Ancient skeletons discovered in secret tomb in Jordan

Image source, Reuters

Image caption, Al-Khazneh - meaning The Treasury - is said to be one of the seven wonders of the world

A team of archaeologists have discovered a hidden tomb at a famous monument in Petra in Jordan.

The secret tomb was found underneath Al-Khazneh - which means 'The Treasury' in Arabic - and is said to be one of the seven wonders of the world.

The huge sandstone monument was hand-carved into a cliff by the Nabataean people around 2,000 years ago.

Using technology to scan the area beneath the monument, a team of researchers found a hidden ancient tomb as well as 12 skeletons, and a number of bronze and iron artefacts.

Image source, Discovery鈥檚 Expedition Unknown

Image caption, (from left to right) Dr. Fares Braizat, Fadi Balawi, Josh Gates and Dr. Pearce Paul Creasman were part of the team who discovered the new tomb at Petra

The team of British and American researchers came together from the University of St Andrews in Scotland, the Jordanian Department of Antiquities and the American Center of Research.

They wanted to prove that there were more tombs in the area - following the two that had already been discovered to the left of the monument in 2023.

They were given special permission to do some research in and around the monument, using a ground-penetrating radar - a remote sensing technique that uses radar pulses to find underground objects.

The results of the radar, showed very similar findings to the other two tombs that were previously discovered, so they applied for permission from the Jordanian government to dig beneath the Treasury, and filmed it as part of a special documentary for the US TV channel, Discovery.

The newly discovered tomb could now be home to the largest collection of ancient human skeletons found buried in one place within Petra.

The archaeologists are now excited to study the tomb and the skeletons, to learn more about what life was like for the people there 2,000 years ago.