--- title: Petra Ceremonial Monument Discovered by Archaeologists description: Archaeologists have used satellite imagery and drone photography to discover an enormous ceremonial platform near the center of Petra. canonical: https://time.com/4363081/petra-jordan-platform-discovered/ author: Julia Zorthian article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-06-09T18:18:45.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:55:29.244Z article:section: Science og:title: A Massive, Ancient Platform Has Been Discovered in Petra og:description: Archaeologists just published the discovery they made in Jordan og:url: https://time.com/4363081/petra-jordan-platform-discovered/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltac536e811508732b/69889723e20a8712fea912a1/jordan-petra-landmark.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Serenity Now LIttle Petra og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: A Massive, Ancient Platform Has Been Discovered in Petra twitter:description: Archaeologists just published the discovery they made in Jordan twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltac536e811508732b/69889723e20a8712fea912a1/jordan-petra-landmark.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # A Massive, Ancient Platform Discovered in Petra Has Been 'Hidden in Plain Sight' > Sponsored content. 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It reaches 40,000 subscribers with a 34.2% open rate and a 2.1% click rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Researchers Say Stonehenge Used to Have a Giant Neighbor [Watch (HLS stream): Researchers Say Stonehenge Used to Have a Giant Neighbor](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/piFxmAMU.m3u8) (0:55)  _Published 2015-09-07. Researchers in England just discovered a "superhenge" monument buried underground near Stonehenge._  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Jun 9, 2016 6:18 PM UTC  The monastery in Petra, a world famous landmark in southern Jordan, on Feb. 23, 2016. The monastery in Petra, a world famous landmark in southern Jordan, on Feb. 23, 2016. Sam McNeil—AP  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Jun 9, 2016 6:18 PM UTC Archaeologists have used satellite imagery and drone photography [to discover an enormous ceremonial platform](http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/06/space-archaeology-satellite-petra-ancient-city-discovery-jordan-monument/) near the center of the ancient [city of Petra](http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2121571,00.html). Sarah Parcak and Christopher Tuttle published their finding in a [new report](http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5615/bullamerschoorie.375.0035) that reveals the monument that has been, as the paper is titled, hiding in plain sight. That is all the more impressive because of the platform’s size: at 184 by 161 feet, it’s roughly the length of an Olympic swimming pool (and twice the width), _National Geographic_ reports. “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,” Tuttle told the magazine. “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.” Using the [aerial images](http://time.com/4073584/2016-world-monuments-watch-photos/), the archaeologists determined that a small building sat atop the platform. Petra, located in present-day Jordan, was founded around the second century B.C., and abandoned by the seventh century A.D. \[[_National Geographic_](http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/06/space-archaeology-satellite-petra-ancient-city-discovery-jordan-monument/)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4363081/petra-jordan-platform-discovered/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4363081/petra-jordan-platform-discovered/"},"headline":"A Massive, Ancient Platform Discovered in Petra Has Been 'Hidden in Plain Sight'","datePublished":"2016-06-09T18:18:45.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:55:29.244Z","description":"Archaeologists just published the discovery they made in Jordan","url":"https://time.com/4363081/petra-jordan-platform-discovered/","keywords":["Archaeology","Travel"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltac536e811508732b/69889723e20a8712fea912a1/jordan-petra-landmark.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julia Zorthian","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltac536e811508732b/69889723e20a8712fea912a1/jordan-petra-landmark.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Serenity Now LIttle Petra","caption":"The monastery in Petra, a world famous landmark in southern Jordan, Feb. 23, 2016.","creditText":"Sam McNeil—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/archaeology/","name":"Archaeology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4363081/petra-jordan-platform-discovered/","name":"A Massive, Ancient Platform Discovered in Petra Has Been 'Hidden in Plain Sight'"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Researchers Say Stonehenge Used to Have a Giant Neighbor","description":"Researchers in England just discovered a \"superhenge\" monument buried underground near Stonehenge.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/piFxmAMU/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-09-07T14:32:40.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/piFxmAMU.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4363081/petra-jordan-platform-discovered/","duration":"PT55S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4363081/petra-jordan-platform-discovered/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```