You might live in a house or a big building. About 2,000 years ago, some people lived in a city carved into rock. This city still stands today in the country of Jordan. It’s called Petra. Researchers recently found a tomb under Petra!
A group of people called the Nabataeans built Petra. Researchers don’t know a lot about these past humans, as they didn’t leave much writing behind. To learn more about the Nabataeans, experts have studied Petra closely. They know that the Nabataeans carved Petra by hand. The Nabataeans also built complicated systems to bring water into the city.
A big mystery about Petra is about one of its most special buildings. It’s called the Treasury. Locals call this building Al-Khazneh. Stories say that the Nabataeans kept their money in the Treasury. But researchers are unsure what the building was actually used for. Over the years, the Treasury has become very famous. The 1989 movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was filmed there. In the film, Indiana Jones finds a treasure called the Holy Grail inside the building.
A team of archaeologists wanted to explore new areas around the Treasury. In 2003, experts found a tomb just outside of the Treasury building. But for years, they couldn’t explore a different area near that. Finally, earlier this year, experts got permission to scan that spot. And the scan showed that something was under the ground.
In August, the archaeologists were ready to dig. They brought a TV crew to their finds. The team started digging over the scanned area. Surprise! There was a never-before-seen tomb there! Most tombs around Petra are empty — but this one wasn’t. It had 12 skeletons inside.
“We were absolutely stunned by the of this hidden chamber,” said Josh Gates. He hosts the TV show Expedition Unknown. Gates said the tomb could “offer an glimpse into the lives of the early Nabataeans who built Petra.”
The tomb’s location, near the Treasury, suggests the people inside may have been very important. The skeletons were found in their original positions, which is very rare. Some of the graves were robbed over the years. Finding untouched gravesites helps researchers learn more about how these past people lived and were buried.
As the team studies the skeletons, they hope to find out more about the lives of these people. They will examine the bones and even look for . That could show if the skeletons were part of the same family!
By Ryan Cramer
Updated October 15, 2024, 5:00 P.M. (ET)
