding with a series of Buddhist temples, now in ruins, that were build in the 10th or 11th centuries. In the 13th century, after the decline of Buddhism in India, Sanchi was abandoned and the jungle quickly moved in. The lost city was rediscovered in 1818 by a British officer. Palenque in Mexico is much smaller than some of the other lost Mayan cities, but it contains some of the finest architecture and sculptures the Maya ever produced. Most structures in Palenque date from about 600 AD to 800 AD. The city declined during the 8th century. An agricultural population continued to live here for a few generations, then the lost city was abandoned and was slowly grown over by the forest. In the 2nd century BC a new civilization arose in the valley of Mexico. This civilization built the flourishing city of Teotihuacan and huge step pyramids. A decline in population in the 6th century AD related to lengthy droughts. Seven centuries after the demise of the Teotihuacan empire the pyramids of the lost city were honored and used by the Aztecs and became a place of pilgrimage. What's the best title of the passage?
Once Forgotten Cities Why a City Has to Be Abandoned Famous Cities in History The Loss of Important Cities