All language subtitles for Expedition.Unknown.S14E02

The Nabateans
are a mystery to me.

There's a lot
we don't know about them.

There's much more
we don't know than we do.

[Josh] Enter Petra.

Everything you see here
is carved.

Like, the scale of this place
is unbelievable.

And this here is the most
famous building of all.

[Pearce]
We call it the Treasury.

It's one of the new New Seven
Wonders of the World.

This is the most mysterious
monument we have here.

We don't know the who,
the what, the when.

We have none of that for this.

[Josh] Right. So this place
will always be remembered

as the fictional resting place
of the Holy Grail

in Indiana Jones
and the Last Crusade.

But in reality,
its true purpose is unknown.

So how do we
unravel the mystery

of one of the most famous
buildings in the world?

If we're gonna
understand this place,

we've got to get a glimpse
of what's under us.

And to do that,
we need technology.

[Josh] Got it.

What do you make of that?

[Josh] There is
something there.

Some sort of chamber
we've never seen before.

[man] "X" marks the spot.

Unbelievable.

Let's see what's down there.

Here at Petra, archeologist
Pearce Paul Creasman

has been given
exclusive permission

to dig beneath
the Treasury for answers.

Here we go.

And so dig we did.

A team of workers
moved tons of earth

to descend 12 feet
beneath the courtyard
of the Treasury.

And it turns out
there's something down there.

[man] Josh, Pearce,
get over here.

We found something.

Let's see what we got.
Come on.

-[Josh] We got
a lot more people here.
-[Pearce] Yeah.

Oh, this looks very official.

[Josh] We're joined
by the Director General

of the Jordanian
Department of Antiquities,
Dr. Fadi Balawi.

Your Excellency,
nice to meet you, sir.

-Lovely seeing you.
-Yes.

Along with the Chief
Commissioner of Petra,
Dr. Fares Braizat.

And beneath us, a discovery.

So, what'd you find?

We think we have an entrance
to something here.

-There's an opening there?
-[man] There's an opening.

-[Josh] Where?
-I can put my hand
on this side.

Look at that.
That's a doorway.

And it goes all the way
to here as well.

And it's just got these
big blocks in front of it?

Yeah, it's been sealed up.

Is that a tomb?
What is that?

I mean,
why do we have to wonder?

We should go down and see.

-Let's find out.
-[man] Come on down.

I knew I liked this guy.

We're coming down.

Oh, my word.
Can you see in there?

Wow.

I can't wait.

What is in there?

It is something really huge.

Is it empty? Is it--
Can you see anything?

-[Fadi] Ooh.
-Is it a room?
Does it go back?

It's a new tomb, I think.

[Josh] It is a tomb!

Oh, my God.

Also, there's
another layer inside.

[Josh] This is insane.

[Pearce] So what are we
waiting for, guys?

I think we should not
wait anymore.

We should go in.

-You want to open it?
-[Pearce] We gotta go in.

Definitely.

-Definitely.
-Yes.

-[Fadi] Oh, wow.
-Heavy, heavy, heavy, yeah?

Okay, I have it, I have it.

-[Fadi] Hold this, please.
-Yup. Heavy, heavy.

I have it. Oh, I don't.

Oh, my word!

The past is all around us.

Oh, this is crazy.

A world of mystery...

-This is a plane?
-[man] Yeah.

...danger...

We are about to be underwater.

Whoa!

...and adventure.

It's just straight down.

[grunting]

I travel to the
far corners of the earth

to uncover where legends end

and history begins.

Yeah, let's punch it.

I'm Josh Gates.

And this is
Expedition Unknown.

Are they graves,
do you think?

I think
they could be graves.

They're all partitioned off.
Look at that.

I can hardly believe it.

We are peering
into the darkness
of an ancient tomb

discovered beneath
the famed Treasury in Petra.

This is a city
of enduring mysteries,

mysteries that I've traveled
a long way to investigate.

To find out how its builders,
the Nabateans, came to power

and what happened to their
once-flourishing kingdom,

I made the trip here,
through the winding
slot canyon,

known as the Siq,

that has long concealed
the entrance to Petra.

Always knew someday
you'd come walking back
through my door.

Oh, you even quote Raiders.

My old friend, archeologist
Pearce Paul Creasman,

has been leading me
on a journey through
the sands of time.

Together,
we visited remote cliffs,

where a clue
was chiseled in stone

hundreds of feet
above the desert floor.

We need to scan it.

[Josh] No.

It's a sheer cliff face, man.

After dangling by a thread
and scanning the inscription,

we decoded
the Nabatean origin story.

Nomads who filled
a power vacuum
in these vast deserts.

So here we are,
centuries before Petra
is really a thing...

-[Pearce] Yeah.
-...and the Nabateans
are on the scene.

[Pearce] Yes.

[Josh] At their
first city of Sela,

they learned
to shape the rock itself,

creating homes,
tombs and chambers

to collect the most precious
commodity of all, water.

This is a big part
of the secret of the
Nabateans' rise

is their ability
to manage water.

[Josh]
By the first century BC,

the Nabateans
leveraged their skills

to become
masters of the desert
and a trade empire,

moving the rich resources
of the ancient world

through one of the harshest
environments on earth

and becoming
fabulously wealthy.

And with that wealth,
they built their capital
at Petra,

a marvel of architecture
and engineering

that was once home
to tens of thousands
of people.

The so called Rose City
was hand carved

into the sandstone cliffs
and canyons.

And that brings us back here,

to the iconic wonder
known as the Treasury.

Was it
a repository for riches,

a temple, a palace,

or a tomb
for a Nabatean king?

The answers may lie
beneath it in the chamber
we've just discovered.

Look at that.
It's all compartments.

They're all sectioned off.

[Pearce]
It looks like a catacomb.

It does look
like a catacomb.

[Pearce]
Fadi, have you seen
anything like that?

Never.

[Josh] Nothing,
and I mean nothing like this

has ever been found in Petra.

In every other instance,

the Nabateans dug
simple niches
into cave walls,

or dug down
into the bedrock.

But these raised
slotted structures,
this is unique.

[Fadi speaking]

Right. Most of these
rooms you see,

-they're either flat floors...
-[Fadi] Carve.

-...or they carve
into the floors.
-Yeah.

[Fadi] But this is
something different.

They could be really
solving all the issue about--

-The age of this.
-The age of the Treasury

-and the function
of the Treasury...
-[Josh] Right.

...and the use
of the Treasury.

And the Treasury is not
only what we see above.

It could be a whole story
that's linked to each other.

-Below?
-Below.

[Josh] The dream would be
to find human remains.

But it may be
more of a fantasy.

That's because
of the thousands of tombs

discovered
in the heart of Petra,

nearly every single
one of them was found empty,

looted or cleaned out
long ago.

So, it smells musty as hell.

[Pearce] It's got
that very distinctive
tomb smell to it.

[Josh] Exactly. Right?

Probably that's mold.

[Josh] Mold, for homeowners,
it's a headache.

For archeologists,
it can be lethal.

So, after donning
respirators,

we call for a ladder
to access the chamber below.

Ladder's going down.

Are you ready?

[Pearce]
I'm ready. I'm gonna go in,
I'm gonna set the ladder,

and then
everybody come down.

[Josh] Sounds good.
Let's do it.

Pearce Paul takes the lead.

Once he disappears
into the darkness,
the rest of us follow.

Here we go.

But even before my eyes
have time to adjust,
there's a discovery.

[Fadi] Oh, my God!

[Josh] What is it?

[Fadi] Skeletons.

-[Josh] Skeletons?
-[Fadi] Yes.

[Pearce] Oh, my God.
Look at that.

There's bodies in here.

The bodies seem to be resting

in compartments created
by these raised stone walls,

and they appear
to be everywhere.

[Fadi] Another one there.

[Josh] Oh, another one
right in front of it.

-[Fadi] It's a child.
-[Josh] That's a child.

-[Fadi] It's a child.
-[Josh] Oh, my word.

And another.

Another full skeleton.
Look at that.

So you think
this could be a family?

[Pearce]
It has all the hallmarks
of a family crypt.

We can take samples
and check the DNA
and see if they're related.

[Josh] What's in
these other pits?

Do you think there's more?

[Pearce] I mean, there's
only one way to find out.

[Josh] Let's see what's
in the other chambers.

[Pearce] That's it.

-[Josh] More burials?
-[Pearce] More burials.

I see at least...

At least three skulls.

This one's
a little disturbed.

-[Josh] Three more skulls?
-[Pearce] At least.

[Josh] Just look
at the condition of this.

The entire individual
is here with these offerings,
whatever they are.

[Pearce] And there's more.

[Josh] How many individuals
are in this room?

[Fadi] One, two, three, four.

[Pearce] At least 12.

I mean-- And if we--
When we excavate,
we may find more.

[Josh] This is
a momentous discovery.

The many tombs of Petra
that line the canyon above
are all empty now.

Yet, here is
a massive burial chamber

hidden directly beneath
the most famous building
in the city.

There are at least
a dozen bodies in this room.

Have you ever found a tomb
with 12 burials in it?

-[Fadi] Never.
-[Josh] Never?

-[Fadi] Never.
-[Josh] This is unbelievable.

[Fadi] Well done, guys.
Well done, well done.

-Well done.
-[Josh] This is amazing.

-[Fares] Congratulations.
-[Josh] Thank you.

-[Fares] Well done.
-[Josh] What a thrill.

Oh, my word.

We're just starting now.
We need to know who they are.

[Pearce] Well, now
we gotta get to work.

[Pearce] This has been
the easy part.

[Josh] Huh.
This was the easy part?

-[Pearce] We're in.
-[Josh] Oh, come on.

I'm living
every archaeologist's dream,

excavating
a newly-discovered tomb

beneath the Treasury
in Petra.

One with something
almost never found here,

actual human remains.

We're hoping
they can help us fill in
crucial missing details

about both
the building above us

and the Nabatean people
who carved it.

-How many people
visit Petra a year?
-[Fares] One million.

-[Josh] A million?
-[Fares] Yes.

-[Josh] And they walk
right above our heads.
-[Fares] Exactly.

[Josh] And until this moment,
nobody knew this was here.

-[Fadi] Never.
-[Fares] No one knew
this existed.

[Pearce] Now we have
to photograph everything,

we have
to measure everything,

we have
to conserve, preserve.

And we have to present it
for people to understand it.

[Josh] Right.

Okay, well,
let's get to work.

Before anything
can be disturbed,

it must all be documented.

Pearce Paul
photographs the tomb.

Then archeologist
Matthew Vincent deploys
a 3D like a scanner.

The device emits
pulses of laser light,

as many as two million
per second.

The result, a remarkable
digital topographic map

of both the entrance
and the interior
of the newly-found tomb.

Once it's complete,
we're ready to get
our hands dirty.

[Pearce] It's time to get
into the excavation.

And we're gonna start here.

We're gonna stick
close to the wall.

-We want to go
to the far end...
-[Josh] Uh-huh.

-...and then
work our way back.
-[Josh] Got it.

We very carefully drop down
into the first pit

and gingerly excavate
to see if anything was buried
alongside these Nabateans.

These bones are just under
this fine layer of dust
that's settled in here.

But underneath them,
look at that.

They just shine through.

There's a standalone skull
in the corner, yes?

[Pearce] Look at this cut
in the chin.

[Josh] There's a fracture
in the bone.

[Pearce] It looks like
there's a cut in the bone,

so somebody got
a pretty good knock

-in their lifetime.
-[Josh] Incredible.

[Pearce] But up here,
we see these little
black spots.

This is charcoal.

When they buried
this person,

they buried them
with something in a vessel

that had been burned.

[Josh] Would it have been
some sort of burning
your offering here?

[Pearce] Yes.
So hopefully--

Ah, here it comes.

-[Josh] Pottery.
-[Pearce] Starting to get
some pottery.

[Josh] Look at that.

The fragments
we're finding may not be big,
but they're still invaluable

in narrowing down
who this tomb
once belonged to.

[Pearce] Really thin,
really fragile,

-and Nabatean pottery.
-[Josh] Oh, yeah.

Look at that.
That's pottery.

While we don't yet know
for sure,

Pearce Paul thinks
the pottery might be
early Nabatean,

which would place it
in the first century BC.

And the unproven theory
as to when the Treasury
was built?

[Pearce] Something like 40 AD.

[Josh] So this could be
nearly a century before that.

[Pearce] Yes.
That is powerful for us

because a big part
of this excavation

-is to understand what's
going on in the Treasury.
-[Josh] Right.

[Pearce] Because we don't have
a lot of burials from Petra,

and we don't have
a lot of early burials.

-[Josh] Right.
-Even smaller fraction of them
are the early ones.

-[Josh] Amazing.
-[Pearce] So this is
going to be great.

[Josh]
It has been theorized,
but never proven,

that the Treasury was built
during the reign of a king
named Aretas IV,

who ruled
the Nabateans during their
most prosperous era.

Earlier, while digging,
we found a coin

dating to the time
of his predecessor.

If this pottery
ends up being dated
to that same period,

it could help
confirm the theory,

since the Treasury was built
above this layer,

which means later in time.

[Pearce] If the Treasury
wasn't there

when this was made,

these people are still
really important people

because good real estate
is good real estate.

This is
an important location.

[Josh] We continue
to delicately brush away
the sand around the remains

to expose any artifacts
buried with them.

So by this bone here,
I've got what looks like

a piece of pottery
right in here.

[Pearce]
That's that really thin,
fine early Nabatean pottery.

So here's what
I don't see so far.

-I don't see jewelry.
-[Josh] Right.

[Pearce] I don't see trinkets,
personal adornments.

I don't see a lot of stuff.

[Josh] I mean, nothing.

[Pearce] And we see that
as a pattern

recurring in early
Nabatean burials,
the lack of stuff.

[Josh] While this is
proving to be one of the

largest collections
of remains ever found
at Petra,

discoveries at the
Nabateans' other city
of Hegra in Saudi Arabia

have shown
that they were often buried

with layered shrouds

of leather
and colorful fabric.

Both of which may have
rotted away in our wet tomb.

In addition,
small but stunning relics
were found there,

including cones,
and even a small camel
in bronze.

But like here at Petra,
the burials there were not
packed with rich offerings.

Rather, it looked like
the Nabateans seemed
to believe

that you can't
take it with you.

[Josh] So this looks like
part of the spine here.

[Pearce] Yup.
And you've got vertebrae.

-[Josh] These are ribs.
-[Pearce] Yeah.

And under your right hand,
you've got the collarbone,
clavicle.

-[Josh] I mean, it looks like
maybe an arm here, arm bone.
-[Pearce] Yeah.

-Very clearly
the chin there...
-[Josh] Yeah.

...mandible,
back of the ear.

[Josh] The arm
is literally reaching out.

[Pearce]
It's evocative, isn't it?

[Josh] It really is.

[Josh] I've got pottery here.

[Pearce] Yeah?

-Oh, good.
-[Josh] It looks like
the piece of a vessel.

[Pearce] Nice, nice.

[Josh] Oh, there's
a base on it.

[Pearce] All right.
So this is gonna be
really helpful for us.

It's gonna tell us something
about the time and place.

It's nice to have
a couple of body shards.

But when we have
the rims and the feet,

that's when
we can get really precise,

compare it to existing
cataloged information

and tell us a lot more
about the time and place.

[Josh] That is incredible.

The Nabateans
we're discovering here

are just beginning
to speak to Pearce Paul.

But it turns out
there are others
waiting for that chance,

who may rank
a little higher.

-Wow.
-Hey, Pearce Paul.

The ambassador is here
to see you.

[Josh]
There's an ambassador?

[Pearce] Yeah, I invited
the American ambassador.

[Josh] What-- Okay.

-[Yael] Hi.
-Hello.

Really nice
to meet you, Ambassador.

It's fantastic to meet you.

I've never met anybody
in quite these
conditions before.

This is incredible.

You know, you never know
who you're gonna bump into
at a tomb.

Meet Yael Lempert,
the actual, no kidding,

US ambassador
to the Hashemite Kingdom
of Jordan.

It's really nice
to meet you.

[Yael] It's a pleasure
to meet you.

-Pleasure to meet you.
-We're so excited
to have you here.

I have a gift for you.
You're probably gonna
want one of these.

And as a true diplomat,

she's here to meet
the new neighbors.

We waste no time escorting
the ambassador into the tomb.

[Yael] Can I ask,
do you think that these are
kings and queens or nobles

who are buried here?

Given the location
underneath the Treasury.

[Pearce]
The people here mattered.

Were they kings and queens?
I don't know.

[Josh] No question
they must be

significant individuals
to be here, you know?

I mean, where we are
was prime real estate,
still is prime real estate.

-[Yael] Absolutely.
-[Josh] So it has to be
somebody significant for sure.

[Pearce speaking]

[Josh] That's right.
At least 12. At least 12.

-[Yael]
Archeologists' humor.
-[Josh] Yeah, exactly.

I have to say,
in coming here,

my assumption was that
we weren't going to to be
looking at human remains.

I just thought that at Petra,
that didn't happen.

[Pearce]
It's exceedingly rare.

-[Yael] Truly
once-in-a-lifetime.
-[Pearce] Absolutely.

[Josh]
Having been lucky enough

to visit famous
archeological sites,

heritage sites
around the world,

there really is
nothing like Petra.

[Yael] And it keeps
getting better and better

because there keep being
finds like this.

And I'm so grateful
for the work that Jordanian
and American archeologists

and researchers
are doing together

because it enables
incredible discoveries
like this.

It's just the latest chapter
in the great partnership

between the United States
and Jordan in archeology

and in preservation
of Jordan's incredible
cultural heritage.

-[Josh] Yeah.
-[Pearce] It's a smorgasbord
of archeology.

-[Yael] Yes.
-[Josh] Yeah, that's right.

-A lifetime of work
to be done.
-[Yael] Yes.

-[Pearce]
You better get to work.
-[Yael] Yeah.

What are you guys doing?

-Come on. Stop slacking off.
-[Josh] Sorry, Ambassador.

Back to work,
back to work.

The ambassador
takes her leave,

and we return
to the excavation

until the sun sets
behind the canyon walls.

The team doesn't want
to stray too far from this
important discovery,

so I'm offered yet another
once-in-a-lifetime
experience,

an invitation to camp
in front of the Treasury
with the local Bedouin tribe.

First of all,
thank you so much for this.

It's incredible.

An amazing place
to spend the night.

[tribesman speaking]

[Josh] The Bedouins are,
in many ways,

the cultural descendants
of the Nabateans,

and they have been living
and working in Petra
for centuries.

For that reason,
the site has never been
truly abandoned.

And how long
have you lived here?

You're--
You're 75 years?

You look amazing.

Is Petra very different today
than when you were young?

-[tribesman speaking]
-It must be a different world.

[tribesman speaking]

You like it better
now or then?

-Yeah? Why?
-[tribesman speaking]

[Josh] We continue
the conversation

over a home-cooked
lamb dinner

fit for a Nabatean king.

I like the Bedouin life.
This is nice.

I am a Bedouin.

-Honorary Bedouin.
-[tribesman] Yeah. Yeah.

[Josh] This is
a complete stranger

who has given us
sumptuous food

and a safe place
to sleep for the night,

a tradition
that he has passed on
to the next generations.

How many children
do you have?

I'm afraid to ask this.
How many grandchildren?

[Josh] Whoo!

-Well, yes,
they're all related to you.
-[tribesman] Yeah.

You know,
after this wonderful meal,

we're gonna sleep
easy tonight.

I know. We're going
to sleep very easy.

Ah, you will.

-Well, thank you
very much again. Shukran.
-Welcome.

[Josh] Thank you.

There is truly no hospitality
like Bedouin hospitality.

It is a point
of cultural pride,

and one that I'm grateful
to benefit from

as we drift asleep
in the shadow
of the ancients.

As soon
as the sun rises, though,

we're back
digging in the tomb.

Now that we've exposed
most of the skeletons,

our plan is
to brush around them,

looking for
any burial offerings.

Look at this skeleton.

It's incredible.
It looks really complete.

So, legs here.

Looks like
the feet are missing.

[Pearce] Just--
It's so delicate.

[Josh] Yeah, you can
hardly even dust it.

The bone is just so fragile.

Oh, my God.
Look at this.

-Do you see this?
-[Pearce] I do see this.

[Josh] Is that a vessel?

[Pearce] It looks like
something there.

[Josh] I can't believe
I'm saying this,

but that looks exactly like
the Grail from Last Crusade.

I can't believe
I'm saying this,

-but that looks like
the cup of a carpenter.
-[Pearce chuckles]

It does. Admit that
it looks just like it.

[Pearce] It looks
exactly like it.

[Josh] The Treasury in Petra
is world famous

as the resting place
for the Holy Grail

in Indiana Jones
and the Last Crusade.

And up until
about ten seconds ago,

I was sure
that was just a movie.

It's just
such a coincidence

-that directly
underneath the Treasury...
-[Pearce] Uh-huh.

-...the building
from Last Crusade.
-Yeah, yeah.

You know what
everybody's gonna think?

-We planted it.
-[Josh] I know.
We did not put this here.

-[Pearce] It belongs
in a museum.
-[Josh laughs]

[Josh] Jokes aside,
this is an important find.

With so few precious objects
found in the Nabataean burials
here at Petra,

it needs to be preserved.

[Pearce] So I'm gonna brush
a little bit more
around the edges here.

-It's already loose,
I can feel it shifting.
-[Josh] Okay.

So we're going to take it,
we're gonna put it in a bucket
over there of sand.

[Josh] We delicately clear
the sand around the ceramic
before we attempt to move it.

[Pearce] It's ready
to come out.

[Josh] Okay, here we go.

Nice and easy.

[Josh exclaims]

Look at that. [exclaims]

Beautiful.

[Pearce] All right.
Careful as we go.

-[Josh] We're taking this
outside to photograph, yes?
-[Pearce] Yeah.

-[Josh] There's
one problem with that.
-[Pearce] What's that?

The Grail cannot pass
beyond the Great Seal.

[Pearce] It's not the Grail!

That is the boundary, Pearce.

That is the price
of immortality.

All right, sorry,
let's take it out of here.

It looks a lot like the Grail.

In truth, the piece of ceramic
is actually the top half
of a larger jug.

The most complete piece
of pottery we've found
in the tomb so far.

And while it's doing
a great impression
of the Holy Grail,

Pearce Paul believes it may be
about a century older
than Jesus.

While this
and the other ceramics
we've been finding

look like they may be
early Nabataean,

Pearce Paul needs
to get a more specific date.

Fortunately, there is
an incredible technology

that may be able
to do just that.

So he's called in
Dr. Timothy Kinnaird,

research officer
with Scotland's

St. Andrew's School of Earth
and Environmental Sciences.

-[Josh] Hi there.
-[Pearce] Hi.

Hi, it's good to see you, Tim.

[Pearce] Josh,
this is Tim Kinnaird.

-[Josh] How are you?
Nice to meet you.
-Nice to meet you too.

He's gonna help us
understand this better.

Okay. So, Tim, tell us

what you're gonna do.

Optically stimulated
luminescence?

That sounds risque.

-[Tim] That is correct.
-[Josh] What is it?

-How?
-[Pearce] He's a witch.

Yeah, exactly.

Every grain of sand
and soil in the tomb
contains particles of quartz.

And when these particles
become deposited in the earth,

they begin to accumulate
faint amounts of radiation.

OSL measures the radiation
and can pinpoint
almost exactly

when a soil sample
was last exposed to light.

Which in this case,
would give us the age
of the burial.

So we're just gonna take
a few soil samples?

[Josh] And he
does mean completely.

Exposing the samples
to even a small amount
of light

will reset the clock on them
and make the entire experiment
worthless, so...

-We have to be
in complete darkness?
-[Tim speaking]

[Pearce] The way
it was intended.

Yeah, sure.
Just seal us in here
with 12 dead bodies.

Okay, sounds scary.
Here we go.

So that this advanced tech
can unlock the date
of this ancient tomb,

Pearce Paul's team
brings in tarps
to seal the entrance,

and we power down
our camera's bright lights.

[Tim speaking]

Yep. This will not
affect the sample?

[Josh] Got it.

There we go, good sample
from way underneath.

[Josh] Little glints of light
off that quartz.

-[Pearce] Irradiated quartz.
-That's right.

[Josh] Okay,
so we have our samples?

[Josh] Got it.

Tim seals up his samples
for a trip back to his lab,

where he'll get the results
in a few weeks' time,

hopefully pinpointing
the age of the burial.

But just as
one scientist leaves,
another enters.

Dicky Bates, the geophysicist
whose scan first located
the subterranean chamber

in which we're working.

[Josh] Well, good news.
Your radar works.

Wow, that is unbelievable.

[Josh] Pearce Paul
hasn't just called Dicky
down here for a victory lap.

He has one more job for him.

Something about this tomb,
it's not sitting right
with me.

Virtually every other burial
we find here is cut
into the bedrock.

I wanna see why
they chose to build walls.

Why didn't they
cut into the floor?

There's no reason to go
to all of this effort.

-This is an immense effort
to build all these walls.
-[Josh] Yeah.

[Pearce] There's
something else going on
that we should know.

-Is there some big crack
running through here?
-[Josh] Right.

This tomb is unique in Petra.

Every other tomb found to date
has been carved into rock.

Actual partitioning walls
constructed from the floor up

have never been
seen here before.

And he wants to know why.

You know, there's gotta be
some explanation

-for doing
this atypical thing.
-[Dicky] Yep.

[Josh] To see if there's
something beneath the burials,

Pearce Paul
wants Dicky to scan again.

This time,
inside the tomb itself.

Okay, do you have
enough room to work in here?

-Well, it's not ideal,
but let's give it a shot.
-[Josh] Okay, let's try it.

Dicky preps the GPR unit.

Though space is tight,
the scanner should be able

to see up to 20 feet
down into the ground.

[Dicky] Hey, guys,
come and have a look at this.

-[Josh] You got something?
-[Dicky] Yeah, now.

Wow.

So here, look at that.

What the hell is that?

Yes?

[Dicky] Rock, rock, rock.

And then what does
that look like?

Wait, what the hell is that?

It's exactly
the same signature as we saw
when we found this tomb.

It's a void.

It's a void
and it's 12 feet beneath us.

[Josh] A GPR scan inside
the newly discovered tomb

beneath Petra's
iconic Treasury building,

is giving Geophysicist
Dicky Bates a serious case
of deja vu.

[Pearce] You know,
the exact same distance
between that and up.

Are you saying
there's another level here?

Hey, the geophysics
was right last time,

and this time it's indicating
we've got more below here.

[Josh] This is
a sensational development.

We've discovered that here,
12 feet beneath the Treasury,
is a long lost tomb.

And now 12 feet deeper,
there may well be another.

So the reason they didn't
cut down into the floor

is 'cause there's something
down there.

Because there's
something else going on.

So we're not even done
in here, and the mysteries
of Petra continue.

And also, if this is
another level of tombs,

think about what
that could mean
for the rest of this site.

I mean, it might
go down that far everywhere.

[Pearce] It very well could.

Look, we know in some places,
just standing out
on the surface here,

-you can just barely see
the tops of doors.
-[Josh] Right.

-How deep it goes?
Nobody knows yet
-[Josh] Right.

We've known for ages
that there's a dearth
of information

-about the early
Nabataean world.
-[Josh] Yes.

We saw a glimpse of them
at Sela, we get a glimpse
of them in a text.

But it goes centuries
without any real,
meaningful information.

And then it just seems
like Petra arrives
out of nowhere.

[Pearce] Absolutely.
So probably we just haven't
gotten deep enough yet.

Right. That whole story
of the Nabataeans who would,
in time, build this treasury

could be right under our feet.

-[Pearce] Certainly
the beginnings of it.
-[Josh] Yeah.

So see everybody here
this time next year?

-[Josh] Yeah.
-[Dicky] Got a deal.

Dude. Amazing.

-As always, Dicky, a pleasure.
-[Dicky] A pleasure.

[Pearce] Glad
we got you around, Bates.

[Josh] Future excavations
will have to tackle the level
below our feet.

But as for the mysterious tomb
we're standing in now,

we have to wait
for the results
of Dr. Kinnaird's OSL test

to confirm its age,
which may shed light
on the Treasury above.

While we wait,
I'm left wondering

about the most important
mystery of all.

Namely what happened
to the Nabataean civilization
that built Petra?

Where did they go?

To seek the answer,
I leave Pearce Paul and stride
further into the ancient city.

While the Treasury
is the most famous building
at Petra,

it's not the only one
revealing the secrets
of the Nabataeans.

High up on a ridge
just at the edge of town
is another structure.

One that may reveal the fate
of the city's builders.

Waiting in an epic ruin
is Archeologist
Matthew Vincent.

This is something different.

Well, we try to keep you
on your toes.

What is this place?

Welcome to the Petra Church.

-The Petra Church?
-[Matthew] Yeah.

Okay. Now, if memory serves,
the Nabataeans
were not Christian.

They were around
pre-Christianity
being a thing.

Exactly, so the Nabataeans
are here well before
Christianity.

Right.

The Nabataeans were the most
potent force in this region
for hundreds of years,

but nothing lasts forever.

In 106 AD,
the growing Roman Empire
annexed the Nabataeans

in a bloodless takeover
that ended their autonomy.

And then, something
spectacularly bad happened.

A massive earthquake
happens here in 363 AD.

How massive?

It's basically the end
of the Nabataeans.

Really? The city
is just destroyed?

Totally destroyed.

[Josh] Once the Romans
convert their empire
to Christianity in 380 AD,

new building projects
take on a decidedly
different focus.

So we can imagine
that when they come back
and they rebuild here,

they rebuild Christian places.

Right, all the pagan temples
are tumbled down
and destroyed,

and so when
Petra gets rebuilt,
it's a Christian town.

And they just build church
after church after church.

Okay, and so this one
is built when?

It started in the 5th century.

And we have these
really beautiful mosaics
all over the floor.

These are awesome.

[Matthew] There are some
fantastic mosaics.

And these are what? Animals?

[Matthew] Yeah,
we've got a lot of animals,

we've got depictions
of daily life as well.

But the animals
are just fantastic here.

But you know,
it's not just these mosaics
that you're seeing here.

One of the most amazing things
we found

is literally just
in that corner over there.

[Josh] And what was
found there?

The largest the cache
of writing in the entire
area of Petra.

One-hundred-and-forty scrolls
found in that back corner
over there.

Wow, that's amazing.
Because there is virtually
nothing written here, right?

A handful of inscriptions
that have been found
across the entire site.

-[Josh] And that's it?
-And that's it.

And what's on them?

Well, that's the problem
right there.

Can you not read the language?

Oh, no, it's all in Greek.

Okay, right, that would
have been the administrative
language at the time.

-[Matthew] Exactly.
-So, the problem is what?

This entire church
was destroyed

-in the 7th century
through a fire.
-[Josh] Uh-huh.

[Matthew] Those scrolls
got cooked.

-[Josh] They got toasted.
-[Matthew] Yeah.

Okay, so were they destroyed?

A process
of what's called
carbonization.

Imagine you just
barbecue them.
They're smoked scrolls.

Right, they don't fall apart,
but they're just
kind of briquettes.

Miraculously, though,
some of the 140 scrolls
survived the fire

and were actually able
to be unrolled and read.

They're mostly legal texts.

They describe contracts,
wills, inheritance,
just parts of daily life.

Which is still
hugely valuable, right?

It's incredible.

What we can understand
about Petra in the 5th, 6th,
7th centuries

-is all thanks
to these scrolls.
-[Josh] Right.

But many of the scrolls
were too burned to be legible.

The charred texts
were reduced to fragments,

layers of papyrus
fused by heat and smoke.

If we could read
more of these scrolls,

we could really begin
to understand what became
of the Nabataeans,

what became of their world.

And at this moment,
we have a team

that are actually trying
to read these scrolls.

How do you read
burned scrolls?

With some
really serious technology.

[Josh] The answer
to the Nabataeans'
final mystery

may lie in the remains
of the scrolls from Petra.

So I bid a fond farewell
to the desert

and fly to where they're
currently being studied.

Six thousand miles away in,
of all places, Lexington,
Kentucky.

No, really. You know,
the place with the bourbon
and the horses.

It's also home
to the University
of Kentucky's

state of the art EduceLab,

which is where
I meet the professor
that's been leading the team

analyzing the most damaged
Petra scroll fragments,
Brent Seales.

Josh, let me introduce you
to the Petra papyri.

-[Josh] This is them?
-[Brent] This is them.

[Josh] Wow, look at that.

We have some varieties here,
but here's a piece
that is especially delicate.

Take a look.

So this is an actual fragment
of papyrus from Petra.

-This is at least
1,500 years old?
-Yeah.

Oh, my word.

This is about as fragile
as the wings of a butterfly.

-Right, just thousands
of tiny flakes.
-[Brent] Thousands.

If I saw this on the ground,
I would ignore it.

I mean, it looks like
a piece of bark, almost.

You can't really see
that there's writing there.

-It's really hard to see
with the naked eye.
-Yeah, not at all.

You're telling me
there's writing on that?

There's writing on almost
every one of these fragments,
yeah.

[Josh] And we are lucky enough
to see how Professor Seales

is deciphering
what's written on them.

He prepares the next two
fragments for analysis.

One the size
of a postage stamp,
the other of a grain of rice.

The experimental process
that he's developed

begins with a visual analysis
under a microscope

that's a wee bit more powerful
than the ones in your
high school bio lab.

Ooh! Is that writing?

[Brent] That's writing.

[Josh] That's ink?
Right there?

[Brent] That is ink.

This fragment is actually
made up of multiple layers
all stuck together.

Wow, and there could be
writing on all
of those layers?

[Brent] Could be writing
on all of them,

but we can only see
the top ones, right?

Right, so we're gonna need
more tech than this.

[Brent] Yeah.

[Josh] The second fragment
is minuscule by comparison
to the first,

so Brent makes
a minor adjustment.

[Brent] Look at that.
That's probably...

I would think
that's maybe half of a Delta
if this is Greek.

That fragment is like
the size of an ant.

And yet,
there's writing on it.

This is like the ultimate
jigsaw puzzle.

It's terrifically difficult.

[Josh] Difficult
is an understatement.

Next, Brent brings
our two fragments
to a different station

for an X-ray fluorescence
spectrum analysis.

This test will break down
the specific elements

used for the ink
inside the fused scroll,

which will then
tell Brent how to read it.

So we're gonna shoot
X-rays of this thing.
Is that right?

That's right.

This allows us to map
composition of our sample.

Elemental composition
across a wide area.

So should I stand back
from this thing?

No, you're safe enough
out here on the other side
of the steel.

Yeah, that's what
they all say, and then...

"Hulk smash."

Here we go.

[beeps]

So now we're scanning
across the scroll's surface.

[Josh] In short order,
the work is done.

So our scan's complete,

and you can see we have
our map encompassing
the entire fragment.

[Josh] And the areas
we previously identified
as writing

are particularly revealing.

The beautiful result there
is it correlates really well
with lead.

-Lead. Okay, so this ink
has lead in it.
-Mm-hmm.

And is that good news
in terms of the work

that you wanna do
with these fragments?

No.

It's great news, actually.

-Really?
-Yeah.

Yeah, because lead
is very dense.

In fact, you'll see
these X-ray machines
are shielded with lead.

Right.

So it gives you the ability
to see the ink using X-ray,

-unlike pretty much
any other element.
-[Josh] Wow.

I mean,
it's a fantastic result.

[Josh] Wow, okay.

Lead is the ideal ink base
for this process,

which will help us
reveal the writing

not only
on the outer layers
of the fragment,

but the ones
hidden beneath as well.

The next step from here
is to use X-ray

that penetrates
all the way through,

and, in fact, not just
two-dimensional X-ray,
but 3D X-ray.

We call it tomography.

-[Josh] Tomography?
-Yeah.

Okay, you got
a machine for that?

Oh yeah, we have
a big machine for that.

Josh, meet the Phoenix.

Okay, how powerful
are those X-rays?

Well, they can go through
metal, rock, an engine block.

-Me?
-You, easily.

-Anything?
-Anything.

Okay.

The scroll fragments
are placed in a special mount

to keep them rock steady
as the machine works

and then Brent secures
the shielded door.

Okay, we're gonna
fire the X-ray.

[Michael] Our detector
is live.

This is a live X-ray image?

And there's our sample holder.
And our fragment
is in here somewhere, yes?

Yes, the shadow you can see
is sort of outlined
right there.

[Josh] Okay.

As they rotate,
the samples are bombarded
with X-rays

from two powerful emitters.

The Phoenix creates thousands
of X-ray snapshots
from every angle,

which will be combined
to form 3D models
of the scroll fragments.

If everything works
as it should,

the end result will allow us
to virtually separate

the individual layers
of papyrus,

revealing lost writing
from Petra recorded
1,500 years ago.

[beeps]

After a matter of minutes,
we gather around a workstation
to view the results.

Okay, moment of truth.
You ready?

-Sure.
-[Josh] Let's see what we got.

Let's take a look
at the model.

Oh, look at that!

That is incredible.

And that's
fully manipulatable?

Yeah, so we can rotate
and see it from all angles.

[Josh] That's insane.

Professor Brent Seales
of the University of Kentucky
has just performed

a state of the art scan
of rare fragments

from a charred scroll
from the ancient city
of Petra.

We're hoping his new technique
will allow us to virtually
peel apart

the fragment's layers
for the first time.

So, yeah, you can
see the fibers.

If I circle around,
we come to the other side.

You can see a unique pattern
on the other side.

Right. And this here,
is this ink?

[Brent] Yeah, that's ink.

-[Josh] This is writing
right here?
-That's writing.

[Josh] That's really wild.

So now if we look
at the smaller fragment,

which we can peel back
and look at the inner
layers...

[Josh] Right.

The top layer matches
exactly what we saw

in the optical microscope
and in the XRF.

Right, we have this kind of,
you know, part of a letter
here maybe.

-Peel that away and you can
see the other piece--
-[Josh] That's underneath it?

[Brent] That's underneath,
that's a hidden layer, yeah.

-That's a hidden layer
with ink that's not visible?
-That's right.

-To the naked eye?
-Yeah.

So nobody has laid eyes
on this part of this fragment
or that ink, that writing,

in over a millennium.

It would be impossible.

[Josh] This is a huge win.

We've been able to separate
the layers of a scroll

that were literally
fused together by fire

and read the ink
on multiple layers.

We are the first people
to look at it right now.

That's time travel
right there.

It is, and if you think
about putting together
an entire row of text

and then an entire page,

we will be the first people
to read that.

[Josh] The fragments
we've deciphered here
are consistent with others

that Brent has run
through this new process.

The results can
already help us learn more

about the fate
of the Nabataeans

after being absorbed
by the Roman and then
Byzantine Empire.

So let's talk about
what's on these fragments.
What are we seeing here?

This is Greek.
It's the official language
of the Byzantine Empire.

It's what they were using,
this is not unexpected.

What is surprising is that
there are Greek translations
Of Arabic and Aramaic names

in that Greek-written
language.

[Josh] This discovery means
that the Nabataean language,
a distinct dialect of Aramaic,

was still in use
hundreds of years

after the fall
of the Nabataean kingdom.

So even though
what we're seeing
in these fragments is Greek,

they are clearly translating
these other languages

that are presumably
then being used still
in this place.

That's right, they haven't
left those languages behind.

-They've translated
those names into Greek.
-Right.

And so you can see
the influence of all three
of those languages.

Greek, Aramaic, and Arabic.

[Josh] Far from being crushed
by their conquerors,

Nabataean language and culture
appear to have endured later
into history.

We often ask this question,

"What happened
to the Nabataeans?
Where did they go?"

But it seems like maybe
they haven't gone anywhere,

they're just part
of the new culture.

[Brent] Yes,
what tells the story
is the language.

It's the crossroads,
and you can see it
in the language.

Right, we're seeing the people
themselves in this writing.

That's right.

And the Nabataeans
and their language
is still a part of that.

Yep, absolutely.

[Josh] And they
remain with us today.

Nabataean Aramaic
developed into modern Arabic,

which is not only spoken
by 400 million people,

but produced the system
of numbers that you and I
still use today.

So every time
you count to...
well, anything,

we have the Nabataeans
to thank for it.

The ink doesn't lie?

It does not.

[Josh] At their height,
the Nabataeans flourished

because of their skills
at survival.

They were, after all, a people
able to turn the desert green.

Now, after examining these
scroll fragments from Petra,

we see evidence
that the Nabataeans' culture
was just as resilient.

Even today, their language,
their mastery of the desert,
and their traditions

can be seen in the Bedouins
that still call Petra home.

As for the city's
original residents,

we now have the results
of Dr. Kinnaird's optically
stimulated luminescence test.

He was able to confirm
that the burial
under the Treasury

was likely from the first half
of the 1st century BC.

We also now have results
on the pottery which is dated
to the exact same time.

This means the Treasury above
must have been built
after this time period,

likely coinciding
with the reign of the powerful
Nabataean king, Aretas IV.

This is the strongest
evidence yet of the Treasury's
true age.

And there's more...

Surveys of the tomb show
that it is perfectly aligned
with the entrance to the Siq.

This is a clear indication
that our tomb was built
for an important family.

And quite possibly,
a royal one.

This points to one
distinct possibility
for the Treasury's purpose.

As the lavish
final resting place
of King Aretas IV.

Two thousand years
later, though,

it is a monument
not to a single man,

but to an entire
lost civilization,

which, it turns out,
isn't so lost after all.

So if you make your way
to Petra, and you should,

be sure to look up
at the stunning
rock-carved ruins,

but also down
because just beneath
your feet,

more answers and more wonders
are just waiting to be found.