Named after Egyptian sun god Aten, the city appears to have remained relatively intact for over three millennia.

Since excavation began in late 2020, it is emerging as the largest city of its kind in ancient Egypt, with a remarkable degree of preservation, leading to comparisons with Pompeii.

[1] Traces uncovered so far suggest that Aten subsequently fell under the rule of Tutankhaten, who changed his name to Tutankhamun after another Egyptian god, and thereafter was used by the penultimate ruler of the Eighteenth Dynasty, Ay.

[4] So far four distinct settlement layers attest to renewed habitation as late as the Coptic Byzantine era, from the 3rd to 7th centuries CE.

[2] It forms part of Amenhotep's palace complex (Malkata, also known originally as "the Dazzling Aten") lying just north of the new area.