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Archaeologists find 12 hidden tombs with intact skeletons

Posted on by Vanessa
Archaeologists find 12 hidden tombs with intact skeletons

Archaeologists found an untouched tomb containing 12 human skeletons and various treasures beneath Petra's treasury. The New York Times reported on Monday.

The discovery of an untouched tomb beneath Petra's famous treasury, used as the location of the Holy Grail in Spielberg's 1989 film “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” and known locally in Jordan as Al Khazneh, comes after more than 20 years Numerous hidden graves were found throughout the Ministry of Finance.

However, NYT Their report noted that archaeologists were unable to fully explore the area due to bureaucracy and a lack of funding.

The Ministry of Finance – Petra, Jordan. January 9, 2020. (Source: FLICKR)

Dr. Richard Bates, a geophysicist from the University of St. Andrews, led the latest excavation after receiving permission to use advanced ground-penetrating radar at the site. “We were pretty shocked that they gave us permission to go in and do a viewing,” he said NYT Bates quoted.

Bates emphasized that “this was stunning data,” as the radar showed clear signs of voids and structures beneath the Treasury Department, prompting a joint excavation effort between Jordanian and American teams.

Ancient underground tombs

The newly found tombs are believed to be older than the treasury itself and feature walls never before seen in the region. “People think they know Petra. You recognize the Ministry of Finance,” said Dr. Pearce Paul Creasman, an archaeologist involved in the excavation. “But all these people walk by and there’s so much more beneath our feet.”

The skeletal remains found beneath the treasury date back to 400 BC. to 106 AD and provide some evidence of the Nabataean civilization that founded Petra around the fourth century BC. BC made it its capital NYT.

The intact dozen skeletons were in a hidden tomb and were discovered in a chamber separated by walls, something that had never been seen before in the ancient city of Al Khazneh.



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