FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) - A University of Arkansas professor is featured in a special series by NOVA, which airs on PBS, that began Wednesday (Feb. 18).
Tom Paradise, a professor of geosciences at the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, appeared in NOVA's "Building Wonders of the World" series in an episode titled "Petra: Lost City of Stone."
Petra is an acient city carved out of stone located in the desert of Jordan. The city was popularized in the movie "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade."
"When you enter the valley of Petra you see the Treasury first, the famous one from 'Indiana Jones,'" Paradise said. "Many people turn around and leave and think that's it. They don't realize there's another 800 tomb facades."
Paradise said he's been doing research in Petra for almost 25 years. He said he was approached by NOVA to be a part of project because of his expertise on the city.
"When I see ruins, I don't think of those people then, I think of us now," he said.
Paradise said he was a part of the project from beginning to end. He said because of the project he was able to witness something no one has seen in 2,000 years.
"They gave me the ability to reconstruct a Nabataean tomb and tomb facade," he said. "That was just a crazy opportunity to be able to get involved in something so one of a kind."
The episode featuring Paradise premiered on Feb. 18 on PBS in the United States and across Europe and Asia on ARTE.