{"id":11892,"date":"2024-10-21T09:21:05","date_gmt":"2024-10-21T13:21:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/?p=11892"},"modified":"2024-10-21T09:21:05","modified_gmt":"2024-10-21T13:21:05","slug":"12-skeletons-and-a-holy-grail-found-near-film-site-of-indiana-joness-the-last-crusade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2024\/10\/12-skeletons-and-a-holy-grail-found-near-film-site-of-indiana-joness-the-last-crusade.html","title":{"rendered":"12 Skeletons and a \u201cHoly Grail\u201d Found Near Film Site of Indiana Jones\u2019s \u201cThe Last Crusade\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Discovery’s Expedition Unknown | Inset: Adobe Stock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Indiana Jones may have been right as archaeologists uncovered 12 skeletal remains and a \u201cHoly Grail\u201d chalice in Petra, Jordan. The discovery was made in underground chambers in the Khaznah, which means, \u201cThe Treasury,\u201d a site that was filmed in \u201cIndiana Jones and the Last Crusade,\u201d where the titular adventurer goes in search of the Holy Grail. In 2003, two tombs had been uncovered below the monument, convincing some that there might be more below. A team led by Dr. Pearce Paul Creasman, executive director of the American Center of Research, did further digging to prove that theory, uncovering the remains and artifacts that appear to be at least 2,000 years old.<\/p>\n

The Jordanian government granted permission to Creasman\u2019s team after he utilized ground-penetrating radar to compare the left side beneath the monument, where the two tombs had been found, with the right side. There were enough similarities between the two sides to start further excavation, with Creasman contacting Discovery Channel\u2019s <\/em>Josh Gates of \u201cExpedition Unknown\u201d to bring a film crew down. The tombs are particularly unique for remaining intact through the centuries, with remains and artifacts still present. \u201cThis is a hugely rare discovery \u2014 in the two centuries that Petra has been investigated by archaeologists, nothing like this has been found before. Even in front of one of the most famous buildings in the world \u2026 there are still huge discoveries to be made,\u201d said Gates of the find<\/a>. Such a discovery could give researchers new insights into the lives of the ancient Arabian nomads, known as Nabataeans, who lived in the region.<\/p>\n

One of the remains was found clutching a \u201cHoly Grail\u201d style chalice. \u201cIt really was this awesome moment of history imitating art,\u201d said Gates, referring to Indiana Jones\u2019s connection to the site. \u00a0Researchers are hopeful to do further testing to the skeletal remains found in the tombs. DNA testing could show whether the individuals were related, which may give some clues to the burial patterns of the Nabataeans. The Nabataeans did not normally distinguish their royalty from their common people in burial practices, but Gates believes these particular tombs may be significant. \u201cThey must be hugely important people, because where they\u2019re buried is such prime real estate; it really is the main entrance to the city. I think learning who they are is really going to help unlock part of the story of the Treasury.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Indiana Jones may have been right as archaeologists uncovered 12 skeletal remains and a \u201cHoly Grail\u201d chalice in Petra, Jordan. The discovery was made in underground chambers in the Khaznah, which means, \u201cThe Treasury,\u201d a site that was filmed in \u201cIndiana Jones and the Last Crusade,\u201d where the titular adventurer goes in search of the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":627,"featured_media":11895,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[102,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archaeology","category-christian-news"],"yoast_head":"\n12 Skeletons and a \u201cHoly Grail\u201d Found Near Film Site of Indiana Jones\u2019s \u201cThe Last Crusade\u201d<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2024\/10\/12-skeletons-and-a-holy-grail-found-near-film-site-of-indiana-joness-the-last-crusade.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"12 Skeletons and a \u201cHoly Grail\u201d Found Near Film Site of Indiana Jones\u2019s \u201cThe Last Crusade\u201d\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Indiana Jones may have been right as archaeologists uncovered 12 skeletal remains and a \u201cHoly Grail\u201d chalice in Petra, Jordan. The discovery was made in underground chambers in the Khaznah, which means, \u201cThe Treasury,\u201d a site that was filmed in \u201cIndiana Jones and the Last Crusade,\u201d where the titular adventurer goes in search of the…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2024\/10\/12-skeletons-and-a-holy-grail-found-near-film-site-of-indiana-joness-the-last-crusade.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Christ News Today\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-10-21T13:21:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/409\/2024\/10\/holy-grail-12-skeletons_credit-Discoverys-Expedition-Unknown_Inset-Adobe-Stock-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Cecilia Buchanan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"12 Skeletons and a \u201cHoly Grail\u201d Found Near Film Site of Indiana Jones\u2019s \u201cThe Last Crusade\u201d","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2024\/10\/12-skeletons-and-a-holy-grail-found-near-film-site-of-indiana-joness-the-last-crusade.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"12 Skeletons and a \u201cHoly Grail\u201d Found Near Film Site of Indiana Jones\u2019s \u201cThe Last Crusade\u201d","og_description":"Indiana Jones may have been right as archaeologists uncovered 12 skeletal remains and a \u201cHoly Grail\u201d chalice in Petra, Jordan. The discovery was made in underground chambers in the Khaznah, which means, \u201cThe Treasury,\u201d a site that was filmed in \u201cIndiana Jones and the Last Crusade,\u201d where the titular adventurer goes in search of the…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2024\/10\/12-skeletons-and-a-holy-grail-found-near-film-site-of-indiana-joness-the-last-crusade.html","og_site_name":"Christ News Today","article_published_time":"2024-10-21T13:21:05+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":900,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/409\/2024\/10\/holy-grail-12-skeletons_credit-Discoverys-Expedition-Unknown_Inset-Adobe-Stock-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Cecilia 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