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Petra in Jordan – a city of dreams
Abstract
Petra is a historical and archaeologicalcity which is located in the Ma’an region of Jordan. It is famous for its original and unique rock cut architecture and its water conduit system. Petra is also known as the Rose City due to the beautiful and original colour of its stone which is carved and hewn out of the rock.
This paper examines the historical aspect of the city in the context of the architectural prowess of those who built it. There is also an examination of how the city was built on a theoretical level as well as comparisons with other architectural sites which have similar characteristics.
Introduction:
The city was known to have been in existence ever since the year 312 BC and was created as the capital of the Nabateans. It lies on the side of Jebel al-Madhbah which has also been identified by some scholars as Mount Hor, an important Biblical site. It is located in a range of mountains on the east of the WadiAraba which is the valley that runs from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has been so since the year 1985.
The city was discovered in 1812 by a Swiss explorer and has been gradually growing in archaeological and historical importance ever since.
Geography of the site
Petra grew in importance chiefly through the ability of the Nabatean people in catching and storing the rain water which fell consistently in the area when floods occurred. One can also find an oasis which was purposely built in the city and this made it increase in importance when there were periods of drought since water was sold as a commodity. The Nabateans also created an extremely complex system of cisterns and wells to store this water which has remained largely intact and which can be viewed to this day.
Rock cut dwellings in Petra
In ancient times, Petra might have been approached from the south through the track that leads across the plain of Petra where there are two other important archaeological sites such as the Tomb of Aron. However the site is now generally approached from the East. There is a gargantuan and hugely impressive entrance which then leads down to a steeply elevated narrow gorge which only four metres wide in some areas. This gorge has been called the ‘Siq’ which means shaft and is actually a natural geological feature which is formed through a split in the rocks made of sandstone and which serves in itself as a waterway that eventually flows into the Wadi Musa. At the end of this narrow gorge one finds possibly the most elaborate and most stunning architectural building of the city which is the ruin of Al Khazneh (also known as ‘The Treasury’). This impressive and awe inspiring building is actually hewn into the sandstone cliff. Although it is still in remarkably well preserved condition, the face of it is riddled with bullet holes which were made by the Bedouin tribes who hoped to dislodge some of the riches which were rumoured to be found in it but which had long since disappeared.
The Treasury
Some metres away from the Treasury there is another building of considerable importance and which lies at the foot of the mountains. This is the en-Nejr which is a huge theatre that is also visually placed to display the panorama of tombs in view. The valley then opens into the plain where the site of the city is exposed in quite awe inspiring effect. There is an amphitheatre which has actually been cut into the hillside and into several of the tombs as well. An interesting aspect of this theatre is the fact that one can observe the tombs which are cut into the seating plan. The theatre is actually covered on all sides by mountains and there are also towers at each end of it. The mountain walls are made out of a pinkish coloured rock which is imposing and at the same time beautiful to look at.
History of the city
There is evidence to suggest that settlements had been built in the area from as early as 1550 BC or the 18th Egyptian Dynasty. However although the city was actually built much later than that, there had been a sanctuary there ever since ancient times and the site also was mentioned in the Exodus books in the Bible. Undoubtedly the most impressive feature being the rock cut caves; this suggests that the Nabataea custom of interring their dead and worshipping them in their tombs may have come from previous inhabitants of the site. The name Petra also comes from the word Selawhich means a rock or according to the bible, an opening in the rock.
The city also has been named Rekemwas which is the native name for it and this has been mentioned in the Dead Sea Scrolls. It was apparently a refuge for Joseph and was also mentioned in the same documents when referring to the Roman general Antigonus who sent expeditions against the Nabateans in 312 BC. However the name of Sela which is Aramaic also remains unknown today. Actually the name ‘Rekem’ could still be seen carved into the rock until about two decades ago when a bridge was built over the site and thus the whole structure disappeared under modern day concrete.
A detailed examination of the tombs demonstrates some interesting and highly original historical features. The tombs begin from a simple construction of a basic tomb which is then set in a tower with the door also featuring a parapet ornament crowning it on top. This type of design is an imitation of a house where people lived. There are various stages which evolved into the fully fledged Nabataea tomb which retains all native features but which also exhibits characteristics that are also Egyptian Greek.
Comparable tomb designs to these also are found in Mada’inSaleh, a sister city to Petra which are also covered in Nabatean inscriptions and which can provide a clear indication of the dates of the Petra tombs. The architecture develops further into tomb fronts which include a semi-circular arch that is a feature which comes from North Syria. There are then elaborate facades which are actually copied from Roman temples which indicate that the native style of tombs has been eradicated.
Imposing façade at Petra
The tombs are distinguished by rather short inscriptions which may be due to the fact that these have disappeared with the use of cement on other buildings. The Nabatean settlement goes back to around the 6th century BC and this can be ascertained by the pylon tombs which are the earliest examples found here.
There is also a period which seems to combine Greek, Egyptian and also Syrian elements which point to the age of Ptolemides. The Nabateans came to the forefront around the 2nd Century BC and the theatre was probably built around a hundred years later during the reign of Aretas III Philhellene. Some tombs may be dates as late as 9 BC.
In 106 AD, the part of Syria which included Petra came under the rule of the Roman Empire. Although the native culture vanished, the city continued to prosper with a road being built which was known as the Petra-Roman road. Around a hundred years later during Emperor Severus’ time the city’s coinage suddenly stops and Petra began its indelible decline with Palmyra increasing in importance. The city then became a religious centre and was popular with pilgrims.
The city continued declining under Roman and Byzantine rule and an earthquake in 363 destroyed much of the city with the water management system almost completely destroyed. Another earthquake in 551 further damaged the city considerable and it was abandoned in 663 when the Arabs conquered Petra. The ruins remained a curiosity but were largely unknown to the western world until their discovery in 1812 by Burckhardt. The tombs were however ransacked by thieves over the years. In 1929, a team of British and Palestinian archaeologists as well as a Danish scholar excavated and surveyed Petra in detail.
Architectural design
The city of Petra is an awe inspiring series of structures which concentrate primarily on the rock cut tombs. Since the tombs are hewn directly into the rock the labour must have been painstaking and done by hand as the workers would be chipping away at the rock for days and weeks on end. The great structures such as the amphitheatres were undoubtedly built by large teams of people who would work together in groups building the impressive edifice like structures. The pinkish coloured stone lent itself to carving and chiselling quite well and this means that the design was strikingly forward looking for its day. One may compare the amphitheatre and the Treasury to some of the structures from the Egyptian period such as the Abu Simbel Temple and the temples of Karnak.
There is not much evidence to prove that the architects which worked on the city of Petra had the same vision for the area. However when one examines the incredibly advanced designs for water catchment one notes that everything here was carried out with a thought in mind, that of conserving water as much as possible for eventual resale. This led the engineers to design a complicated and ingenious system of cisterns and culverts where the water flows along upon various levels. The engineering feat is quite remarkable since there is very little evidence on how it was actually planned and how it came to be created.
The main freestanding and rock cut monuments lie within the area that is now an archaeological park. Since it was built, it has suffered extensively from weather pressures as well as tourism pressures. Although most of the buildings remain, the real jewel of the whole area is the series of tombs which are cut into the rock.
Reflections on similar monuments built with today’s tools.
The Villa Lante
The Villa Lante demonstrates an incredible understanding of topography and how this affects the intrinsic design of any villa accordingly. One can appreciate certain features such as the Fountain, the River Gods and the Water Chain which demonstrate the capabilities of the architectural designer who also brought about considerable change in what he managed to achieve. The whole complex as regards the Villa Lante demonstrates that everything can be achieved with some imagination and this is most definitely the case here. The architectural features which are prominently described include a whole stretch of designs such as Fountain Candles, the Fountain of Moors as well as Casini on either side of the gardens. On the right, there is a hunting park, Pegasus, other fountains in woods, maze, whole complex is the Villa Lante-recognized as quintessential form of using golden section and iconography, underling predicate, proportioning system not part of golden section 1:2, 2:3, Ren-square, circle pure forms, golden rectangle, doesn’t show up in overtly triangles. The Villa Lante is an excellent example of design which is functional yet also very beautiful as it brings out the main characteristics of the building but also provides ample space for roaming about in its wide and extensive gardens.
The second example is the Tower of Alhambra in Madrid
This is a fortified palace which was completely rebuilt by Charles X and is the last remaining extant Islamic structure/garden in Spain and is very much popular with visitors. It is situated on roughly 35 acres of hilltop and was initially conceived by CalifMuhammed and there are several famous sections in it dating from 1248 or roughly the middle of the 13th century
Amongst the most famous aspects of this topographical design is the Court of myrtles, reception area, step, reflection pool-layers, bilaterally symmetrical, alternating layers of dark and light, with mirador, beautiful surface texture, interior, caligraphic-script, poetry and other factors also permeate the view
One also should look out for Asaleiho, tile work, geometric or floral type motifs. Again this building is a striking example of classic design brought very much into the 21st century with its avantegarde styles and reaching out to other cultures.
Tower of Camares
In the Court of the Lions one can observe the main fountain, layer of light and dark in this climate important because of striking sun, relief from sun, incredible reading of textures, water reaching into other rooms, direction and order
Additionally one can also observe the Tower of Ladies which is a harem-place for women, most innermost, most protecting, opportunities to view out into landscape -connected by doors, not axis.
As regards the Generalife-summer garden, C. M. Viliers-Stuart wrote in the early 20th century, that this colored Western thought as all paradise although it is not a good conceptual explanation of garden, proportions one must look at the plan and describe using vocabulary
The Garden Carpet-division of garden in parts, can read garden in plan form, diagram of charharbagh, strong central axis, often pavilion on axis, with water feature, many change grade, pomegranted, peach, roses, pear, fruiting trees, edged or borderd by other vegetable, clover turf to bring bees, entire thing scented, seasonal, gardens built by rulers as a statement of their extent/power, urban gardens.
Imagery has always been an important part of our association with religious artefacts and this is true in more ways than one for several incidents and epochs in art. Most of all we are still enamoured of churches and other similar artifacts such as statues, religious paintings and other similar works of art. We are also awed by the free standing monuments built by our forefathers especially prehistoric temples and suchlike. Notwithstanding all this, religious artifacts are still an important part of any religion as these demonstrate an interaction with symbols which man continues to crave constantly. Cultural celebrations are definitely an important part of our everyday lives and these are linked with our past in several ways. Most important of all we find that early creations are important and timeless in a sense that they move along with great strides towards religious and cultural finality. Cultural celebrations such as village feasts in Malta are full of what can term as socio-religious influences which come to the fore in more ways than one. What is actually inherited from our forefathers continues to appraise today’s society and this makes it extremely important in the development of a country. Historical art images such as paintings, statues and suchlike remain very much at the core of our thinking and are extremely important in the religious development of a nation.
The Temple of Athena (427-424 BCE)
The Temple of Athena is probably the most beautiful and most important piece of architecture built in Ancient Greece. With its vast network of columns and arches, the temple comes across as extremely powerful and wonderful in more ways than one. It also personifies the Greek’s love of Athena who was the Goddess of Love and who would always be at the centre of their activity.
The temple is built with a typical Doric structure in mind and has the finest features of Greek architecture in it. Principally it is a rather dominant style with a strong and mindful outset and full of little nooks and crannies which personify its beauty. The material used is also consonant with what used to be used in those days with large structures, material such as marble and graphite. The temple is also full of strikingly original features such as sliding columns and intricate design on its frontage.
However the Temple of Athena remains most famous for its striking location and beauty. It sheer size is also an important issue when discussing it aesthetically as it also means that the temple appealed very well to those who wanted to come up with a vision of grandeur and greatness. This also meant that the architectural style was rarefied and original demonstrating that art can be huge and enormous but also pretty powerful too.
Finally the Temple of Athena is a beautiful example of sculpture and architecture in its finest form with rarefied beauty being the first aspect of all this design. The Greek architectural firmament was undoubtedly addressed by this issue in more ways than one and the Temple of Athena is a living example of all that.
How Petra was built
The Nabataeans who built the Petra has a unique architectural and construction style. Before constructing any structure, they collected an ernomous range of data to provide the base for determining the building materials to be used as well as the construction specifications to be applied. The Nabatean architecture has both Oriental and Hellenistic influences.
The building material that was most readily available was the sandstone. However, the sandstone was a particularly not a strong building material and it had an effect on the type of building techniques adopted by the Nabateans.
The Nabatean used marble slaps as veneers for the Petra walls as well as in paving cellas. Various quarrymen used ropes, ladders as well as slots so as to reach the different working levels of the project. Most of the sandstone quarries that were located at Petra were not capable of yielding single colossal stone blocks like quarries or hard stones in other places. As a result, more than of the rocks used in building the Petra were gotten from old rock cut monuments. Where
The high faces of the Petran tomb quarries required special techniques for the cutting and transporting of the product. The cutting and transport process was therefore hampered by these relatively high faces. To overcome this problem, the Nabatean quarrymen used the wedge and trench technique to extract blocks and they also gave a stepped shape to the quarries. Carved terraces were also utilized at Petra to generate a working platform that was in a horizontal shape instead of a scaffolding one that would have definitely yielded building problems. This technique was in fact chiefly used because of the lack of adequate wood that would have been used for scaffolding. The technique was also adopted when it came to the carving the interior and exterior of the Petra’s rock-cut monuments. The tools used by the Nabateans were hugely similar to those used by the Romans and the Greeks and included hammers, picks, bush hammers, mallets, and chisels. For transportation, the Nabateans used several transportation devices to move extracted stone blocks to various destinations where they were required. These devices included sledges on rollers and wheel wagons.
How I would build the Petra today
As seen above, the building of the Petra involved outdated construction techniques that would find no relevance in the world today. If I was to construct the Petra today, I would definitely have a lot of exemplary building technology at my disposal. For instance, instead of using the simple craft tools for carving, I would use electrically controlled carvers. These would also be used in shaping the interiors and the exteriors of the rock monuments and building surfaces. For transportation of the building blocks, I would modern cranes that would make it easy to transport them from one place to another. To improve the stability of the structures, I would ensure that there was a strong foundation that would withstand the strength and weight of the entire building.
I would also adjust the shape of the building to give it a more modern look, for example a triangular shape. I would also incorporate other modern features such as glass windows and doors.
Therefore, if I was to build the Petra today, it would definitely be much stronger than the current structure and would also be more aesthetically pleasing due to the modern look that I would give it.
Works Cited:
Bedal, Leigh-Ann (2004). The Petra Pool-Complex: A Hellenistic Paradeisos in the Nabataean Capital. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press. ISBN 1-59333-120-7.
Harty, Rosemary. "The Bedouin Tribes of Petra Photographs: 1986–2003". Retrieved 2008-07-17.
Hill, John E. (2004). The Peoples of the West from the Weilue魏略 by Yu Huan魚豢 : A Third Century Chinese Account Composed between 239 and 265 CE. "Draft annotated English translation where Petra is referred to as the Kingdom of Sifu."
Paradise, T. R. (2011). “Architecture and Deterioration in Petra: Issues, trends and warnings“ in Archaeological Heritage at Petra: Drive to Development or Destruction?” (Doug Comer, editor), ICOMOS-ICAHM Publications through Springer-Verlag NYC: 87-119.
Paradise, T. R. (2005). “Weathering of sandstone architecture in Petra, Jordan: influences and rates” in GSA Special Paper 390: Stone Decay in the Architectural Environment: 39–49.
Reid, Sara Karz (2006). The Small Temple. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press. ISBN 1-59333-339-0. "Reid explores the nature of the small temple at Petra and concludes it is from the Roman era."
Nelson Glueck (1959).Rivers in the Desert. HUC.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press
UNESCO World Heritage Centre. "Petra." Accessed April 19, 2013. http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/326.
Brown University. "The Petra Great Temple | History." Accessed April 19, 2013.http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Joukowsky_Institute/Petra/excavations/history.html.
AtlasTours.Net - Visit Middle East: Jordan, Holyland, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Sinai (Egypt). "Petra, Jordan." Accessed April 19, 2013. http://www.atlastours.net/jordan/petra.html.
