Why do so many ancient cities, especially the big ones, have dissapeared geographically after being abandoned? If nobody destroys them, shouldn’t the structures and general architecture remain intact?

Question

Why do so many ancient cities, especially the big ones, have dissapeared geographically after being abandoned? If nobody destroys them, shouldn’t the structures and general architecture remain intact?

In: Other

Answer 1

People like to reuse stuff. There’s an abandoned city nearby? Free building material!

And anything that’s made out of wood will rot away eventually.