Petra: This long-lost ancient city of Jordan is an architectural marvel
If you have you watched the 1989 Hollywood blockbuster Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, do you remember the scene where the protagonist Indiana Jones found the Holy Grail? Well, if the answer is yes, then you have seen Petra, a long-lost, 10,000-year-old pre-historic city in the Jordanian desert. For hundreds of years, it remained 'hidden' to the West, only to be discovered by a Swiss explorer, Johann Ludwig Burckhardt in the 1812. Once a major trading hub, Petra and its ruins have been found in the southwest of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. It was the seat of the Nabataean (an Arabic tribe) empire between 400 BC and AD 106. The lost city's political, social and religious traditions became known due to excavations that began in 1958 for the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem and the American Centre of Oriental Research. In 2007, Petra was listed as one of the world's new seven wonders while way back in 1985, the Petra Archaeological Park was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The rise and fall of Petra
Petra became the capital of the Nabataean tribe during 312 BC. It served as a key hub for caravan trade between Arabia, Egypt, and Syria-Phoenicia during the Nabataean era, bringing incense from Arabia, silks from China and spices from India! Wondering how such a thriving centre lost in time?
Petra became a part of the Roman Empire of Arabia after the Romans defeated the Nabataeans in AD 106. Still, it continued to thrive until new sea trade routes caused its commercial downfall. Not only this, a major earthquake destroyed the city in AD 551. Petra continued to decline and hit a rock bottom around the end of the Byzantine Empire in AD 700. For many years, the city was unknown to Westerners!
One-of-a-kind architecture
Petra is half-built and half-carved into rock, surrounded by mountains, and encircled with tunnels and valleys. It is home to many monuments, temples, tombs, churches and structures mostly made of sandstone. The coexistence of Hellenistic (influenced by Greek culture) and prehistoric Nabataean rock-cut constructions makes it one of the most visited archaeological sites worldwide. It also consists of old unused channels, tunnels, and dams, along with a vast network of reservoirs that helped control and conserve seasonal rains. One of the common features of the Petra tombs is a small chamber for burial carved into stone walls. Though it is difficult to determine the time of construction of these tomb facades, anthropologists and historians speculate that they were built between the 2nd century BC and 2nd century AD, when the Nabataeans were at their peak of power and prominence.
Iconic structures of Petra
Numerous structures and facades have been discovered in Petra during excavations including High Place of Sacrifice, an altar from biblical times and a vast hydrological system comprising dams, cisterns, water channels carved out of rock and ceramic pipes that sustained the vast population among others. However, the two most iconic rock-cut facades of this well-developed metropolis are Khazneh (Treasury) and ed-Deir (Monastery).
Khazneh: The Treasury’s façade (24.9 meters wide x 38.77 meters high) is clearly influenced by the Hellenistic style and Alexandria, a prominent city in the Eastern Mediterranean region back then. It harbours a broken pediment and a circular building at the upper level. Wondering who created it? Well, that is difficult to conclude. However, scholars assume that it was constructed during the reign of the most successful Nabataean ruler Aretas IV (9 B.C.E. – 40 C.E.).
ed-Deir: Though it is well-known as a monastery, behind its façade lies the inner chamber of a temple. Featuring a large dining area and a podium at the rear side. Hardly any trace of the interior has been found so far.