Archaeologists have discovered a tomb beneath the ancient, imposing Al Khazneh in Petra, Jordan.

Long before it appeared in Stephen Spielberg’s 1989 blockbuster Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Al Khazneh (The Treasury) was hand-carved into the pink sandstone cliffs of the first-century BC city of Petra.

The 40 meters (41-meter-high Al Khazneh and the city in which it is located became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985 and were added to the list of the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007.

Okay, what did they find?

In August, a team of Jordanian and American archaeologists unearthed a hidden tomb containing twelve complete skeletons and a wealth of bronze, ceramic and iron artifacts.

According to the researchers, one of the skeletons held a ceramic cup, similar to the Holy Grail chalice in the Spielberg film.

What, don’t you mean?!

One of the excavation leaders, Pearce Paul Creasman, was keen to qualify reports of the discovery of a chalice, telling Al Jazeera: “No chalice. A juglet.

“But it had an uncanny resemblance to the movie prop from the Indiana Jones movie when it was unearthed! In daylight it is a normal ceramic vessel, as we would expect in Petra.”

Boo! How was the grave discovered?

In contrast to the elaborate exterior facade, Al Khazneh’s interior consists of a simple main room and three antechambers.

In 2003, two graves containing partial skeletons were excavated to the left of the main chamber, leading researchers to speculate that additional graves might exist in the area.

After receiving permission from the Jordanian government to explore the site, researchers used advanced remote sensing tools to locate the newly discovered grave.

Who were the 12 skeletons?

No one really knows.

According to Tim Kinnaird of the University of St Andrews School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, who investigated the find, “the tomb was most likely built as a mausoleum and crypt in the Nabatean kingdom in the early first century AD for Aretas IV Philopatris . (Nabataean king from about 9 BC to AD 40).

“Like many graves in the valley, few remains have been found in the graves due to subsequent use and reuse over the past two millennia.

“It is fantastic that we now have the pottery, ecofacts and sediments dating from the construction of the Treasury. Having a definitive date will be a monumental achievement for all of us.”

What is the Nabataean Kingdom?

No one really knows much about the Nabataeans. However, they are thought to have made significant advances in engineering, especially in water management and, as evidenced by Petra, architecture.

Before it arrived around 106 AD. was invaded by the Roman Empire, the Nabataean kingdom was from at least 312 B.C. a large Arab kingdom, in parts of what are now Jordan and Israel.

The then capital, Petra, oversaw many of the region’s most important trade routes, connecting the Arabian Peninsula, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea.

So was Al Khazneh the treasury of the Nabataeans?

It could be, but there is no real evidence for it. Many contemporary researchers believe the building may have been a mausoleum.

The name, Al Khazneh or Khaznet al-Faroun, arose from the belief among local tribesmen that the urn visible at the top of the facade contained untold Egyptian treasures.

Legend has it that when the Egyptian pharaoh escaped Moses’ closing of the Red Sea with part of his army, he magically created Al Khazneh as a safe place for his treasure.

The urn is actually carved from solid sandstone, but that didn’t stop local men from riddle the statue with gunshots in hopes of releasing the treasure inside.

Is there more to Petra than just Al Khazneh?

The vast majority of the city is still underground, estimate archaeologists such as Zeidoun Al-Muheisen of Jordan’s Yarmouk University, who has been excavating Petra since 1979.

Above ground there are a number of temples and tombs that reveal themselves to people entering the city through the natural and winding narrow rocky opening known as the Siq.

So there’s more beneath the sands of Petra?

“Yes, there is more to discover,” Creasman told Al Jazeera.

“We have not yet completed the excavations at the grave itself… there is much more work left.

“Many of the secrets of the Nabataeans remain in the sands of Petra.”