The mystery that follows the discovery of a cup found exactly where the Indiana Jones movie about the search for the Holy Grail was filmed seems to have been solved by archaeologists, managing to interpret a case charged by a series of coincidences.

In the 1989 film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, the Holy Grail is hidden deep within the Arabian Temple of the Sun.

In a coincidence that surpasses even movie scripts, archaeologists discovered a cup that they later christened the “holy grail”, as well as 12 bodies at the location where the film was shot in Jordan.

Researchers made the discovery this summer while excavating the 2,000-year-old Al Hansa, or Treasury, in the ancient city of Petra.

Despite its striking resemblance to the corresponding “holy grail” of the film, an expert reports that this is a real object.

In an article in The Conversation, archaeologist Claire Isabella Gilmour, from the University of Bristol, unravels the mystery of the object and its true origins.

Instead of the “holy grail” that bestows eternal life like the one in the movie, it’s just a typical glass used by the Nabateans, the ancient Arabs who built Al Hansa.

However, despite solving the mystery surrounding the cup, archaeologists still do not know the identities of the 12 people buried next to it.

archeology

“In reality, it’s a humble pitcher, not a cup that offers the drinker eternal life,” Gilmour says.

According to her, Lucasfilm Ltd – the production company behind the Indiana Jones films studied Nabataean pottery to make the film’s cup.

He adds that the actual “cup” found earlier this year was actually a typical example of pottery of the time.

“Navata pottery is very thin – often only 1.5mm thick and better suited to ceremonial purposes or local use than the thicker, sturdier modern Roman wares used for travel.” she said herself.

The academic adds that this type of pottery, although not exactly a ground-breaking find, reflects “the status of the ancient city of Petra as an important trading point and the ability of the Nabateans to create and invent.”

Archaeologists believe that the ancient city of Petra was inhabited from about 7000 BC. until about 700 AD

Petra was located on a major trade route connecting Egypt, the Mediterranean and the Arabian Peninsula. This strategic location allowed Petra to flourish throughout the first century AD. in an advanced and cosmopolitan city.

Carved out of the pink sandstone of the valley, the Treasury is one of the most recognizable buildings in the city and was built around 40 AD. by the Nabataean king Areta IV Philopatri, probably as a tomb.

During the filming of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade the imposing facade of the building was used to represent the exterior of the Sun Temple, while the interior footage was shot at Elstree Studios in England.

In 2003, expeditions discovered two unknown tombs under the left side of the Treasury, containing bone remains.

Further studies with ground-penetrating radar – a surveying technique that emits pulses of electromagnetic waves – estimated that there could be even more tombs hidden beneath the floors.

When scientists finally excavated the temple further in August 2024, they were shocked to discover a hidden tomb carved directly into the rock.

Inside were the bodies of 12 unknown people along with grave goods of pottery, bronze, iron and ceramics.

Filmed as part of the Discovery Channel show ‘Expedition Unknown’ what caught the attention of the researchers, however, was a simple ceramic vessel.

This goblet cup looked strikingly similar to the one used in the movie starring Sean Connery and Harrison Ford, which was filmed at this very location.

Documentary presenter Josh Gates said: “This is perhaps the most important tomb ever found at Petra and a discovery of historic proportions.”

Gates added that the cup “almost looked like the holy grail that appeared in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.”

However, even if this hidden tomb may not have hidden the holy grail, it still contains an archaeological mystery.

Since the Nabateans did not write much about their culture, there is much that archaeologists do not know about how these people lived and died in Petra.

Gilmour said that “we still know nothing about the identities of the burials, although their burial in separate sarcophagi and their placement in the Vault suggest their high status in society.”

Significantly, the skeletons found at Al Hasna are whole – meaning no one has rummaged through the bones since they were buried.

In a site that has been subject to archaeological digs, vandalism and looting for hundreds of years, this is quite a rare find.

The identities of those buried in Al Hasna Tomb are a fascinating puzzle and a potential source of vital information.