Inspiration: Iram of the Pillars is half-mythical ancient lost city. There should be dozens, hundreds places like that on Athas, destroyed in the Purge and buried under the sand.
https://www.reviewofreligions.org/28264/sands-iram-of-the-pillars-and-the-people-of-ad/Open linkView original on lemmy.world
This came up during the Lovecraft book club. The Nameless City is a great short story inspired by the city of pillars, and a great adventure hook. A mystery of an ancient sand buried city and what seems to be a cult dedicated to lizards