An ancient tomb has been discovered underneath the movie-famous monument known as Al Khazneh, or the Treasury, in the city of Petra, Jordan.
The monument, which is carved into pink sandstone canyon walls, gained notoriety after being shown in the 1989 film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. It was built by the ancient Nabatean people as they built the ancient city of Petra to be their capital.
This discovery comes after the monument had not been probed into for over two decades, after hidden tombs were discovered around the Treasury building in 2003.
However, this year, a research team led by Dr. Richard Bates, a geophysicist and professor at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, was given clearance to probe into Al Khazneh using ground-penetrating radar technology earlier this year.
"We were quite shocked that they did give us permission to go in and survey," Dr. Bates told the New York Times. "This was stunning data."
The subsequent excavation led to the discovery of a hidden tomb beneath the pink sandstone monument, containing the human remains of 12 people and a variety of grave offerings.
"People think they know Petra. They recognize the Treasury," said Dr. Pearce Paul Creasman, who assisted with the excavation. "But all these people walk by, and there's so much more under our feet."
