New Monument Discovered in the Ancient City of Petra

Archaeologists and researchers using satellite imagery and drones have reportedly uncovered a new monument in the ancient city of Petra in Jordan. This structure is said to be massive in size, and unlike anything else found at the site before. It also hints at possible other discoveries yet to be made.

The new find was identified by archaeologists Sarah Parcak and Christopher Tuttle, who used a variety of high tech tools to locate and unearth it. The new structure is said to be roughly 184-by-161-feet (about 56-by-49-meters) in dimension, which makes it about the same length as an Olympic size swimming pool, and twice as wide. It is a large platform that surrounds a smaller platform which was once paved with flagstones. A series of pillars lined the outside, with a massive staircase on the interior.

What exactly this platform was used for remains unclear, and it doesn't match anything else that has been seen inside Petra so far. But, the ancient city is massive in size and scope, covering 102 square miles (264 sq. km), with the main city center covering about 2.3 square miles (6 sq. km). Many people who have not visited the site often believe that Petra is only made up of the Treasury, the iconic building that is seen in so many photos and movies. But the site is sprawling, with hundreds of buildings and structures spread out across the area.

Speculation on the newly found platform leads researchers to believe that it was a public building of some kind, but its exact use remains a mystery. It is thought that when it was intact, it was the second highest structure in the city, which was abandoned in the 7th century, and revealed to the outside world when it was located by explorer Johann Burckhardt in 1812.

This is another great example of an amazing discovery found in a place that we thought we already knew very well and had explored top to bottom. Petra is visited by millions of travelers every year, and it continues to amaze even in the 21st century. But it is even more fascinating to think that we are still finding new things there, and it makes you wonder what else is at the site, waiting to be uncovered.

Nefertiti's Tomb Not Found in King Tut's Tomb After All

One of the more fascinating stories that we've been following over the past year was the possibility of hidden chambers inside King Tut's tomb in Egypt. The story first broke when an archeologist by the name of Nicholas Reeves proposed the theory that such hidden rooms might exist after making laser scans of Tut's burial chambers. He then postulated that those hidden areas could belong to the lost queen of Nefertiti, who was Tut's step mother and may have ruled Egypt before him.

Fuel was added to the fire last fall when it was announced that ground penetrating radar has been used at the ancient site, and those scans had revealed that there indeed blank spaces hidden behind Tut's walls. This seemed to show that Reeve's theories were proving accurate, and that archaeologists were on the verge of making a major discovery.

But now it has been revealed that those scans may not have been accurate at all, and that there really isn't anything hidden in Tut's tomb as first thought. A second scan of the tomb, funded by National Geographic earlier this year, reportedly found no evidence of hidden chambers. Furthermore, there are Egyptologists who are claiming that the Egyptian government is suppressing the news as long as they can in order to maintain the illusion that a discovery may be imminent for as long as possible. The idea of finding Nefertiti's remains was seen as a major find, and could potentially be a boost to the country's flagging tourism sector.


Apparently, Nat Geo's second scanning operation is wrapped up in non-disclosure agreement, which means no one can officially confirm the story at this time. We'll have to wait for the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities to make a statement before we know for sure, but those close to the story say that Egyptian officials are in a bit of a panic over the lack of a new discovery and are looking for alternate opinions and evidence before proceeding.

This story made headlines just a few months ago, but now seems to be completely without merit. That's a bit depressing considering how much hype surrounded the potential discovery. Hopefully we'll get the real story soon so we can either move ahead with learning more about what's in Tut's tomb, or put in behind us altogether.

Did Canadian Teen Really Discover a Lost Mayan City?

We have an update today on that fascinating story that I posted yesterday about a 15-year old Canadian boy who claimed to have discovered a lost Mayan city in the Yucatan Peninsula. It seems that experts are poking holes in the young man's theories, saying that he didn't find a missing city at all, but instead spotted an overgrown agricultural field instead.

The original story was that school boy William Gadoury noticed that Mayan cities were located on a map in the same shape as several constellations in the sky. Looking at old star maps, the then overlaid the constellations on terrestrial maps and noticed that there were locations where cities should have lined up with the stars, but there were no known settlements there. So, William broke out Google Earth and started pouring over the images in search of manmade structures, discovering what looked like the remnants of a prior civilization.

Naturally, the story has struck a chord with the public, many of whom have been fascinated by this narrative, while also wondering why no one else had noticed this placement of Mayan cities in the past. Well, it turns out that there may be some basic issues with the teenager's general premise, as National Geographic explains, and the structures that he spotted in the satellite images may not be as old as he suspects or possibly not even man-made at all.

Archaeologist Ivan Šprajc says that the square shape spotted on the map is really an abandoned field that probably isn't any more than 20 or 30 years old. He also says that other potential structures are most likely natural shapes, and include a clearing in the jungle, which probably doesn't have anything to do with a lost Mayan city. 

As I mentioned in my original story yesterday, the only real way to confirm the existence of a lost city is to send a team of archaeologists out to examine the site. Considering the skepticism that is being raised from others in the field, it seems unlikely that that will happen soon. Of course, there are some who believe that trained archaeologists have also been caught with egg on their face by being upstaged by a teenager, so they have reason to cast doubt on his findings. Only time will tell at this point. 

15-Year Old Canadian Boy Discovers Lost City in Mexico

A 15-year old boy from Quebec is making headlines today for discovering a lost Mayan city in Mexico. The boy used knowledge of ancient astronomy and Google Earth to locate what appears to be remnants of the civilization that thrived across Central America 2000 years ago. 

While looking at maps of the locations of Mayan cities, William Gadoury learned that those cities lined up with the constellations in the sky as they appeared when the Mayan civilization was flourishing. Using that knowledge, he then began searching satellite imagery on Google Earth looking for structures in specific locations, discovering that one city that should have lined up with a specific star was missing. But after careful examination of a spot in the Yucatan Peninsula, he was able to identify what appears to be man-made object hidden under the dense jungle there.

The actual existence of the lost city has yet to be confirmed on the ground, but other researchers are hailing the discovery as a significant one, and are giving William the credit. Experts say that it appears that there are quite a few man-made structures hidden under a thick canopy of vegetation, including buildings, a road, a town square, and possibly even a pyramid. 

 The teenager has named the city K'aak Chi, which means "Mouth of Fire," and he will present his findings at a scientific gathering in Brazil next year. Meanwhile, archaeologists are already applying his technique of matching star charts to maps in hopes of finding other lost cities as well. 

This is another amazing story that reminds us that there are some things that are still hidden away from us, even in the 21st century. It's hard not to be impressed with this young man and his ingenuity. It's a wonder that no one else has discovered the connection between the stars and the Mayan cities before.