Original subtitles

PETRA--

ONE OF THE GREATEST WONDERS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD.

ONCE A THRIVING CAPITAL CITY SURROUNDED BY DESERT,

HALF BUILT, HALF CARVED STRAIGHT FROM STONE CLIFFS.

WE'RE LOOKING AT A 2,000-YEAR OLD ENGINEERING FEAT

THAT IS NOTHING SHORT OF BRILLIANT.

THIS LANDSCAPE DEMANDS YOUR FULL ATTENTION.

BUT AT SOME POINT,

PETRA'S PEOPLE ABANDONED THIS JEWEL OF THE DESERT.

WHEN AND WHY HAVE LONG REMAINED A MYSTERY...

UNTIL NOW.

STARTLING NEW DISCOVERIES MAY FINALLY PIECE TOGETHER

THE RISE AND FALL OF PETRA'S PEOPLE...

WHO MAY HAVE PROSPERED FOR MUCH LONGER

THAN PREVIOUSLY BELIEVED.

AS MORE AND MORE EXCAVATION HAPPENS IN A PLACE LIKE PETRA,

YOU OF COURSE REVEAL NEW EVIDENCE ABOUT LIFE CONTINUING.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS ARE NOW REWRITING THE HISTORY

OF THIS MAJESTIC DESERT CITY.

THE RELICS OF THE PAST HOLD SECRETS...

WRITTEN IN GOLD, STONE AND BLOOD.

WE CAN UNLOCK THEM.

THESE ARE THE SECRETS OF HISTORY'S GREATEST TREASURES.

THE BARREN HIGHLANDS OF SOUTHERN JORDAN, 1812.

SWISS EXPLORER JOHANN BURCKHARDT

IS CHASING RUMORS OF AN ANCIENT LOST CITY.

AS HE REACHES THE FINAL BEND OF A NARROW, TWISTING GORGE...

HE BECOMES THE FIRST WESTERNER EVER TO LAY EYES

ON ONE OF THE MOST ASTONISHING STRUCTURES IN THE WORLD...

IT'S A STAGGERING 130 FEET HIGH.

OVER 2,000 YEARS OLD,

IT'S SCULPTED STRAIGHT FROM THE CLIFF.

Thomas Paradise: FOR BURCKHARDT THIS MUST HAVE BEEN

A STAGGERING SIGHT.

IT'S JUST SIMPLY INDESCRIBABLE.

UP CLOSE YOU REALIZE THE ELEMENTS ARE VERY DETAILED,

VERY, VERY FINELY CONSTRUCTED,

BUT IN THIS VERY MIXED, WONDERFUL STYLE,

THAT SORT OF ECLECTIC STYLE.

AND THEN TO REALIZE THAT THIS HAS ALL BEEN CARVED

FROM A SOLID ROCK FACE OF SANDSTONE

IS JUST, IS JUST REALLY AMAZING.

BUT THIS MESMERIZING FAÇADE IS JUST THE BEGINNING.

IT'S THE GATEWAY INTO AN ENTIRE ANCIENT METROPOLIS--

HALF BUILT, HALF SCULPTED FROM STONE.

IT'S THE LOST CITY OF PETRA.

FOR OVER 200 YEARS, PETRA HAS CAPTURED THE GLOBAL IMAGINATION

AS ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES.

OVER ONE SQUARE MILE OF RUINS--

TEMPLES...

A GREAT THEATER...

AND HUNDREDS OF TOMBS.

Christopher Tuttle: THERE IS NO PLACE

THAT HAS THE NATURAL BEAUTY,

THE HUMAN-MODIFIED BEAUTY AND THE LONGEVITY

QUITE THE WAY THAT YOU FIND IT HERE IN PETRA.

THIS LANDSCAPE DEMANDS YOUR FULL ATTENTION.

BUT IT ALSO HOLDS A MYSTERY

THAT HAS LONG PUZZLED HISTORIANS.

WHAT COULD HAVE LED SUCH A GRAND AND ELABORATE CITY

TO BE ABANDONED?

THOSE WHO FOUNDED PETRA WERE NOMADIC PAGAN PEOPLE

CALLED NABATEANS.

IN THE TIME BEFORE CHRIST,

THE AREA WE NOW KNOW AS THE MIDDLE EAST

WAS A PATCHWORK OF TRIBES...

AND THE NABATEANS WERE THE MOST POWERFUL.

AROUND 300 B.C. THEY FOUNDED PETRA,

WHICH WOULD GROW TO BECOME THEIR CAPITAL CITY.

FOR MOST PEOPLE, THIS LAND WOULD BE UNINHABITABLE.

IT GETS ONLY 4 INCHES OF RAIN PER YEAR.

BUT THE NABATEANS WERE GENIUSES AT WATER MANAGEMENT

AND TRANSFORMED THIS DESERT LANDSCAPE INTO AN OASIS.

Megan Perry: THE NABATEANS WERE AMAZING

IN TERMS OF THEIR ABILITY TO CONTROL WATER,

AND THEY WERE ABLE TO BUILD THIS CITY

ESSENTIALLY IN THE MIDDLE OF A VERY DRY DESERT

THAT HAD AS MANY AS 25,000 PEOPLE IN IT.

HISTORICAL RECORDS SHOW THE NABATEANS

TURNED PETRA INTO THE BUSTLING HUB

OF A GREAT NETWORK OF TRADE ROUTES

FOR PRECIOUS SPICES AND INCENSE.

IT WAS A CROSSROADS CITY

WITH PEOPLE TRAVELING NORTH AND SOUTH, EAST AND WEST.

I MEAN, THIS WAS A CAPITAL CITY,

IT MUST HAVE BEEN NOT ONLY A CITY OF GREAT PRIDE

BUT ALSO A CITY OF POWER.

BUT THAT STATUS DIDN'T LAST.

TODAY THE CITY LIES LONG ABANDONED.

SO HOW AND WHEN DID THE NABATEANS' LUCK RUN OUT?

NOW, AFTER DECADES OF INVESTIGATION,

A TEAM OF EXPERTS IS BEGINNING

WHY DID PETRA'S PEOPLE DESERT THEIR CAPITAL CITY?

A FIRST CLUE COULD BE HIDDEN IN

ITS ROCK FAÇADES.

EXCAVATIONS REVEALED THAT THESE MAJESTIC CLIFFSIDE STRUCTURES

WERE ACTUALLY COMMUNAL GRAVES.

SO IF YOU'RE IN THE CENTER OF THE CITY,

YOU'RE SURROUNDED BY FAÇADES THAT ARE ACTUALLY PART OF TOMBS.

NOW, ONE CAN ASSUME THAT PETRA WAS ACTUALLY A NECROPOLIS.

BUT IN FACT IT WAS A LIVING, THRIVING CITY,

FILLED WITH PEOPLE WHO REALLY DIDN'T CARE SO MUCH

THAT THE DEAD WERE LIVING IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO THEM.

BUT DATING THE POTTERY AND ARTIFACTS

FOUND INSIDE THE TOMBS

THEY ALL STOPPED BEING USED AROUND 100 A.D.

SO THE FACT THAT THE ARTIFACTS IN THESE TOMBS

DATE NO LATER THAN THE FIRST CENTURY A.D.

WOULD SUGGESTS PERHAPS THAT SOMETHING HAPPENED

TO THE POPULATION OF PETRA AROUND THAT TIME.

A MASS OF GRAVES IN AN ABANDONED CITY...

WITH NO SIGN OF ANY NEW BURIAL AFTER 100 A.D.

IS THIS EVIDENCE THAT A CATASTROPHIC EVENT

HIT PETRA AND ITS PEOPLE

AROUND 400 YEARS AFTER THE CITY WAS FOUNDED?

THE ANSWER TO THIS APOCALYPTIC QUESTION

MAY LIE IN SOME OF THE SMALLEST FRAGMENTS OF ARCHAEOLOGY

THE TEETH OF THE DEAD!

OVER 2,000 YEARS AGO,

PETRA WAS A THRIVING CAPITAL CITY IN THE ARABIAN DESERT.

BUT AT SOME POINT, ITS INHABITANTS--

THE NABATEANS--DISAPPEARED.

EXPERTS HAVE ESTABLISHED

THAT ALL BURIALS CEASED INSIDE THE CITY AROUND 100 A.D.

COULD THIS BE EVIDENCE OF A CATACLYSMIC EVENT

THAT ANNIHILATED ITS PEOPLE?

AT THE UNIVERSITY OF EAST CAROLINA,

BIOARCHAEOLOGIST DR. MEGAN PERRY AND HER TEAM

ARE EXAMINING THE REMAINS FROM SOME OF PETRA'S TOMBS.

SO ONE OF THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS THAT WE HAD

WAS WHETHER OR NOT WE SAW ANY SIGNS OF DISEASE

THAT COULD EXPLAIN PERHAPS THE DEMISE

OF PEOPLE LIVING IN PETRA.

AND KEY EVIDENCE COULD LIE...IN THEIR TEETH.

BY COUNTING THE LAYERS OF BONY MATERIAL

THAT FIXES TEETH TO THE JAW-- KNOWN AS CEMENTUM--

THEY CAN ESTIMATE HOW OLD THESE NABATEANS WERE

AT THEIR TIME OF DEATH.

CEMENTUM, WHICH IS THE OUTER LAYER OF THE TOOTH ROOT,

GETS LAID DOWN EVERY YEAR, SORT OF LIKE TREE RINGS DO.

SO IF WE COUNT THE LAYERS OF CEMENTUM WITHIN THE TOOTH ROOT,

WE CAN GET AN IDEA OF HOW MANY YEARS HAVE PASSED

SINCE THAT TOOTH ROOT FORMED

AND THEN GET AN AGE OF THAT INDIVIDUAL WHEN THEY DIED.

IN THE ANCIENT WORLD, THE MOST DEATHS OCCURRED

CLOSE TO BIRTH OR FROM THE EFFECTS OF OLD AGE.

A TOMB WITH DEATHS AT ALL AGES, INCLUDING TEENAGERS AND ADULTS,

COULD BE THE SIGN OF A MASS CATASTROPHE OR PLAGUE.

BUT WHEN THE TEAM COMPILED THEIR DATA...

THEY DISCOVERED THAT THESE WERE TYPICAL BURIALS,

MOSTLY VERY YOUNG AND VERY OLD.

SO THE RESULTS BASED ON THE EVIDENCE

OF DISEASE IN THE BONES AND CEMENTOCHRONOLOGY ANALYSIS

SHOWS THAT THIS IS A NORMAL CEMETERY,

THESE PEOPLE WERE NOT KILLED OFF BY ANY MASS EVENT.

THE RESULTS SUGGEST THE NABATEANS

WERE NOT VICTIMS OF PLAGUE OR OF ANY OTHER FORM OF TRAGEDY

AROUND 100 A.D.

SO WHY DID THEY STOP BURYING THEIR DEAD

IN PETRA'S ROCK FACE TOMBS?

BACK IN THE ANCIENT CITY, ARCHAEOLOGIST DR. CHRIS TUTTLE

SEES EVIDENCE IN THE ARCHITECTURE

THAT LIFE IN PETRA WAS GOING THROUGH A MONUMENTAL CHANGE.

ONE OF THE MOST IMPRESSIVE BUILDINGS WE SEE

WHEN WE VISIT PETRA TODAY IS THIS THEATER.

THE THEATER WAS BUILT BY THE NABATEANS

AT THE TURN OF THE MILLENNIUM.

BUT THERE ARE INDICATIONS OF ANOTHER CULTURAL INFLUENCE

IN THIS BUILDING.

FOR EXPERTS, THE DESIGN OF THE THEATER

IS UNMISTAKABLE--

ITS SERIES OF ARCS AND STAGE OF COLUMNS

BELONG TO A STYLE CALLED VITRUVIAN,

NAMED AFTER THE CLASSICAL ITALIAN ARCHITECT...

WHICH CAN MEAN ONLY ONE THING.

THESE ARE UNMISTAKABLY ROMAN INFLUENCE.

OVER DECADES, THE EVER-EXPANDING ROMAN EMPIRE

HAD SURROUNDED THE NABATEAN KINGDOM,

AND IN 106 A.D., THE ROMANS

CLAIMED THE JEWEL OF TRADE AND WEALTH THAT WAS PETRA

AS THEIR OWN.

BUT THIS COIN DATED FIVE YEARS LATER

SHOWS ON ONE SIDE THE ROMAN EMPEROR

AND ON THE OTHER A TYPICAL NABATEAN FIGURE

WITH THE SLOGAN "ACQUIRED," NOT CONQUERED...

MAKING CLEAR THAT THOUGH THE ROMANS WERE NOW IN CHARGE,

THE NABATEANS STAYED PUT.

ROMAN CONTROL EXTENDED

EVEN OVER HOW THE NABATEANS SHOULD BURY THEIR DEAD.

THEIR ANNEXATION OF PETRA

COINCIDES WITH THE APPROXIMATE DATE

THE NABATEANS STOPPED USING THE CITY'S TOMBS.

THE ROMANS ARE VERY PARTICULAR

ABOUT HAVING ANYTHING RELATED TO DEATH AND BURIAL AND CORPSES

ASSOCIATED WITH THE CITY WHERE PEOPLE ARE LIVING.

IT'S CONSIDERED RATHER POLLUTING.

SO THE FACT THAT THE TOMBS WERE NOT OF USE

AT THE END OF THE FIRST CENTURY A.D.

IS PROBABLY NOT SO MUCH A SIGN

THAT THE POPULATION STOPPED LIVING IN PETRA,

BUT REALLY THAT THE ROMANS IMPLEMENTED

THEIR VERY STRICT RULES

REGARDING THE TREATMENT OF THE CORPSE

AND WHERE BODIES SHOULD BE BURIED.

THE ROMANS MAY HAVE FORCED THE NABATEANS

TO CHANGE SOME OF THEIR CUSTOMS...

BUT RECORDS SUGGEST THAT PETRA CONTINUED TO THRIVE.

YET THERE IS EVIDENCE THAT THE CITY'S LONG-TERM FUTURE

WAS FAR FROM SECURE.

EVEN THE POWERFUL ROMAN EMPIRE COULDN'T PROTECT PETRA

FROM A NATURAL DISASTER THAT MANY SCHOLARS BELIEVE

IS THE PRIME SUSPECT

THE GREAT EARTHQUAKE OF 363 A.D.

HISTORIC RECORDS AND GEOLOGIC EVIDENCE INDICATE

THAT PETRA WAS HIT BY A MASSIVE EARTHQUAKE...

SOMETHING ON SCALE TODAY AT A RICHTER 8 OR 9 OR GREATER.

EARTHQUAKES OF THIS INTENSITY

HAVE CATASTROPHIC EFFECTS.

IN 2010, A MAGNITUDE 8.8 QUAKE STRUCK CHILE,

KILLING HUNDREDS AND PARALYZING MUCH OF THE COUNTRY.

RECORDS SUGGEST ALMOST 2,000 YEARS EARLIER

PETRA SUFFERED A SIMILAR FATE.

THAT MAGNITUDE OF AN EARTHQUAKE

WOULD HAVE CAUSED CATASTROPHIC ROCK FALLS,

I MEAN, RUBBLE WOULD HAVE BEEN DASHING AND FALLING AND BOUNCING

ACROSS THE VALLEY...

VERY MUCH LIKE THE LARGE TOPPLE OR CLIFF COLLAPSE

THAT WE SEE RIGHT HERE.

HUGE, MASSIVE CHUNKS OF ROCK.

IT WOULD HAVE BEEN FELT,

AND IT WOULD HAVE BEEN HEARD THROUGHOUT THE REGION.

RECORDS SHOW THE DISASTER

LEFT MANY SURROUNDING CITIES LIKE JERUSALEM AND NAZARETH

SHATTERED.

IT WOULD BE VERY EASY TO ASSUME

THAT THIS WAS THE END OF PETRA.

DID THIS EARTHQUAKE CAUSE THE DEMISE

OF PETRA AND ITS PEOPLE?

SALAAM.

DR. CHRIS TUTTLE DOESN'T THINK SO.

HE'S UNCOVERED EVIDENCE OF PETRA STILL THRIVING

LONG AFTER THE DATE OF THE EARTHQUAKE.

IN AN AREA SOUTHWEST OF THE CITY,

HE AND HIS TEAM MAPPED OUT ANCIENT WALLS.

THEY COULD INVESTIGATE THE SITE LIKE NEVER BEFORE...

THANKS TO SATELLITE IMAGERY.

USING THE SATELLITE IMAGERY

ENABLES US TO GET A MUCH BROADER PERSPECTIVE ON THE LANDSCAPE

THAN WE CAN JUST WALKING ACROSS THE LAND.

WHAT THEY FOUND WAS STAGGERING.

HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT

WAS A MYSTERIOUS LARGE RECTANGULAR FEATURE,

THE SIZE OF TWO OLYMPIC SWIMMING POOLS.

IT'S SO LARGE

THAT WHEN YOU'RE WALKING ACROSS THE LAND ITSELF

YOU'RE NOT EVEN NECESSARILY AWARE

THAT YOU'RE WALKING ON A MONUMENT.

ONCE WE FOUND THIS FEATURE, WE KNEW

THE ONLY WAY WE COULD ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT WE HAD FOUND

WAS TO GO AND VISIT IT OURSELVES.

THE FEATURE WOULD HOLD KEY EVIDENCE

OF HOW LIFE EVOLVED IN PETRA BEYOND THE 363 EARTHQUAKE.

SO WE'RE ON OUR WAY TO SEE THE MONUMENTAL PLATFORM.

THE CRAZY THING IS,

IS THAT IT'S ONLY 800 METERS FROM THE CITY CENTER,

BUT THE TOPOGRAPHY OF PETRA, IT'S SO MOUNTAINOUS

THAT WE HAVE TO TAKE A 4-BY-4

AND TAKE ABOUT 30 MINUTES TO DRIVE OUT THERE.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE SUGGESTS

THAT ON THE PLATFORM WAS A BUILDING

THAT THE NABATEANS USED TO PERFORM THEIR PAGAN RITUALS.

THE EARLY INVESTIGATIONS OF THIS MONUMENT

INTERPRET THIS AS A TEMPLE,

AND THAT'S A VERY LIKELY POSSIBILITY.

SO YOU'D ENTER THE BUILDING FROM THE EAST SIDE,

SO THAT THE ORIENTATION WAS TOWARD THE WEST,

WHICH WOULD BE VERY TYPICAL OF THE NABATEAN PERIOD.

BUT IT SEEMS THAT AT SOME POINT,

THIS TEMPLE AND ITS EAST-FACING FRONT DOOR WERE ALTERED.

A DOOR WAS PUT INTO THE WEST SIDE,

SO YOU WOULD HAVE ENTERED FROM THE WEST SIDE,

AND THE FOCUS WOULD HAVE BEEN TOWARD THE EAST.

HERE WE HAVE THE EMBEDDED PORTION OF ONE COLUMN DRUM,

AND OVER THERE ARE FRAGMENTS OF A SECOND,

SUGGESTING THAT THE DOORWAY

WAS FLANKED BY A COLUMN ON EACH SIDE.

THIS WOULD SUGGEST THAT IT POSSIBLY WAS TURNED

INTO A CHRISTIAN CHAPEL.

THE WEST-FACING ENTRANCE

IS TYPICAL OF CHRISTIAN TRADITION.

AFTER THE DEVASTATING EARTHQUAKE,

CHRISTIANITY SPREAD QUICKLY ACROSS THE REGION.

AND THESE RUINS SUGGEST THE NABATEANS

NOT ONLY STAYED IN PETRA AFTER THE 363 DISASTER,

THEY EMBRACED THE NEW FAITH.

Glenn Corbett: AS MORE AND MORE EXCAVATION HAPPENS

IN A PLACE LIKE PETRA,

YOU OF COURSE REVEAL NEW EVIDENCE ABOUT LIFE CONTINUING.

AND IT WASN'T JUST A CITY THAT DIED OUT

AFTER A VERY DRAMATIC, EXCEPTIONAL EARTHQUAKE,

BUT ACTUALLY WE KNOW THINGS CONTINUED,

AND NEW RELIGIONS DEVELOPED.

SOME SCHOLARS BELIEVE THAT THE APOCALYPTIC QUAKE

MAY HAVE FELT LIKE A SIGN FROM GOD,

INSPIRING THE NABATEANS TO CONVERT TO CHRISTIANITY.

CONTRARY TO POPULAR BELIEF,

THE 363 QUAKE DID NOT KILL OFF PETRA.

SO HOW LONG DID THE NABATEANS LIVE AND THRIVE

IN THEIR CAPITAL?

NOW A STARTLING NEW DISCOVERY HAS REVEALED LIFE IN PETRA

CONTINUED FOR CENTURIES LONGER

THAN EXPERTS PREVIOUSLY BELIEVED.

IT'S A FIND THAT REWRITES THE HISTORY

OF THIS MONUMENTAL DESERT CITY.

THE ANCIENT CITY OF PETRA

IS A TESTAMENT TO THE INGENUITY OF ITS CREATORS--THE NABATEANS.

NOW EXPERTS ARE TRYING TO SOLVE THE MYSTERY

OF WHAT LED THE NABATEANS TO DESERT IT.

THEY'VE ESTABLISHED THAT THE CITY

OVERCAME A GREAT EARTHQUAKE IN 363 A.D.,

AND NOW NEW EVIDENCE HAS REVEALED THAT IT THRIVED

FOR CENTURIES LONGER THAN PREVIOUSLY BELIEVED.

IT WAS DISCOVERED BY DR. ZBIG FIEMA,

WHO SPENT FOUR YEARS EXCAVATING

ONE OF PETRA'S CHURCHES...

JUST NORTH OF THE CITY CENTER.

HIDDEN IN THE BACK ROOM, BADLY DAMAGED BY FIRE,

WAS A ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME DISCOVERY.

Zbigniew Fiema: THE ROOM WAS COMPLETELY FILLED

WITH STONES AND SOIL, ALMOST FOUR METERS HIGH.

AND IT WAS ONLY AT THE BOTTOM, DIRECTLY ON THE FLOOR

WHERE WE FOUND A STRANGE-LOOKING MATERIAL

WHICH SORT OF FLAKED OFF.

WE SIMPLY DIDN'T KNOW WHAT IT WAS.

WE ALSO FOUND QUITE A LOT OF CHARCOAL.

SO WE REALIZED THAT IN THIS PLACE

THERE MUST HAVE BEEN SOME WOODEN ELEMENT.

THERE WAS A BOOKCASE HERE IN THE CORNER,

AND THE BOOKCASE ITSELF TWISTED...

FELL TO THE FLOOR

AND SPILLED OUT THE MYSTERIOUS MATERIAL.

BUT UPON PICKING UP SOME FRAGMENTS, WE REALIZED

THAT THERE IS SOMETHING WRITTEN ON THIS MATERIAL.

THEY HAD JUST FOUND THE FIRE-DAMAGED REMAINS

OF OVER 140 ANCIENT PAPYRUS SCROLLS--

MOST MIRACULOUSLY STILL LEGIBLE.

BUT THEY COULD DISINTEGRATE AT ANY MOMENT.

DESPERATE TO CONSERVE AND DECODE THE TEXTS,

AN INTERNATIONAL TEAM OF EXPERTS WERE ASSEMBLED

AT THE AMERICAN CENTER OF ORIENTAL RESEARCH

IN AMMAN, JORDAN.

MOST OF THE PAPYRI AT THE MOMENT OF DISCOVERY

BASICALLY LOOKED LIKE FAT CIGARS,

OR SOMETIMES THEY WERE SQUASHED

OR SOMETIMES THEY WERE JUST CLUSTERS OF SUBJECT ELEMENTS.

SO THE FINNISH CONSERVATORS EMPLOYED

THE VERY CAREFUL DETACHMENT OF LAYER AFTER LAYER

OF THE ACTUAL DOCUMENTS

AND PASTING THEM ON THE JAPANESE PAPER.

THEY WOULD HAVE CREATED A CONTINUOUS TEXT.

UNRAVELING THESE CARBONIZED SCROLLS

AND DECIPHERING THE JET-BLACK WRITING TOOK YEARS.

FOR THE CENTER'S CURRENT DIRECTOR, DR. BARBARA PORTER,

IT'S A REMARKABLE FEAT OF SALVAGE.

Barbara Porter: IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT THESE PLATES,

EACH ONE IS SANDWICHED BY GLASS.

IT TOOK A MILE WORTH OF GLASS

TO SANDWICH ALL OF THESE DOCUMENTS.

BUT THE RESULT OFFERED SOMETHING NEVER SEEN BEFORE--

AN EXTRAORDINARY GLIMPSE

CONTRACTS, WILLS, LAND DEEDS, RECORDS OF DOWRIES...

ALL DATED FROM THE 6th CENTURY A.D.

QUITE A NUMBER OF THE 140 DOCUMENTS

ARE FAIRLY WELL DATED.

SO 537, AND YOU GO ALL THE WAY TO THIS ONE,

WHICH HAS THIS DATE OF 593.

THIS IS A UNIQUE FIND.

THIS HAS BASICALLY REWRITTEN THE 6th CENTURY OF PETRA,

BECAUSE NOBODY KNEW WHO THE PEOPLE WERE,

WHAT KINDS OF PROPERTY THEY HAD,

EVEN THE DETAILS OF WHAT THINGS COST,

HOW PEOPLE DID TRANSACTIONS,

ON A DAILY BASIS ALMOST IN SOME CASES.

SOME MENTION A MAN CALLED THEODOROS

AND HIS FATHER OBODIANOS--

TYPICAL NABATEAN NAMES.

THIS DOCUMENT IS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT

AND DEALS WITH THEODOROS

AND HIS MARRIAGE TO HIS FIRST COUSIN STEPHANOUS.

HER DOWRY INCLUDED LIKE 3.5 POUNDS OF GOLD

AND 3.5 POUNDS OF EQUIVALENT OF HER GOODS.

SO AGAIN IT SHOWS THE ECONOMIC LEVEL OF THESE PEOPLE,

OF THESE CHURCH ELITE.

IT'S CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE

THAT OVER 200 YEARS AFTER THE 363 EARTHQUAKE

THE NABATEANS WERE STILL IN PETRA,

AND THEY WERE THRIVING.

WHAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT ABOUT THE PAPYRI

IS THE AMOUNT OF INFORMATION

ABOUT MORE OR LESS ORDINARY PEOPLE OF THE HIGHER CLASSES.

BY THE 6th CENTURY, PETRA IS STILL AN IMPORTANT CIVIC CENTER.

IT'S A REVELATION

THAT IS REWRITING THE HISTORY OF THIS HARDY CITY.

ITS PEOPLE OVERCAME ROMAN OCCUPATION IN 106

AND THE GREAT EARTHQUAKE OF 363...

AND REMAINED HERE AT LEAST TO THE LATE 6th CENTURY...

MUCH LONGER THAN PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT.

SO WHAT WAS THE KEY TO THEIR RESILIENCE?

IT WOULD SEEM THAT PETRA THRIVED THANKS TO THE NABATEANS' SKILL

IN MANAGING THE SCARCE RESOURCE OF WATER.

THE NABATEANS' STORAGE AND IRRIGATION SYSTEM

WAS AN INCREDIBLE MARVEL OF ENGINEERING.

A COMPLEX NETWORK OF CISTERNS,

DAMS AND CHANNELS...

HARNESSED WATER FROM DESERT SPRINGS

AND ITS 4 INCHES OF ANNUAL RAINFALL

TO MAINTAIN A YEAR-ROUND WATER SUPPLY.

PETRA IS LOCATED

IN ONE OF THE MOST INHOSPITABLE AND DIFFICULT REGIONS

TO PLACE A CITY THAT I'VE EVER ENCOUNTERED.

AT ITS HEIGHT THIS CITY

IS BELIEVED TO HAVE HOUSED 30,000 PEOPLE,

WITH NATIVE WATER RESOURCES SUFFICIENT

FOR MAYBE 2,000 TO 3,000 PEOPLE.

AND IT'S A TESTAMENT TO THE RESILIENCE OF THE NABATEANS

AND THEIR INGENUITY

THAT THEY COULD MODIFY THE LANDSCAPE

TO MEET THEIR NEEDS.

WE'D BE HARD PRESSED IN THE 21st CENTURY

TO BE ABLE TO CREATE A CITY THAT WAS SUSTAINABLE

AND LIVE VERY WELL.

GEOSCIENTIST DR. TOM PARADISE

HAS SPENT 25 YEARS STUDYING THIS INTRICATE SYSTEM...

WHICH ALL STARTED AT THE HILLTOPS.

DOZENS OF RESERVOIRS, DOTTING THE LANDSCAPE AROUND THE CITY,

CAPTURED AND STORED EVERY LAST DROP OF WINTER RAIN.

THE HIGHEST PLACE IN THE AREA IN THE VALLEY,

WE HAVE A CISTERN

THAT WAS ABLE TO COLLECT WATER FROM THE WHOLE SUMMIT AREA.

IT WAS THIS SUCCESSFUL IN HOLDING WATER

THAT WE CAN SEE HOW HIGH AND RICH THE WATER WAS

THAT WAS BEING COLLECTED.

WATER THEN FLOWED DOWN INTO THE CITY...

THROUGH A MASSIVE CRISSCROSS OF CHANNELS.

THESE TERRACOTTA PIPES

WOULD HAVE BEEN COVERED, TUBED AND CONNECTED ALL THE WAY DOWN.

THESE ARE VERY, VERY MUCH LIKE THE EXACT SAME TERRACOTTA PIPES

WE USE ACROSS THE PLANET 2,000 YEARS LATER.

AND WE HAVE MORE THAN A HUNDRED MILES

OF THESE CHANNELS THROUGHOUT PETRA

WHERE THE WATER WOULD HAVE BEEN FED INTO THE CITY

VERY, VERY SLOWLY,

STORED AGAIN IN A SERIES OF CISTERNS.

ALSO, IF YOU NOTICE THAT THEY'RE NOT VERY STEEPLY ANGLED,

IT'S A VERY GENTLE ANGLE.

IF IT'S TOO STEEP, THE WATER

WOULD RUSH THROUGH TOO QUICKLY AND BACK UP,

AND IF IT'S TOO FLAT,

THE DELIVERY OF THE WATER INTO THEIR VERY CISTERNS

WOULD BE TOO SLOW.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION HAS REVEALED

THE SYSTEM PROVIDED PETRA

WITH A STUNNING 12 MILLION GALLONS OF WATER PER DAY...

ANSWERING ALL OF ITS DOMESTIC AND AGRICULTURAL NEEDS.

THERE WAS EVEN ENOUGH WATER FOR A 140-FOOT PUBLIC SWIMMING POOL

IN THE ROYAL GARDENS--

AN UNPARALLELED LUXURY IN THE MIDDLE OF A DESERT.

YEAH, WE'RE LOOKING

AT A 2,000-YEAR OLD ENGINEERING FEAT

THAT IS NOTHING SHORT OF BRILLIANT.

BUT PARADISE BELIEVES THIS FEAT OF ENGINEERING

ALSO HOLDS A DARK SECRET...

ONE THAT MAY FINALLY SOLVE THE MYSTERY

OF WHAT HAPPENED TO PETRA AND ITS PEOPLE.

THE NABATEANS' INGENUITY

IN MANAGING PRECIOUS WATER RESOURCES

MAY HAVE ALSO LED TO THEIR DOWNFALL.

EXPERTS HAVE BEEN TRYING TO UNLOCK THE MYSTERY

OF WHY PETRA'S PEOPLE-- THE NABATEANS--

DESERTED THEIR CITY.

THEY'VE ESTABLISHED THAT PETRA ACTUALLY SURVIVED

A DEVASTATING EARTHQUAKE THAT MANY BELIEVED HAD DESTROYED IT.

BUT DR. TOM PARADISE HAS FOUND NEW EVIDENCE

THAT THE CITY MAY HAVE BEEN THE VICTIM

OF ANOTHER FORM OF CATASTROPHE.

ALONG PETRA'S COLONNADED MAIN STREET...

A TEAM OF ARCHAEOLOGISTS INVESTIGATING A LINE OF SHOPS

CAME ACROSS SOMETHING PUZZLING.

WHAT THEY UNCOVERED

WAS THESE MASSIVE BEDS OF A VERY WHITE SANDSTONE.

THIS IS THE BRICK RED SAND,

THAT'S MUCH MORE CHARACTERISTIC OF THE LOWER PART OF THE VALLEY.

THIS WAS THE WHITE MATERIAL FOUND IN THE SHOPS.

THIS CHARACTERISTIC WHITE SAND DOESN'T BELONG HERE.

THE TEAM HAD FOUND WHITE SAND

IN A VALLEY EXCLUSIVELY OF RED ROCK.

HOW COULD THIS BE?

PARADISE AND HIS TEAM TRIED TO MAKE SENSE OF THE MYSTERY.

WE REALIZED IT HAD THE PARTICLE SIZE,

THE COLOR, TEXTURE, EVERYTHING THE SAME

AS THE DISI SANDSTONE THAT WE SEE ACROSS THE VALLEY

AND AT THE TOP OF THE HILL OVER THERE.

THIS STARTED A LONGER INQUIRY THAT WOULD LEAD US TO CONCLUDE

THAT PETRA MAY HAVE LITERALLY BEEN HIT

BY A MASSIVE, MASSIVE FLOOD.

BUT PETRA IS AT THE HEART

OF ONE OF THE DRIEST REGIONS ON EARTH.

IS IT EVEN POSSIBLE THAT A MOMENTOUS FLOOD

COULD HAVE DRIVEN ITS PEOPLE TO LEAVE?

SURPRISINGLY, ISOLATED FLASH FLOODS

ARE NOT UNKNOWN IN THE DESERT.

DURING THE WET SEASON, BETWEEN NOVEMBER AND MARCH,

RAIN CAN BE SO HEAVY

THAT PETRA'S ROCKY GROUND CAN'T SOAK UP THE WATER.

INSTEAD, THE EXCESS POURS INTO THE VALLEY,

CARRYING WITH IT SAND AND DEBRIS FROM THE HILLTOPS...

AND THE POTENTIAL FOR TRAGEDY.

IN 1963, A MASSIVE FLOOD RAGING DOWN PETRA'S MAIN ENTRANCE--

THE SIQ-- KILLED 22 VISITORS.

COULD A FLOOD HAVE BEEN BIG ENOUGH

TO DECIMATE THE WHOLE CITY?

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE HAS REVEALED IT WAS A THREAT

THE NABATEANS WERE ALL TOO AWARE OF 2,000 YEARS AGO.

THEY KNEW IT WAS ESSENTIAL TO KEEP THE SIQ DRY,

AS IT WAS THEIR MAIN CONNECTION TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD.

AND THEY CREATED A TUNNEL

TO REDIRECT ANY POTENTIAL EXCESS RAINFALL.

WHAT WAS ACTUALLY A BRILLIANT PLAN

WAS THAT THE TUNNEL WAS CREATED

TO DIVERT THE WATER FROM THE MAIN SIQ.

SO THE PRIMARY CORRIDOR

INTO THE MAIN CITY

WOULD HAVE BEEN KEPT

FREE OF WATER

DURING EPISODIC RAINS

AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

IT WAS FOOLPROOF ENGINEERING...OR WAS IT?

FOR PARADISE, THERE IS A VITAL CLUE IN THE CEILING,

EVIDENCE THAT AT SOME POINT SOMETHING WENT HORRIBLY WRONG.

A CRUCIAL PART OF THIS FLOOD DEFENSE COLLAPSED IN ON ITSELF.

IF YOU LOOK UP,

YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE'S A HUGE PANEL IN THE CEILING

THAT HAS ACTUALLY FALLEN OUT AND IS GONE.

AND THAT WOULD HAVE COLLAPSED HERE, CAUSING MASSIVE BLOCKAGE.

I JUST NOTICED RIGHT UP ABOVE, THERE'S FANTASTIC EXAMPLES

OF THE ORIGINAL STONE DRESSING MARKS.

YOU CAN SEE WHERE THE DRESSING MARKS ACTUALLY STOP,

INDICATING EXACTLY WHERE THE COLLAPSE BEGAN.

I'VE NEVER NOTICED THAT BEFORE.

IT'S FANTASTIC.

THIS TUNNEL--

DESIGNED TO DIVERT WATER AWAY FROM THE SIQ--

WAS NOW PARTIALLY BLOCKED.

IN THE EVENT OF TORRENTIAL RAIN,

IT WOULD BECOME A NEW AND POWERFUL THREAT TO THE CITY.

AT THE TUNNEL'S ENTRANCE, PARADISE SPOTS CLEAR EVIDENCE

THAT AT SOME POINT WATER WAS MASSIVELY BACKED UP...

IN A RECIPE FOR DISASTER.

THE FAR SIDE OF THE CHANNEL

IS COMPLETELY SCOURED CLEAN.

SO THE WATER WOULD HAVE BEEN RUSHING DOWN THE CHANNEL...

IS BACKED UP BY THE OBSTRUCTION IN THE TUNNEL,

AND IT'S RISING TO THE POINT

THAT IT STARTS TO SCOUR THE SIDE WALLS,

AND THEN LITERALLY TOPS THE BANK WAY, WAY UP THERE,

AND YOU CAN SEE WHERE IT'S ALL ROUNDED.

WE'RE LOOKING AT 5, 6, 7 METERS OF FLOOD WATER

JUST AT THIS POINT,

AND THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN AN EXTRAORDINARY AMOUNT OF WATER.

THROUGH COMPUTER MODELING,

PARADISE USED THESE HEIGHTS AND THE DIMENSIONS OF THE TUNNEL

TO MEASURE THE FLOOD WATER'S DESTRUCTIVE POTENTIAL.

HE BELIEVES THE RESULTING DELUGE WOULD HAVE BEEN STRONG ENOUGH

TO PROPEL BOULDERS WEIGHING UP TO 6 TONS--

THE EQUIVALENT OF THREE FAMILY CARS--

FORCING THEM DOWN THE DIVERSION TUNNEL

BEFORE CRASHING INTO THE COLONNADED MAIN STREET,

WITH WAVES UP TO 12 FEET IN HEIGHT.

AND THERE IS CRUCIAL EVIDENCE

OF WHERE THE RAGING WATERS WENT NEXT.

WHAT WE NOTICED

WAS THIS VERY DISTINCTIVE PATTERN OF MISSING STONE.

WE REALIZE THAT THE WATER WAS REMOVING THAT MATERIAL.

WHERE THE PAVEMENT STONES ARE INTACT, DOWN THE ROAD,

WE ASSUME THAT THE WATER THEN HAD JUMPED THE CHANNEL

AND HAD GONE TO THE OTHER SIDE.

PARADISE BELIEVES THE MISSING PAVING STONES

MAP OUT THE ROUTE OF THE MASS FLOW OF WATER

AS IT SLALOMED OVER THE MAIN STREET,

SWEEPING EVERYTHING IN ITS PATH.

WE'RE PRETTY COMFORTABLE

IN ESTIMATING THEIR SPEED AT ABOUT 7 TO 12 MILES PER HOUR.

AND THAT'S FAST ENOUGH TO MAKE IT VERY DIFFICULT TO OUTRUN IT.

THAT WATER WOULD HAVE COME RUSHING THROUGH HERE,

BUILT UP GREAT HEIGHT,

RUSHED UP OVER THE SIDE OF THE BANK,

CRASHED INTO THE FAR CITY WALL,

DEPOSITING THE WHITE SAND FROM THE UPPER PART OF PETRA

AS IT WENT ALONG THE WAY,

BOUNCING, CRASHING, BOUNCING, CRASHING,

ALL THE WAY DOWN THE MAIN ROAD OF PETRA.

IT MAY HAVE TAKEN SOME PEOPLE IN ITS WAKE.

IT WOULD HAVE DEVASTATED AND RAZED EVERYTHING RIGHT HERE.

SO THIS ADDS A WHOLE NEW TWIST ON PETRA'S HISTORY.

IF PARADISE'S CALCULATIONS ARE CORRECT,

THE FLOOD WOULD HAVE COVERED THE STREET

WITH UP TO 16 FEET OF SAND AND DEBRIS.

IT WOULD BE ENOUGH TO LAY WASTE TO MANY A CITY...

BUT DID IT SPELL THE END FOR PETRA?

THE COLONNADED STREET AGAIN HOLDS A FINAL CLUE.

COINS FOUND ABOVE AND BELOW THE WHITE SAND AND SEDIMENT

BROUGHT BY THE FLOOD

ALL DATE TO THE END OF THE 4th CENTURY A.D.,

JUST DECADES AFTER THE CALAMITOUS 363 EARTHQUAKE.

BUT THE SCROLLS FOUND AT PETRA CHURCH

SHOW THAT LIFE CONTINUED HERE TO AT LEAST THE 6th CENTURY.

THE FLOOD MAY HAVE TEMPORARILY PARALYZED THE CITY,

BUT IT APPEARS IT DID NOT PUSH ITS PEOPLE AWAY.

IT IS YET FURTHER PROOF OF THE NABATEANS' RESILIENCE.

THE MYSTERY OF THE FALL OF PETRA STILL NEEDS TO BE SOLVED.

IT WASN'T THE EARTHQUAKE OF 363

AND IT WASN'T THE GREAT FLOOD,

SO THE BIG QUESTION NOW REMAINS.

WHAT BROUGHT THE LEGENDARY CITY OF PETRA TO ITS END?

IN 1812, JOHANN BURCKHARDT REDISCOVERED

ONE OF THE MOST ASTONISHING CITIES ON EARTH.

PETRA--A LAVISH CAPITAL HEWN SOME 2,000 YEARS AGO

FROM ONE OF THE MOST INHOSPITABLE LANDSCAPES

BY TRADERS AND MERCHANTS,

EXPERT STONEMASONS AND WATER ENGINEERS.

THE INGENUITY OF PETRA'S ANCIENT PEOPLE--THE NABATEANS--

HAS AMAZED THE WORLD.

BUT ARCHAEOLOGISTS AND SCHOLARS HAVE LONG STRUGGLED

WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM?

WHAT ULTIMATELY MADE THEM ABANDON THEIR CITY...

HAVING SURVIVED ROMAN OCCUPATION,

EARTHQUAKES AND FLOOD?

THERE IS ONE FINAL CLUE,

AND IT LIES IN ONE

THE BLUE CHAPEL.

ITS SMALL SIZE LEADS EXPERTS TO BELIEVE

THAT THIS MAY HAVE BEEN THE PRIVATE PLACE OF WORSHIP

FOR THE CITY'S BISHOP.

WHEN ARCHAEOLOGISTS BEGAN EXCAVATING IT,

THEY MADE A STARTLING DISCOVERY OF BURNT ANIMAL BONES...

REVEALING THAT AT SOME POINT

THE CHAPEL WAS REDUCED TO A COMMON KITCHEN.

THE DATA COLLECTED DURING THE EXCAVATION

INCLUDED THE INTERESTING FIND OF COOKING FIRES

AND ANIMAL REMAINS WITHIN THE STRUCTURE.

THIS HAS LED THEM TO INTERPRET THAT THE BUILDING WAS REUSED

AT A LATER DATE AS A DOMESTIC STRUCTURE.

LEADING THE EXCAVATION WAS DR. MEGAN PERRY,

WHO WANTED TO FIND OUT WHEN THE CHAPEL'S DEMISE HAD HAPPENED.

THE ANSWER WAS FOUND IN THE REMAINS OF THE DISCARDED FOOD.

BURNT ANIMAL BONE,

BECAUSE IT'S BIOLOGICAL MATERIAL,

WE CAN USE IT FOR CARBON-14 DATING.

CARBON DATING ENABLED PERRY TO FIND OUT

HOW OLD THESE BONE REMAINS WERE...

NARROWING DOWN WHEN THE FOOD HAD BEEN COOKED.

THE RESULTS CAME BACK AND SHOWED THAT THIS ANIMAL

HAD BEEN KILLED AND LIKELY EATEN ANYWHERE FROM 658 TO 782 A.D.

IT IS AN ASTONISHING REVELATION.

ACCORDING TO THE SCROLLS FOUND AT THE NEARBY CHURCH,

THE 6th CENTURY WAS A TIME OF PROSPERITY.

BUT AROUND 100 YEARS LATER,

THIS ESTEEMED BUILDING WAS NOW A MERE COOKHOUSE.

PETRA'S FORTUNES WERE FALTERING.

WRITTEN RECORDS BACK UP THE THEORY--

PETRA WAS BEGINNING TO FADE FROM THE WORLD STAGE.

THE POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE OF PETRA

MUST HAVE DECLINED VERY RAPIDLY AFTER THE 6th CENTURY,

TO THE EFFECT THAT THE CITY WAS NEVER MENTIONED ANY LONGER

IN ANY WRITTEN SOURCES.

SOMETHING SEEMS TO HAVE HAPPENED,

AND PETRA WAS NO LONGER THE MAJOR CITY IT ONCE WAS.

MANY SCHOLARS BELIEVE THAT THE CAUSE OF THIS DECLINE

WAS A MAJOR TURNING POINT

THE 7th CENTURY EARLY MUSLIM CONQUESTS.

AS THE ISLAMIC EMPIRE STRETCHED ITS BORDERS,

ITS NEW LEADERS CHOSE PLACES NEAR THEIR PILGRIM ROUTES

AS THE KINGDOM'S NEW MAJOR CITIES.

PETRA WAS LEFT BEHIND.

IT WOULD SEEM PETRA'S FORTUNES DECLINED

IN THE 7th CENTURY,

WITH THE RISE OF ISLAM AND A SET OF NEW TRADITIONS.

BUT EXACTLY WHEN THE NABATEANS LEFT FOR GOOD

WOULD REMAIN UNCLEAR...

WERE IT NOT FOR THE FACT

THAT THE ANIMAL REMAINS FOUND IN THE BLUE CHAPEL

LAY SQUASHED BY ONE OF ITS COLUMNS.

THE CARBON DATING OF THE BONES BETWEEN 658 AND 782 A.D.

ALSO PUTS A DATE ON THE CHURCH'S ACTUAL COLLAPSE...

WHICH COINCIDES WITH A MOMENTOUS EVENT...

AND THE LAST NAIL IN THE COFFIN OF PETRA'S DEMISE.

IT JUST SO HAPPENS THERE WAS A HUGE EARTHQUAKE

THAT OCCURRED AROUND 748 TO 749 A.D.,

RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT RANGE.

THE NABATEANS HAD SURVIVED

THE MAJOR EARTHQUAKE OF 363,

BUT HISTORICAL EVIDENCE SUGGESTS

THE REGION'S NEXT BIG ONE STRUCK IN THE MID 700s.

AND THE ABANDONED RUINS OF THE BLUE CHAPEL

SUGGEST THAT THIS TIME, THE IMPOVERISHED NABATEANS

DIDN'T REBUILD WHAT WAS LEFT OF THEIR CITY.

APPARENTLY THIS WAS ONE OF THE LARGEST EARTHQUAKES

TO HIT THE REGION,

AND THUS WOULD HAVE BEEN COMPLETELY CATASTROPHIC

TO ANY STRUCTURES THAT REMAINED STANDING.

THE KILLER BLOW WAS THE EFFECT THE EARTHQUAKE HAD

ITS WATER SUPPLY.

WITH IRREPARABLE DAMAGE

TO THEIR PRECIOUS HYDROLOGICAL SYSTEM,

THE NABATEANS HAD NO CHOICE

BUT TO SEEK SOURCES OF WATER ELSEWHERE.

SO IT'S CLEAR FROM THIS EVIDENCE

THAT IT WASN'T THE 2nd CENTURY A.D. ROMAN ANNEXATION

OR THE 363 EARTHQUAKE THAT LED TO THE DEMISE OF PETRA,

BUT INSTEAD THIS 748, 749 SEISMIC EVENT.

WHEN PETRA'S PEOPLE DISPERSED,

THE DESERT RECLAIMED THE CITY...

ITS RUINS DESTINED TO BECOME OBJECTS OF FASCINATION

THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.

THE WORD THAT ALWAYS COMES TO MIND ABOUT PETRA

IS MAGICAL.

IT'S ALWAYS DESCRIBED AS A RUINED ANCIENT CITY,

BUT IT'S STILL VERY ALIVE, AND IT'S STILL VERY MAGICAL.

BUT TODAY ARCHAEOLOGISTS

ARE IN A RACE AGAINST TIME TO LEARN EVERYTHING THEY CAN

ABOUT THE ANCIENT NABATEANS AND THEIR CAPITAL...

BEFORE NATURE RECLAIMS IT FOR GOOD.

WIND, LIGHT EXPOSURE, WATER DAMAGE, AND EARTH TREMORS

ARE SLOWLY CHIPPING AWAY AT PETRA.

PETRA MAY NOT BE AROUND FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS.

SO MUCH OF WHAT WE HAVE HERE

IS VERY FRAGILE, VERY FRIABLE SANDSTONE

THAT WEATHERS AND DETERIORATES QUITE QUICKLY

IF IT'S NOT APPROPRIATELY CONSERVED AND PRESERVED.

THE ANCIENT CITY OF PETRA SITS

ALONG ONE OF THE MOST ACTIVE FAULT LINES IN THE WORLD.

WE COULD BE HIT BY ANOTHER MAJOR EARTHQUAKE.

ANY NUMBER OF POSSIBLE THINGS COULD DESTROY THIS CITY,

BEFORE WE CAN UNLOCK

THE REST OF ITS MYSTERIES.