(Narrator) An abandoned stone city and a mysterious monument perched seemingly at the top of
the world...A BYU team makes the daily trek up eight hundred steps on a mission
to preserve a Jordanian treasure.
"It's very touching to think that people
actually carved that facade on the rock two thousand years ago and it's still
there for us to see."
(Narrator) But could ancient Nabataean technologies used here on the Adair plateau help to
solve modern-day problems?
I'm just dumbfounded with what Nabataean
architects and engineers were able to accomplish. They teach us something new
everyday.
(Narrator) More than two thousand years ago
a mysterious civilization known as the Nabataeans, carved the beautiful sandstone
city of Petra in the middle of the Jordanian desert.
"This culture is very mysterious because their origins are debated."
"They were hidden, they were hidden even in ancient times."
"The Nabataeans were incredible architects, incredible water engineers, but also
incredible caravan traders."
"It's an amazing culture and an amazing civilization."
(Narrator) After being annexed by the Roman Empire in 106 A.D., and then suffering a major
earthquake, this once-great city eventually declined. Today this stone
city is one of the new wonders of the world and a Jordanian archaeological treasure.
"We are proud in our history, we are proud in our archeological remains...
We are proud in our civilization...
This is important for us as a Jordanian."
"Petra today is a World Heritage UNESCO site. It's one of the largest archaeological sites in
the world."
(Narrator) The 100 square mile Petra Archaeological Park boasts a number of
large stone facades, the most famous al-Khazna or 'The Treasury.' And on the other
side of the park the even larger Ad-Deir monument, commonly called 'The Monastery.'
"The Ad-Deir monument is built into the rock, like most monuments in Petra are."
"They carved these from the top down. These are huge!"
"So it's one of the more important monuments in Petra...
and beloved throughout the world."
(Narrator) Although this is an iconic structure,
very little research has been done here for thirty years
because of its location. To get to the Adair plateau, people and equipment must
be transported up hundreds of steps-- Passable only by donkeys and on foot.
"Nobody likes to work here because it's too far, far away from the surface."
"It's 800 steps, straight up, from the center of the ancient city."
"Everything has to be loaded onto a donkey and brought up...
It takes about half an hour. And most of the students of course walk."
[greet each other]
"We tried counting the stairs, but you always lose count with how hard you're breathing!"
(Narrator) For these archaeology students,
the 800 step commute concludes in dramatic fashion at the base
of the largest stone facade in Petra.
"To be learning how to be an archaeologist
in front of such a beautiful monument, is an absolute bonus!"
"You look up at the mountain every day, and you're like...
'Look where I am! It's OK, this is awesome! Who gets to do this?!'
It's an amazing thing to work here."
(Narrator) This large-scale project has two objectives:
It's a classic archaeological study of the plateaus role in antiquity.
It's also a conservation effort between BYU, the Petrol
Archaeological Park, and the Jordanian Department of Antiquities to help
preserve the Adair facade from wind and water erosion.
"The project is primarily a
conservation project to preserve this building. It's under a lot of threat from
water erosion, the seasonal flooding."
(Narrator) As part of a comprehensive study of this
site, the BYU team is enlisting new technologies. High-resolution scans of
the facade document its current condition and help guide the
conservation effort. And for the first time, Ad-Deir was photographed from the
air using a scientific-grade unmanned aerial vehicle.
"This UAB has an on-board computer, it uses GPS technology...
So it's flying a very specific flight pass and collecting data in a very precise way...
We were lucky to work with Pix4D. Their software allows us to create these 3D
models. It just provides us a way to visualize that terrain in a way that you
can't do from a flat topographic map. We were seeing things from that flight that we
just couldn't see from the ground. What that did was allow us to see all of the
different archaeological features in relationship to each other. And you can
see how things are interconnected. You have water channels and cisterns and
buildings all interrelated with each other. It just brings it to life and it helps
us as scientists to see how everything is interconnected."
"We've discovered there's a lot more up on
the Ad-Deir plateau that ever was thought."
(Narrator) The UAV images, combined with traditional surveying,
reveal more than 300 archaeological features on the Ad-Deir plateau.
The team iscurrently working on three different excavation sites here.
Clearly visible in these new images is this mysterious Great Circle,
which may have been a ceremonial pool, and also part of the water collection system.
"Today we're working on the inner ring of the Great Circle. We discovered
it's actually a gigantic 60 meter diameter pool. It's probable purpose was
to control the water errosion. The Nabataeans' water systerms were incredibly sophisticated
and we hope to learn more about how they managed water."
"We're hoping that by clearing the systems and understanding our various components...
that we can resurrect them--Protecting the monument, but also everything else that's on this plateau."
(Narrator) The Great Circle, and other structures on
the plateau are all connected. If these Nabataean systems can function again,
they can be used to help channel water away from the facade.
"As you can see, the erosion is very severe."
"Up above the doorway lintel itself..That water's coming over the top
during the rainy season. You can see how the stone looks like it's just melting and being eroded away."
"There is not any drainage system. As you see, it is an open plaza...
If we know how to deal with the flash flood and we can protect the facade, that would be great for us."
"Some people think that if you're in a desert, there isn't any water."
"The wind and the rain are unforgiving, up here especially."
"We had a massive hundred-year deluge last year when we were out here that closed down the park."
"At the time that they have flash flooding from
excess rain, they'll have huge deluges of rain."
"When it comes, it comes all at once,
which is the big problem with erosion... I mean if it was coming gradually, you can
deal with that. But when it's flash floods, you need major control systems in order to harness that water.
(Narrator) Because of its unprotected location facing the storms from Wadi Araba, the Adair facade is
deteriorating from wind, sand storms, and water erosion.
"We're standing in front of one of the major side channels that brought water erosion over the top of the facade...
These are now blocked and they need to be cleaned out and restored so that the water
doesn't pool here...
Water coming over the front is creating this crystallization that you're seeing on the wall...
this is salt crystallization...
And this is pushing and sluffing off the patina, or that outer rock at the facade
along the columns. This is being further enhanced by the dust storms that swirl in this corner because
there's no longer a protective Nabataean wall to keep that wind off the facade. The sand blasts and
further opens up the patina on the columns and the facade itself.
So the standing water combined with that is causing increasing damage on the Ad-Deir monument.
So here at the central doorway you can see the massiveness of this monument by me just standing next
to the doorway.
The sediment from the wind that's deposited on the second story above
is thus pushing water coming from on the
top of the Ad-Deir in a pattern over the doorway on either side that's causing
worse erosion on either side of this entrance.
(Narrator) Inside this 26 foot tall
doorway is a single empty chamber.
"We are now inside the chamber room of the Ad-Deir monument.
We can see how massive it is.
In thesekinds of buildings for memorials to...if this was for a Nabataean king,
there may have been a cult statue here of him. So we just have no evidence for what
decoration may have been. Now we have a little bit of salt crystallization on
the ceiling over here you can see it. So it's very plain it's very simple
except for the beautiful banded sandstone which the Nabataeans ended up
probably covering up with plaster so we're missing a lot of ornamentation that used to be here."
(Narrator) Over two thousand years, this stone facade has endured earthquakes, flash floods, and wind
erosion it also has a water source of unknown origin that is damaging the
patina.
"In this case the seep is coming out from behind the wall and it chemically reacts with the
minerals in the stone itself to create these natural salts."
(Narrator) All water sources here are
damaging to the fragile sandstone facade. So one of the first steps in this
conservation effort was to clean out the second story monument alcoves that
were filled with dirt and debris. Geologists from BYU and from Charles
University in the Czech Republic, rappelled down to complete the dangerous task.
"As far as we know, it has not been cleared and maybe two thousand years...
As the debris piles up, it then shifts the water erosion over the
front so we're getting a lot of damage that's being done on the lower facade."
(Narrator) The three active excavation sites here: the Cistern, the Great Circle, and the
Temenos Slot were all important parts of the original Nabataean systems that
controlled water on the plateau. Before the main courtyard can be excavated,
these areas need to be restored.
"Because all of the erosion from this side of the plateau comes to this point,
is has made this Slot Temenos entrance one of the richest archaeological find sites for the project.
So everything has been washed down here
from all time periods of occupation on the plateau itself. They have over 90 coins
at this point. They've also found bits of gold jewelry that have washed down."
"We find a lot of coins and pottery and
other small items at this site because it's the erosional wash area."
"I'm starting up the staircase that was discovered last year
underneath is two thousand years of erosion you can see it's a beautifully
prepped limestone floor from the bedrock. The mystery is how deep this really goes
and what's underneath the present erosion fill in the courtyard itself.
One of the theories were testing is that not only was the Ad-Deir plateau a major cult site,
but it may have been the site of a Nabataean summer palace. So what we're finding,
particularly in this slot entrance, is opening up new questions and new
perspectives about how the Ad-Deir plateau may have been used in antiquity.
(Narrator) Even by modern standards, the Nabataeans were expert water engineers. They used
the natural landscape to divert every drop of water into storage tanks and
away from structures.
"Everywhere you look on the rock faces, on the cliff faces,
there are channels, there are mechanisms for controlling the water."
"And all the channels that you see
they lead to a cistern or to a dam."
"And you can see how deeply cisterns are. There is
a series of six or seven of these."
"So part of our project is to restore these cisterns that will catch all the water
that would otherwise go down erode the Adair monument."
(Narrator) One of the goals of this archaeological project is to restore these structures and
remarkably use these two thousand year old systems to channel and store water
to benefit modern populations.
"Not only is it interesting from an ancient perspective, but it's also important for the local
people have access to water resources, which are still as scarse today as they were then."
The Nabataeans, of two thousand years ago, created a water engineering system as a gift that can be maximized for Jordan today."
"These people were very in tune with their environment in ways that we
need to re-capture. They teach us something new everyday."
(Narrator) From learning about ancient civilizations in the shadow of an
archaeological treasure,
to interacting everyday with modern-day Jordanians,
for BYU students the Ad-Deir monument project provides valuable experience and perspective.
"This isn't a museum where things just go to sit...This is a living, breathing site."
"It's a great intercultural experience for the students because it's
total cultural immersion. We're living in the village. We have the duel crewmen
with us all day long.
We have our jordanian colleagues at work with us."
"I just feel really fortunate that I'm allowed to work here among these people are so great to us."
"We need missions like this. We don't a need mission that's gonna be isolated from the local people.
The students--they are lucky there. And, at the same time, the Department here...we are lucky."
"It's an incredible opportunity to be able to help preserve this monument for Jordan.
And probably most importantly it's a great
opportunity to help the local community."
"I feel something when I'm here, I love it here, and I want my children to see it.
That's one of my greatest dreams, is bringing my family up those stairs, much slower [chuckles], and having them
go around the corner and see it, and know that that's important to me and have it be important to them.
But it can't be that way if it doesn't survive. We need to protect it."