If you’ve never heard the name James Arthur Flowerdew, you’re not alone. He wasn’t famous, didn’t lead a rockstar life, and had no connection to Indiana Jones. But this quiet Englishman from Norfolk may have remembered a life he couldn’t have lived, in a city he never visited, from a time no one can quite pin down.
So let’s talk about Petra, that jaw-dropping stone city carved into the red cliffs in Jordan. The one that makes you feel like your Airbnb could try a little harder. The actual lost city, once the thriving capital of the Nabataean kingdom, now one of the world’s most iconic archaeological sites. It’s not exactly the kind of place you just casually recall from a dream, unless, you’re James Arthur Flowerdew.
The Vision That Wouldn’t Go Away
From childhood, Flowerdew claimed to have had vivid mental images of a city carved into rock. Not just generic “ancient city” vibes either, he described specific buildings, courtyards, and rock formations, all before he’d ever seen a photograph of Petra. The weird kicker? These visions were often triggered by multi-coloured pebbles he’d find on the beach in Norfolk. (Yes, it sounds poetic and mildly absurd, but stay with me.)
Then came the BBC documentary.
Flowerdew was in his fifties when he watched a program on Petra and nearly dropped his tea. There it was, the city from his mind. The place he’d seen a hundred times in waking dreams. He was so shaken by the recognition, he wrote to the BBC (because whenever you suspect something otherworldly might be happening to you the first thing you do is write to the BBC!).
The Trip That Raised Eyebrows
Here’s where the story takes a turn from mildly odd to properly strange. The Jordanian government invited Flowerdew to Petra to test his knowledge. Before he even set foot in the country, an archaeologist quizzed him. He passed with flying colors, naming unexcavated ruins, suggesting the original purposes of buildings that modern experts still argued over, and confidently navigating the site as if retracing his own footsteps.
At one point, he reportedly identified the very location where he believed he’d died in battle.
Archaeologists, professionals who are not easily impressed by eccentric Englishmen, remarked on the accuracy and emotional intensity of his recollections. They couldn’t quite explain how he knew what he knew, but they also couldn’t dismiss him as a hoaxer. There was no evidence that Flowerdew had ever studied Petra, travelled there, or had any prior contact with in-depth archaeological information about the site.
So, Was He Reincarnated?
Let’s pull out the metaphorical pipe and trench coat and investigate.
What We Are Told:
- Flowerdew had no documented exposure to Petra before his fifties.
- His descriptions allegedly matched obscure details of the site.
- He never appeared to seek fame or fortune from the experience.
How We Know It:
- A 1979 BBC regional programme (Time Slip: The Petra Experiment) reportedly featured him.1
- Multiple articles and blog posts repeat his story.
- Anecdotal recollections from those involved in the Petra trip.
But… Is It Credible?
Now the plot thickens.
There are no surviving TV interviews or recordings, no full transcripts, and no follow-up studies. His name sometimes appears as James, sometimes Arthur. He’s even referred to as “Captain” in one BBC listing, yet no military records have surfaced to back that up. For a man who allegedly impressed experts and appeared on television, he left a surprisingly shallow footprint.
That has led some to wonder:
Wait… Was He Even Real?
There’s evidence to suggest someone named Arthur Flowerdew might have existed. The BBC aired a programme featuring him. But beyond that? The trail gets murky.
No obituary. No military records. No formal documentation of his Petra trip from archaeological institutions. And despite the emotional punch of his story, no original footage has resurfaced.
It’s entirely possible that Flowerdew’s tale has become a sort of modern folklore: a compelling narrative repeated so often it gains a veneer of truth, despite having little to anchor it to reality.
Final Thoughts: Mystery, Memory, or Myth?
Whether he was a reincarnated Nabataean builder, a master of cryptomnesia, or a complete fabrication, James Arthur Flowerdew’s story is a curious reminder of how easily a good mystery can root itself into collective memory. Maybe he really did remember a past life. Maybe he stumbled upon a forgotten photo as a child and spent decades mentally reconstructing it. Maybe he never existed at all.
And maybe, just maybe, that’s what makes the story so irresistible.
Because in the end, the mystery of Petra isn’t just carved into the cliffs. It might be tucked quietly into a beach in Norfolk, or the pages of a legend we keep retelling, just in case.
Sources
- The BBC definitely aired this programme in 1979 (https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/2d252cb831434406951ba6d66a9fbec3), but at the time of writing there’s no trace of it online. ↩︎
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