Petra is a world wonder carved directly into the red, white and pink cliffs of Jordan. And now, an additional structure has been discovered within the ancient city, according to archaeologists writing in the Bulletin of The American Schools of Oriental Research.
Entitled, “Hiding in Plain Sight,” the report describes a monument nearly twice as wide—and just about as long—as an Olympic-size swimming pool discovered using drones and data from two separate satellites. The structure likely served a ceremonial function and would have been constructed early in the city’s history.
The researchers write, “... Petra is an outstanding site to test new survey technologies. Even after two centuries of fieldwork in Petra and its environs, new discoveries and identifications of monumental structures continue to be made both within and around the urban center.”
Christopher Tuttle, one of the study’s co-authors, said, “I’ve worked in Petra for 20 years, and I knew that something was there, but it’s certainly legitimate to call this a discovery.”
