Iram of the Pillars: The Lost City of the Sands

Unexplained Mysteries

Iram of the Pillars seems like something out of an Indiana Jones movie: a lost city of Arabia, a great metropolis buried somewhere beneath the sands. It has the attention of the famous explorer Ranulph Fiennes, the award winning filmmaker Nicholas Clapp, and of course, almost inevitably Lawrence of Arabia.

However, despite all of their efforts, it remains hidden, lost perhaps forever. Lawrence referred to the city as the Atlantis of the Sands where he claims that there are legendary treasured stored within the vast deserts of Arabia.

Mythical Status

This lost city is also known as Iram of the Pillars. It has captured the imagination of archaeologists, poets, and travelers. So much so that it has even been used in modern video games such as Uncharted 3 in which a dramatic reconstruction is presented.

The video game presents the city as a lavish, sprawling metropolis found in the desert called Iram, and the game is named for it, being called Atlantis of the Sands. Unusually, despite their being a lot of attention, the city is relatively understudied and unknown in wider society. It has an association with the mythical city of Atlantis which may aid its unknown status.

As with many stories, it is likely that this city has its origins in truth but as the tradition is passed on orally, it will have distorted and out of shape. The rendition that people end up with is closer to a fantasy city than the grain of truth it began with.