Modern-Day Indiana Jones Discovers Massive 2,000-Year-Old Monument At Petra

Satellite and drone images show the location of the new site (Twitter/National Geographic)

A modern-day Indiana Jones has discovered a 2,000-year-old monument at the world-famous heritage site in Petra, Jordan.

Using satellite imagery and drones, archaeologists Christopher Tuttle and Sarah Parcak were able to locate the undiscovered building, which has a platform approximately the size of two Olympic-size swimming pools.

The platform measures 184 ft by 161 ft.

‘Massive new monument found in Petra,” the American Schools of Oriental Research tweeted on June 9.

‘This monumental platform has no parallels at Petra or in its hinterlands at present,’ added the research team.

The world-famous site draws hundreds of thousands of tourists each year (Rex)

The building dates back to around 150 BC, archaeologists believe, after dating nearby pottery.

It is not yet known what the building was exactly used for but they think it was to host ceremonies.

Over time, the building has been buried under sands.

‘I knew something was there and other archaeologists – who have worked in Petra for the last, God knows, 100 years at least – I know at least one other had noticed something there,’ said Tuttle, according to the Guardian.

Petra has been a World Heritage site since 1985 (Rex)

Petra is a UNESCO World Heritage site located in southern Jordan.

Some 400,000 tourists visited the site last year. The number of people has dropped in recent years because of the security situation in the Middle East.

The third Indiana Jones movie used Petra as a location (Rex)

It was also used as a location for the 1989 hit movie, Indian Jones and the Last Crusade, starring Harrison Ford and Sean Connery.