More than 2,000 years ago, the thriving city of Petra rose up in the bone-dry desert of what is now Jordan. An oasis of culture and abundance, the city was built by wealthy merchants whose camel caravans transported incense and spices from the Arabian Gulf. They carved spectacular temple-tombs into its soaring cliffs, raised a monumental Great Temple at its heart, and devised an ingenious system that channeled water to vineyards, bathhouses, fountains, and pools. But following a catastrophic earthquake and a slump in its desert trade routes, Petra's unique culture faded and was lost to most of the world for nearly a thousand years. Now, in a daring experiment, an archaeologist and sculptors team up to carve an iconic temple-tomb to find out how the ancient people of Petra built their city of stone. Meanwhile, scientists using remote sensors and hydraulic flumes uncover the vast city and its sophisticated water system. The race is on to discover how these nomads created this oasis of culture in one of the harshest climates on Earth.

NOVA Season 42 Episodes...

• s42e01 - Vaccines Calling the Shots
• s42e02 - Rise of the Hackers
• s42e03 - Why Planes Vanish
• s42e04 - Surviving Ebola
• s42e05 - Ben Franklin's Balloons
• s42e06 - First Air War
• s42e07 - Bigger Than T. rex
• s42e08 - Emperor's Ghost Army
• s42e09 - Killer Landslides
• s42e10 - First Man on the Moon
• s42e11 - Big Bang Machine
• s42e12 - Sunken Ship Rescue
• s42e13 - Sinkholes-Buried Alive
• s42e14 - Colosseum - Roman Death Trap
• s42e15 - Petra - Lost City of Stone
• s42e16 - Hagia Sophia: Istanbul's Ancient Mystery
• s42e17 - The Great Math Mystery
• s42e18 - Invisible Universe Revealed
• s42e19 - Nazi Attack on America
• s42e20 - Lethal Seas
• s42e21 - Chasing Pluto
• s42e22 - Nuclear Meltdown Disaster

NOVA Show Summary

Seen in more than 100 countries, NOVA is the most watched science based television series in the world and the most watched documentary series on PBS. It is also one of television's most acclaimed series, having won many major television awards, most of them many times over.