The French archaeological mission, which has been excavating the legendary ancient city of Petra since 1999, has published the results of many years of research. So, she managed to find the remains of buildings of the pre-monumental period, the presence of which greatly surprised scientists.
A rather detailed report by researchers appeared on the website of the National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research. The main goal of the French mission is to find and explore the main sanctuary of Petra, the Qasr al-Bint temple. Until now, it was believed that it, like other monumental structures, was erected in the classical Nabatean period, during the reign of King Aretas IV (from 9 to 40 AD).
A more daring hypothesis is that these buildings could have been erected during the time of his predecessor, King Oboda III (from 30 to 9 BC). Construction continued until the Roman conquest in 106. Moreover, for more than a century the temple was active. Yet the main temples and tombs were built under Aretus IV. At that time, Petra was the capital of a state with a population of at least 20 thousand people.
“When excavating the area of the temple, we were surprised to find remnants of a pre-monumental phase dating back to the Hellenistic period,” the researchers write. "We assume that the first temple here was built between the 2nd and 1st centuries BC."
Moreover, subsequent stratigraphic studies have revealed structures and agricultural terraces dating back to the 4th-3rd centuries BC. Surprisingly, these findings do not agree with the records of ancient historians. For example, Diodorus Siculus described local people as early as 312 BC. He called this people nomads. It is clear that the nomads would not have been able to build a monumental city.
“Excavations have revealed high quality building elements and materials: stone floors, plastered walls and raw brick, which is generally an amazing material in the local environment, but saturated with sandstone,” the researchers write. “We also found many imported artifacts such as amphorae and black lacquered Greek pottery. This testifies to the high standard of living and deep integration of Petra into global commercial relations as early as the III-II centuries BC."
The city of Petra was the capital of Idumea, and later the capital of the Nabataean kingdom. It is located in the territory of modern Jordan, in the Arava Valley. New discoveries have shown that the classical phase of this city dates back to the Hellenistic period of the 5th-4th centuries BC. It ended with the death of Rabbel II, the last king of the Nabateans, in AD 106.
In general, the Nabataean kingdom was actively developing after the death of Alexander the Great (323 BC) It occupied the territory between Syria and Egypt. Its existence and prosperity was ensured thanks to the caravan trade with the Mediterranean countries.
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Already in the 1st century AD, the Nabataean kingdom fell into dependence on Rome. After the death of Rabbel II, it was annexed by the emperor Trajan and became part of the newly formed Roman province of Arabia. Written sources say almost nothing about that period of time.
However, archaeologists recently managed to unearth a unique Roman monument in Petra. It was a stele with Roman propaganda. In addition, this monument changed the direction of the city's development, which began to line up along the north-south axis, which had religious significance for the Romans. Subsequently, Petra experienced several more periods of occupation and prosperity, as well as several powerful earthquakes. This city was abandoned after the 11th century.
Author: Denis Peredelsky