Hidden 2,000 year old tomb found under Petra leaving archaeologists stunned
Archaeologists were stunned to discover a 2,000-year-old tomb under one of the seven wonders of the world.
Carved into the pink sandstone cliffs of Petra in Jordan, lies an elaborate monument known as the Khaznah, or the Treasury — and a dozen skeletons were found under the structure.
The city is probably best recognised by many for being featured in the 1989 film, ' Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade', starring Harrison Ford and Sean Connery.
A site of historical and cultural significance, the city of Petra is a tourism hotspot and attracts close to one million visitors annually.
Last year, CNN reported Dr Pearce Paul Creasman, executive director of the American Center of Research, along with a team of archaeologists, uncovered 12 human skeletons under the Khaznah. The dig also revealed a collection of artefacts beneath Petra's treasury and the human remains are believed to belong to people who lived two millennia ago.
After discovering the unbelievable tomb, Creasman invited Josh Gates, host of Discovery Channels, 'Expedition Unknown' to the site.
Gates said: "This is a hugely rare discovery — in the two centuries that Petra has been investigated by archaeologists, nothing like this has been found before. Even in front of one of the most famous buildings in the world, there are still huge discoveries to be made.'
Creasman's team employed cutting edge ground penetrating technology to confirm the location of the additional tombs in the site.
The data gathered by his team matched other information gathered from regions where tombs have been previously found. After being presented with the information, the Jordanian government approved the excavation underneath the Petra city.
The artefacts found were extremely well-preserved, according to Creasman but the human remains, while intact, were in more delicate shape than expected. This has been attributed to the humidity of Petra and seasonal flooding. There is also porous sandstone within the tomb that entrapped moisture and saw some of the skeletons discovered with mould.
The find is significant as only a handful of tombs have been uncovered in Petra in the past several decades with untouched burials.
Other graves were disturbed and this was attributed mainly due to travellers looking for shade and protection in the desert. Two tombs were uncovered beneath the left side of the treasury around two decades ago by Jordan Department of Antiquities archaeologists.
The tombs contained partial skeletal remains said Creasman but due to the data not being published, it was unclear how many bodies were located there.
Creasman added: 'We were hopeful to find anything that might tell us more about the ancient people and place — human remains can be a really valuable tool in that regard. The burials in this tomb are articulated, so the bones haven't been rummaged around and moved, so that's exceedingly rare."
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