[dramatic music playing]
ALBERT LIN (VOICEOVER): 30
miles north of Petra, I'm
laser scanning the
ancient city of Sela
for the very first time.
I'm looking for clues that the
nomadic Nabateans settled here.
Look at this.
There's pottery just, like,
falling out of the ground.
That's the indication
for people living here.
This is somebody's
fingerprint.
Yes, exactly.
My finger fits perfectly.
That's crazy.
You can just feel
somebody's fingerprint
right here, locked in time.
Mhm.
Unbelievable.
ALBERT LIN (VOICEOVER): The
pottery proves people were
here, but it's not clear who.
It could simply be the guards
charged with protecting
the Nabateans' treasure.
Look at this.
You got a staircase.
Where does it go?
Up.
[instrumental music playing]
Probably it's a place to pray.
Yes, absolutely.
You think so?
Yeah.
You look for a high place
to be closer to the gods.
ALBERT LIN (VOICEOVER):
So far, all
I've found is a piece of
pottery and an ancient stairway
to heaven.
I guess this is
all sandstone, right?
Yes, it is.
So over 2,000
years, the landscape
has sort of melted away.
ALBERT LIN
(VOICEOVER): The desert
winds and winter rains are
eroding the soft sandstone
into strange shapes.
But I can just make out curious
regular markings in the rocks.
What are these
little holes up here?
Well, actually, this is the
traditional Nabatean house.
So they were living here.
And you can see the
marks of the axe
that they have been
using to carving.
These are chisel
marks, yes, exactly.
Somebody was just sitting
here, chiseling away, creating
a space for their family maybe.
ALBERT LIN (VOICEOVER):
Carving caves
into dwellings suggested they
spent long stretches of time
here.
Look at the
beautiful view here.
It's unbelievable.
This is the east.
The sun will come up.
It will be sunny in this spot.
ALBERT LIN (VOICEOVER):
The cave's position
reveals the reason for the
strange regular markings
above the entrance.
They're post holes
for their tent poles.
You have this, you know,
shelter in front of your house.
So they've gone from living
in tents to combining tents
with living in stone then.
ALBERT LIN (VOICEOVER):
The evidence
is stacking up that homes
were created at Sela.
But it's hot, exposed,
and desert dry,
without a single water
source on the whole outcrop.
No one can survive
without water.
So how did the Nabateans?
I'm hoping my Lidar data
can help solve the mystery.
