October 16, 2024
We were absolutely stunned by the revelation of this hidden chamber.
Host of Warner Bros. television series “Expedition Unknown,” Josh Gates, describing his experience with archaeologists as they found a “stunning” hidden tomb underneath Petra, Jordan. The site gained modern-day fame as the backdrop to the 1989 movie “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.”
Why It Matters: Around 2,000 years ago, in what is modern-day Jordan, the ancient kingdom of the Nabataeans hand-carved a city into sandstone cliffs and designed a 12-column structure — now known as the Treasury — in the center. Archaeologists have spent decades trying to figure out the purpose of the structure, but recently made a major discovery when they came across a chamber buried underneath it. The chamber contains the remains of 12 people as well as some of their possible belongings — including a ceramic vessel described by Gates as looking “nearly identical to the Holy Grail” portrayed in the 1980s film “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” which had filmed crucial scenes at that very location. This discovery paves the way for better understanding of how Petra developed and how the history of its people unfolded.
The director of the dig, Pearce Paul Creasman, explained, “This work will shed light on The Treasury itself, particularly its construction and date. The material recovered from our excavation has great potential to inform us about the early history of Petra and, possibly, the origins of the Nabataeans, too.”
Read More: ‘Stunning’ hidden tomb found at Petra site featured in ‘Indiana Jones’ (The Washington Post)
by Emily Hooker, based in Texas
