Archaeologists have discovered a previously unknown ancient structure in Jordan, thanks to satellite imagery and drone

Photo: I. LaBianca; J. Blanzy

Many of us think that the Earth has been studied very well, and there is practically no room for discoveries here. First of all, it concerns historical science and archeology in particular. But modern technologies help scientists to work, to make more and more new discoveries. However, sometimes found historical artifacts in practice turn out to be remnants of the vital activity of microorganisms.

Sometimes people doing research just make mistakes, as happened to a schoolboy who discovered an ancient city that turned out to be a hemp field. But now we are talking about a real find, which scientists have made in the ancient city of Peter, Jordan. For more than two thousand years in this region there was a huge structure hidden under a layer of soil - and nobody knew about it. Find an ancient structure was possible through the use of satellite images of Google Earth and photographing the area using drones.

The ancient city of Peter seemed well studied - many dozens of archaeological expeditions worked and worked here. Petra (Arabic. البتراء) is an ancient city , the capital of Edom (Edom), later the capital of the Nabatean kingdom. Located on the territory of modern Jordan, at an altitude of more than 900 m above sea level and 660 m above the surrounding terrain, the Arava valley, in the narrow Siq canyon.
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Excavations in this region have been held for two hundred years, all works are thoroughly documented. However, no one thought that, besides the already found objects, something else could be located here. Although some scientists may have suspicions about the existence of something buried under tons of sand, no one has checked and documented these guesses. “I’m sure that for two centuries of research someone had to understand that something is here, but system studies have not been conducted, nothing has been documented,” said Christopher Tuttle, executive director of the Council of American Foreign Scientific Centers. (Council of American Overseas Research Centers). “I worked in this place for about 20 years, and I knew that there was something there, but this finding could definitely be considered a discovery,” he continued. Found object is located 900 meters from the center of Peter, and is located away from the places popular with tourists.


Petra City

For all the time the archaeological excavations in Petra, scientists have found thousands of structural elements of the city and tens of thousands of artifacts. All this was cataloged and documented. But the platform with a base of 56 * 50 meters remained hidden from the eyes of archaeologists.

According to the scientists who made this discovery, the giant monument was a cult place for residents. So far, excavations have not yet been carried out (no permission), but experts believe that the platform was built in the middle of the second century BC. At the same time, Petra became the trading center of the ancient Arab kingdom of Nabataeus.

Aerial photography also showed the presence of a smaller structure, the size of which is 8.5 * 8.5 meters. Also found the base of the columns and a large staircase.

Many famous objects of the city appeared in the period from 1 century. BC. up to 2 in. ne This period includes, for example, the Nabatean temple of El Hazne. Therefore, the presence of the object, whose age exceeds the age of most of the monuments of the city, causes considerable interest among the scientific community to this place. Now scientists are trying to answer the question, when did people start to build a city here.

Aerial photography and satellite imagery are an indispensable assistant to archaeologists. Now teams of scientists studying ancient settlements are replenished not only by historians, but also by specialists in aerial photography or information technology. “By creating an online platform for scientists and science lovers, having trained an army of 21st century researchers, we can find and preserve a hidden heritage,” said Sarah Parsac, co-author of the discovery. Amateurs studying satellite images of Google Earth also help.

Another team of scientists from the University of California is looking for the tomb of Genghis Khan, using drones and satellite imagery. Nobody knows the location of the grave; there are only indirect indications of the place where it is located. According to one of the legends (and there are many of them), a riverbed was laid above his grave so that this place could not be found (the Sumerian king Uruk Gilgamesh was buried in the same way). According to other legends, many horses were driven out of his grave, trees were planted there. Nowadays, in addition to historians, thousands of volunteers who search for the satellite images, old texts, any information that could help in the search, are searching for the tomb of Genghis Khan.

Fans of archeology can help scientists greatly by taking part in The Megalith Portal . Here you can find information about 25,000 prehistoric locations that users can visit, catalog and review. Both professionals and amateurs agree that open online platforms are good for collective archaeological research and supporting work.