2,000-year-old skeletons discovered in ancient tomb under Indiana Jones filming site

The Treasury, known locally as Al-Khazneh, in Petra, Jordan is iconic for starring as a stunning location in movies such as Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Lawrence of Arabia, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and loads more.

Petra is one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, gaining its status in 2007, as it was rediscovered in 1912 but was largely ignored by archaeologists until the late 20th century.

Because of this, mystery still surrounds it and discoveries at the historical site continue to be made.

And the latest has seen a team of archaeologists find an ancient tomb at least 2,000-years-old with a minimum of 12 skeletons inside along with a number of artefacts, reports CNN.

Skeletons dating back 2,000 years have been found underneath the Treasury in Petra, Jordan / Khalil Mazraawi, AFP via Getty Images

A team of archaeologists led by Dr Pearce Paul Creasman, executive director of the American Center of Research, found the ancient tomb after years of speculation there were more underground chambers than just the two which were found in 2003.

The team used ground-penetrating radar to see if any physical features matched those previously discovered.

When the results showed strong similarities, the team sought permission from the Jordanian government to dig and Creasman contacted Josh Gates, the host of Discovery Channel's Expedition Unknown.

With a film crew, the tomb was excavated in August and complete skeletal remains were found along with grave goods made from bronze, iron and ceramic.

Gates said: "This is a hugely rare discovery - 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... there are still huge discoveries to be made."

Researchers say this may be the largest collection of human remains found in a single place in Petra.

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