Archaeologists claim they’ve finally identified the location of a long-lost city established by Alexander the Great – a thriving port that formerly connected ancient Mesopotamia directly to Persian Gulf trading networks.

The settlement, referred to as ‘Alexandria on the Tigris’, is believed to be situated in southern Iraq close to the Gulf, with initial reports describing the discovery as “absolutely stunning”.

Established in the fourth century BC, the city represented one of numerous ‘Alexandrias’ created by the Macedonian conqueror as he forged an empire stretching from Greece to India’s borders.

While Egypt’s Alexandria achieved global renown for its lighthouse and library, Alexandria on the Tigris has remained frustratingly elusive, existing more in mythology than on the map – until now, reports Fox News.

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Researchers indicate that the site aligns with predictions for a strategically positioned port connecting river transport on the Tigris with seafaring routes throughout the Gulf and beyond.

During its prime, the city would have served as a crucial junction for merchandise, knowledge and travellers moving between Mesopotamia’s core regions and the broader ancient world.

Over the centuries, the Tigris has shifted its course and deposited sediment across the lowlands, progressively obscuring former coastlines and communities.

The rise and fall of empires, shifting trade routes, and the scars of contemporary conflict have obscured the city’s remnants from view.

High-resolution geophysical scans and drone imagery have now charted fortification walls, street grids, city blocks and industrial districts.

Temple complexes, workshops with kilns and furnaces, and traces of a harbour-and-canal system have also surfaced from beneath the earth – a rare, comprehensive snapshot of an ancient metropolis frozen in time.

Stefan R. Hauser, archaeology professor at the University of Konstanz, told Fox News Digital that the quality of evidence is “absolutely stunning”, with building walls appearing just below the surface and preservation “surprisingly good”.

The city’s footprint is vast – approximately 2.5 square miles (around 6.5km2) – which he says rivals or even surpasses some major capitals of the era.

Work at the site commenced in the 2010s under the direction of British archaeologists Jane Moon, Robert Killick, and Stuart Campbell, but progress was slow and frequently perilous due to periods of conflict and extremist control.