Petra of Jordan

Lost city of stone

Introduction

Deep within the deserts of Jordan lies the

ancient city of Petra. Through a narrow
gorge, it emerges into view, revealing awe-
inspiring monuments cut into the
surrounding cliffs. What is this astonishing
city? Who built it, and why?

Two thousand years ago, Petra stood at a

crossroads of the ancient Near East. Camel
caravans passed through, loaded with spices,
textiles and incense from distant regions—and
through such commerce, the city flourished. Its
people, the Nabataeans, harnessed precious
water, enabling the population to soar to perhaps
20,000.

The Nabataeans also erected monumental

tombs, memorializing their kings and
leaders. However, over time political
control changed, and so did trade routes.
Eventually the city fell silent, forgotten by
the outside world.

Today archaeologists are discovering clues

to Petra's past. The spectacular objects
displayed here, many unearthed by recent
excavations, shed new light on this
extraordinary desert city.

Petra Rediscovered
The people of Petra

Ruined cities in remote places have

always stirred the human imagination.
Petra drew the attention of early 19th-
century European travellers through the
remarkable published accounts of a Swiss
explorer named Burckhardt. The city was
unmarked on modern maps and—until
The story of the city of
Petra is veiled in mystery. It starts with a group of
Arabian nomads called the Nabataeans, who led
fruitful lives as desert traders. Scant clues exist to
Burckhardt's visit—had been unseen by
outsiders for more than 500 years. Early
visitors arrived on camelback and foot to
marvel at Petra's grandeur and wonder
about its past. Their accounts and images
fuelled immense curiosity about the city
and its origins.
Caravans and Commerce
Petra began as a gathering site for
Nabataean traders carrying incense, spice
and perfume along two major ancient
caravan routes. Commercial traffic to and
from Petra steadily increased from the first
century BC to the mid-first century AD, to
keep up with the growing demand for
luxury goods in Rome, Greece and Egypt.
During this time the city evolved into a
bustling hub of international commerce and
culture.
reveal exactly where these migrants originated,
but it is clear that they had acquired control of
the ancient incense and spice trade throughout
the Arabian Peninsula by the first century BC.
City of Stone
If shaping the natural world is a sign of
civilization, the Nabataeans were one of the most
civilized peoples of antiquity. The spectacular
ruins of Petra, chiseled by hand into
the sandstone cliffs of southern Jordan, are
testimony to Nabataean engineering and
artistry—in the form of freestanding temples and
nearly 3,000 rock-cut tombs, dwellings, banquet
halls, altars and niches. Not only were these
structures elaborately carved, but they were also
covered with stucco and brightly painted,
creating a spectacle of brilliant facades set
against a backdrop of rose-colored cliffs.
Petra was a settlement whose streets and
architecture sprawled along winding gullies and
up steep cliffs. The Nabataeans developed the
technology to harness natural springs in order to
sustain fertile crops, lush gardens and an
impressive system of pools and reservoirs, all of
which supported a booming population. At its
height, around AD 50, the city and its environs
boasted as many as 20,000 residents.
The grand entrances of many tombs in Petra were carved on a giant scale to honor those laid to
rest inside. Since it was part of Nabataean culture to display wealth, rich families spared no
expense to hire master architects and masons who created elaborate facades for their funerary
monuments. Many of the architectural elements hailed from Alexandria—a Hellenistic Greek
city in neighboring Egypt—and were common throughout the ancient Mediterranean region. In
Petra, they have a unique Nabataean flair.

Based on Hellenistic Greek architecture, towering flat columns called pilasters

topped with carved capitals supported the upper stories of rock-cut tombs. And freestanding
columns lined courtyards of Petra's temples and civic buildings. The column capitals bear
intricate floral patterns and animal shapes, representing aspects of nature that were important
to the Nabataeans.

ROCK - HEWM PETRA

Carving a tomb required a team of stonemasons supervised by a master builder or architect,

who designed the project to the owner's liking. Sometimes the work started at the top—often
more than 100 feet up—and proceeded down to the ground. Another process involved two
teams carving simultaneously, one from the top and the other from the bottom.

Top down

One tomb-cutting process started at the top of a rock face. Masons made a rock-cut platform on
which they stood to carve facade details. When they finished that section, they chipped out a
lower platform, working their way down the cliff.

Splitting stone

Masons took advantage of existing cracks and clefts in the rock to help with the carving process.
Otherwise splitting solid rock required a mason to chip out a hole and insert a piece of wood.
Adding water made the wood swell, which cracked the rock.
 PROSPEROUS PETRA

From its origins as a tent encampment, Petra had become an urban center by the end of the
first century BC. Typical of ancient Near Eastern settlements, the city grew along the natural
contours of the landscape. Even the main street followed the curve of the Wadi Musa, Petra's
primary river. At this time the Nabataeans paved the road through the Siq, enabling wheeled
vehicles to import locally quarried limestone used in city construction. Many of Petra's main
architectural features—including the Treasury, Theater, Temple of the Winged Lions and Qasr
al-Bint—appeared during the reign of King Aretas IV (9 BC-AD 40), who was responsible for

many of the city's central landmarks.

After the Roman occupation of Nabataea, in AD 106, Petra's development took a new
direction. As with most other Roman cities, planners did their best to impose an urban grid on
this sprawling settlement. The Romans managed to create one straight road along the central
marketplace. Flanked by colonnaded porticos, this linear street clearly served as an architectural
imprint of Rome. The Colonnaded Street and gateway symbolized Rome's political presence in
Petra.