Canopus, Egypt
Canopus was the main port for the Greek trade in Egypt. The name has been derived from the Egyptian words ?Kah Nub?, meaning ?golden floor?. The exact time of the cities origin is un known but according to Homer, the city was found by Menelaus, King of Sparta and Helen?s husband, but it can very well be a Homeric myth. A significant discovery that has come from this city is the Canopus Decree, a stone stele, inscribed in 29 BC by the Pharaoh Ptolemy III, the earliest bilingual hieroglyphics inscription. The city was located on the easten outskirts of today?s Alexandria.

Timgad
The city was called Thamugas by the Romans and was built by Emperor Trajan around 100 AD in modern day Algeria, around 35 km from Batna. The city was built with the purpose of being an army station to keep in check the Berbers of the Aures Mountains. The grid design of the city shows that it was intended for around 15,000 inhabitants but out grew that number very quickly. Up until the 5th century, Timgad enjoyed a peaceful existence but after that was captured and sacked by different conquerors and finally was conquered by the great Sahara, which preserved the ruins under its sand for centuries until 1881, when it was finally excavated. In 1982, the city was declared a World

Great Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe takes its name from this ancient South African Empire of Great Zimbabwe, also known as the Mwene Mutapa Empire. The stone ruins are spread over a vast area of 200 sq miles. The Zimbabwe Bird, a statue carved out of stone, which has become the national sign for the country was also found in the ruins of the lost city. The word Zimbabwe means ?house made of stone boulders? and the city was built around 11th century and there is evidence to suggest it was inhabited till the 15th. Great Zimbabwe at sometime was a major trade centre as well, with some Chinese, Arabian and other non local items being excavated from the site. Why the city was abandoned is unknown. May be a decline in trade, drought or some disease forced people to flock to other areas.

Carthage (Tunisia)
Carthage was a city located on the east of Lake Tunis in Tunisia and the name meant ?new town?. Legend has it that the city was founded by Queen Didi after she fled Tyre in 814 BC. Not only did the city become a power hub of the Mediterranean but also gave birth to a civilization of its own, until it was destroyed in the Third Punic War between the Phoniecian and the Roman Empire, in 146 BC. The war resulted in either the death or enslavement of the entire population and brought to the end the days of the Carthaginian Civilization. Rome, though kater reestablished the city, making it one of the three major cities of the Empire until its second destruction at the hands of the Arabs in 697 AD.

Dougga or Thugga (Tunisia)
Located in northern Tunisia over a vast area of 65 hectare, Dougga was a fortified Berber village and became the capital for Masinissa, a Numidian king of the 2nd century BC.

The city did not get a lot of attention during the Byzantine, as well as the North African Kingdom of Vandal period. Regardless, it boasts some impressive Roman ruins and has been named as a UNESCO world heritage site.

Leptis Magna (Libya)
This ancient Roman cities ruin have been found at the Al Khums, Libya, east of the capital Tripoli. The site features some amazing and un-spoilt ruins of the city. Leptis Magna was founded by the ancient civilization of Phoenicia, around 1100 BC. The city grew in importance with the rise of Carthage and after the third Punic War became a part of the Roman empire but was administratively an independent city until Tiberius formally made the city and its surround a part of the Empire?s Africa Province, and soon became a major trading post and city. After a son of Leptis, Lucius Septimius Severus became the Emperor, the city was lavished with wealth and the present day ruins of the market place, theatre and circus etc are a testament of a thriving city. After a tumultuous period of invasions in 523, Berber raiders sacked the city and it never really recovered after that.