This
same technology has been “pointed” at areas around Egypt's pyramids in
the hopes of finding secret rooms that have avoided discovery by
traditional “digging” archaeologists according to report by the Christian Science Monitor's Lucy Schouten.
One would think that a World Heritage site like Petra, Jordan
and its status as a “new seven wonders of the world” would have meant
that the site had been completely explored, but a new site was recently
discovered about a half-mile south of the city center and the study of
this new monument “hiding in plain site” was detailed last month in the
Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research. Image source: YouTube
Petra’s beauty just got more pronounced with new monument
The site has been well-explored and studied since its discovery by
Johann Burckhardt in 1812, but apparently a lot of that looking was
focused on the city center and likely thousands have trod over the new
monumental find near the center of the city.
Researchers, perhaps to save face, have long believed and said that
there was something out there but to find something in plain sight is
surely a touch embarrassing.
“I’m sure that over the course of two centuries of research [in
Petra], someone had to know [this site] was there, but it’s never been
systematically studied or written up,” Christopher Tuttle, the director
of the Council of Overseas Research Centers, told National Geographic at
the time of publicaiton. “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.”
Drones have proven for some time that they are a lot more useful than
simply blowing the hell out of militants around the world and this
discovery was made using both drones and satellite imagery. That work was done by Tuttle and Archeologists Sarah Parcak.
Parcak and “space archeology”
The monument itself is huge; a multi-level platform measures 184 feet
by 161 feet at its base and stairs then lead to another 28 by 28 foot
building that was built above the much larger first level.
Somewhat strangely, the stairs of this monument do not face the city
center like all other buildings in the city. This is a bit puzzling but
it is what it is. Archeologists are confident that the building served a
ceremonial purpose.
“This monumental platform has no parallels at Petra or in its
hinterlands at present,” wrote the researchers in conversation with the
UK’s Guardian.
Petra was home to a tribal group in what is now modern day Jordon
caleed the Nabataeans who began construction about 150 BC and vacated
over 800 years later for reasons unknown.
It was Parcak whose knowledge of satellite imagery made the find
possible and her work has largely been called “space archeology” a
technique that uses satellite imaging to find sites in the thick jungles of Central America (Mayan) and now Petra. This technology called Lider has essentially opened a new field in archaeology.
This same technology has been “pointed” at areas around Egypt’s
pyramids in the hopes of finding secret rooms that have avoided
discovery by traditional “digging” archaeologists according to report by
the Christian Science Monitor’s Lucy Schouten.
“This technology is not about what you find – but how you can think
about things like settlement scale and ancient human-environment
interactions more broadly,” Parcak told The Guardian. “What happens when
you can truly map the near-surface buried features for an entire site?
I’m excited, but we need to think about the implications of having all
this technology at our fingertips so we can use it responsibly.”
While studying economics, Brendan found himself
comfortably falling down the rabbit hole of restaurant work, ultimately
opening a consulting business and working as a private wine buyer. On a
whim, he moved to China, and in his first week following a triumphant
pub quiz victory, he found himself bleeding on the floor based on his
arrogance. The same man who put him there offered him a job lecturing
for the University of Wales in various sister universities throughout
the Middle Kingdom. While primarily lecturing in descriptive and
comparative statistics, Brendan simultaneously earned an Msc in Banking
and International Finance from the University of Wales-Bangor. He's
presently doing something he hates, respecting French people. Well, two,
his wife and her mother in the lovely town of Antigua, Guatemala.
To contact Brendan or give him an exclusive, please contact him at theflask@gmail.com
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