The dual cartouches of Ramesses III discovered in Jordan’s Wadi Rum. Courtesy Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, Jordan.

The Jordanian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities announced the discovery of the cartouche of Pharaoh Ramesses III (1186–1155 BCE) carved into a rock face near Wadi Rum in southern Jordan. A first-of-its-kind discovery in the country, it has been hailed as “rare, tangible evidence of pharaonic Egypt’s historical presence in the region.” Although it is the first such inscription discovered in Jordan, a series of cartouches belonging to Ramesses III have been discovered elsewhere, marking out an ancient trade route between Egypt and the Arabian Peninsula.

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Leaving a Mark

Among the countless carvings found throughout Wadi Rum, the inscription features two cartouches, one with the birth name of Ramesses III and the other with his throne name. “This is a landmark discovery that enhances our understanding of ancient connections between Egypt, Jordan, and the Arabian Peninsula,” said Lina Annab, the Jordanian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities.

Several other inscriptions of Ramesses III have been discovered outside of Egypt, carved along a lengthy trade route that connected Egypt with the Arabian Peninsula. These inscriptions have helped archaeologists pinpoint the route itself, with several cartouches found throughout the Sinai and Israel and one as far south as Tayma in Saudi Arabia. The Wadi Rum inscription, which is located close to the border between Jordan and Saudi Arabia, provides yet another marker on that route.

According to Zahi Hawass, the former Egyptian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, “The discovery is crucial. It could open the door to a deeper understanding of Egypt’s interactions with the southern Levant and Arabian Peninsula over 3,000 years ago.”

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A man carrying a goat, part of a banquet scene. Drawn after Pola et al. Citation 2016, Fig. 54 by Ruhama Bonfil, The Institute of Archaeology, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The twin sites of Tall adh-Dhahab, located just across the Jordan River from the ancient cities of Samaria and Shechem, are often identified as biblical Mahanaim and Panuel. Although mentioned several times in the Hebrew Bible, not much is known about either site. A new proposal in the journal Tel Aviv, however, suggests that a group of previously published carved ashlar blocks uncovered during earlier German excavations may point to Mahanaim being the site of an ancient Israelite palace.

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Palatial Building Blocks

At its height in the ninth century BCE, the Northern Kingdom of Israel stretched east across the Jordan River to the region of Gilead, in modern northwestern Jordan. It is in this region, along the biblical Jabbok River, that the sites of Tall adh-Dhahab are located. Both contain evidence of having been occupied during the Iron Age (c. 1200–586 BCE) and the Hellenistic period (c. 332–37 BCE). Some of the most interesting objects from the sites, however, are a group of ashlar stones dated to the Iron Age but incorporated into the later Hellenistic structures.

A segment of a garment probably of a participant in a banquet. Drawn after Pola et al. Citation 2016, Fig. 60 by Ruhama Bonfil, The Institute of Archaeology, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Several of the ashlar blocks include clear incisions: carved images of lyre players, horses, lions, palm trees, and even a man carrying a goat. These blocks likely once belonged to larger figurative depictions, possibly of feasts and hunting scenes. While many of these depictions are similar to artistic motifs used throughout the ancient Near East, especially Syro-Anatolia, the recent study proposes interpreting several of the images as signs of Israelite control.

According to the paper, a number of the ashlar blocks bear images with clear thematic parallels in the iconography of Kuntillet ‘Ajrud, the well-known Iron Age waystation found in northeastern Sinai. Four blocks specifically stand out: those depicting lyre players, horses, lions, and palm trees. All four themes have clear parallels in the iconography of Kuntillet ‘Ajrud, where they were discovered painted on pottery or decorating walls. Given that Kuntillet ‘Ajrud is often considered an Israelite site, these common iconographic themes could indicate a shared socio-political context, which in turn may help date the sites at Tall adh-Dhahab to about the same time as Kuntillet ‘Ajrud, which most scholars believe was first built during the reign of Jeroboam II (c. 793–753 BCE).

This brings up an interesting question: Where are the ashlars from? With some weighing as much as 440 pounds, it is likely that these large sandstone blocks were originally crafted for an administrative center or palace. After all, during the Bronze and Iron Ages, it was not at all unusual to have depictions of animals and feasts adorning palace walls. While no such palace has been excavated in the area, the article’s authors suggest the ashlars may be evidence that one once existed. This proposal, in turn, could help explain the biblical text, as Mahanaim plays an important role in a number of key events. Notable among these is the crowning and reign of Ish-Bosheth (2 Samuel 2:8–9), David’s journey to Mahanaim while fleeing from Absalom (2 Samuel 17:22–29), and the reference to Mahanaim as the center of a Solomonic administrative district (1 Kings 4:14). If there was a palace at Mahanaim, it would help explain the site’s regional importance and its role in how the biblical writers remembered these events.

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Petra’s famous Khazneh where the new tomb was discovered. Courtesy Nathan Steinmeyer, BAS.

Petra, the dazzling, 2,000-year-old Nabatean city in southern Jordan, has not given up all her secrets quite yet, it seems. Recent excavations revealed a previously unknown tomb beneath the facade of the city’s most famous monument, the Khazneh. Led by archaeologists from the American Center of Research, a team using ground-penetrating radar identified the tomb, which they claim is unlike anything previously discovered at Petra. Other archaeologists, however, are more reserved in their praise for the discovery.

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Excavating Petra’s New Tomb

The newly discovered tomb is the second to have been found in front of the Khazneh (or “Treasury”), an elaborate rock-cut monument typically thought to be a mausoleum or grand tomb for one of the great Nabatean kings, Aretas IV (r. 9 BCE–40 CE). Archaeologists had guessed there might be other hidden tombs in the area after the first was discovered during excavations in 2003. Following the plausible identification of the second tomb through ground-penetrating radar, the team partnered with Discovery Channel’s Expedition Unknown to document their ongoing work.

With film crew in tow, the team began excavating to find out more about the tomb that the radar had detected. More unexpected, however, was what was found inside the tomb. Although almost all of Petra’s tombs were robbed out ages ago, the newly discovered Khazneh tomb had remained untouched and contained the complete remains of 12 individuals as well as the various grave goods they were buried with. But while the archaeologists believe this is an incredible discovery that will shed more light on the Nabateans, key questions remain, including how the three tombs relate to the Khazneh. Were they an earlier phase of the mortuary complex, or was the Khazneh built as a feasting hall to remember the dead buried in the tombs below?

“This is a hugely rare discovery,” said Josh Gates, host of Expedition Unknown, in an interview with CNN. “In the two centuries that Petra has been investigated by archaeologists, nothing like this has been found before. Even in front of one of the most famous buildings in the world … there are still huge discoveries to be made.”

Not everyone was as impressed by the discovery, however. “I am perplexed why this find generated the media hype that it did,” said Megan Perry, Professor of Biological Anthropology at East Carolina University, who has excavated at Petra for more than 20 years. “It is by no means the only monumental tomb that has been excavated that still contains human remains and other excavated tombs at the site have found many more than 12 individuals.” She noted, for example, that one of the adjacent tombs contained as many as 11 people.

Perry also has concerns about the way the excavation was carried out. “I am disappointed that this excavation did not follow best practices in the discipline of bioarchaeology. Excavation and study of archaeological human individuals should be approached with care and respect, not treated as a spectacle. In addition, no one with the expertise to conduct the excavation and study of the skeletons was actually in the field with the rest of the team.”

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The Eastern Mediterranean Gallery, Eric Sucar, University of Pennsylvania

The Penn Museum
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
www.penn.museum

The Eastern Mediterranean Gallery at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in Philadelphia (commonly known as the Penn Museum) opened in November 2022.

Titled Crossroads of Cultures, this new permanent exhibit explores the eastern Mediterranean as a hub of ideas, art, and technologies, covering the geographic area of modern Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the Palestinian Territories, and Cyprus. Its ambitious scope spans from the Middle Bronze Age (c. 2000 BCE) to the late Ottoman period (c. 1900 CE), highlighting connections between the region’s past and the contemporary world.

The exhibit presents some 400 artifacts arranged around three major themes: coexistence and connection, creativity and change, and power and conflict. It makes use of interactive, multi-sensory elements, such as animated reconstructions, replicas to touch, and burning incense to smell. Thanks to the museum’s rich history of archaeological work in the region, the exhibit also showcases Penn’s excavations, including stories of local laborers, whose vital role has been historically overlooked.

Exemplifying the multi-layered history of the eastern Mediterranean, the entrance to the gallery presents visitors with an Egyptian stela of Ramesses II (13th century BCE), found in 1923 during the museum’s excavations at Beth Shean in Mandate Palestine. The two Corinthian capitals from the same site were originally made for the Roman temple of Zeus but later reused in a Byzantine church built over the ruins of the temple in the fifth century.

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Is this ancient rock inscription the earliest evidence of Christianity in Arabia? Photo: Courtesy of the Badia Epigraphic Survey Project.

Before the emergence of Islam in the early seventh century, Arabia was home to a different monotheistic faith. Centuries before Muhammad, some ancient Arabian tribes seem to have adopted Christianity. While the arrival of Christianity in Arabia has been known through literary sources written by outsiders, such as the famous Bible scholar and translator St. Jerome, recent discoveries present evidence of Christianity from pre-Islamic Arabia itself. The vast swaths of desert east of the Jordan River reveal thousands of ancient inscriptions, some of which bear crosses and use Christian terminology.

The Harra—the rocky basalt desert found in southern Syria, northeastern Jordan, and northern Saudi Arabia—was for millennia home to pastoral nomads who left behind thousands of rock carvings and inscriptions, some of which attest to the first arrival of Christianity in Arabia.

Writing for the Spring 2022 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, Ahmad Al-Jallad presents the fascinating results of his 2019 epigraphic mission in the Wadi al-Khudari in northeastern Jordan. His survey yielded hundreds of ancient inscriptions, recorded by the pastoral nomads who roamed these regions nearly two millennia ago. The findspots and distribution of these inscriptions indicate the routes and temporary sites that the Arabian tribes used when hunting wild animals and herding their livestock and camels. Every such inscription is a precious source of historical and cultural information, but one among them is truly remarkable, as it documents the very early penetration of Christianity in Arabia. Likely dating to the fourth century, the inscription invokes Jesus—with the name given for Jesus in the Quran.

A single cairn in Wadi al-Khudari contained more than 100 ancient inscriptions, including the one invoking Jesus. Photo: Ahmad Al-Jallad.

A professor of Arabic at the Ohio State University and specialist in the languages of pre-Islamic Arabia, Al-Jallad tells the discovery story and provides an in-depth analysis of the unique inscription. He first introduces the Harra, the black basalt desert in northeastern Jordan where the inscription was found. “The tribes that dwelt in this marginal environment left extensive archaeological remains, dating from the Neolithic to modern times. These include burial installations, animal enclosures, and campsites. But perhaps the most remarkable witness to the region’s past is its epigraphic record, including inscriptions and rock art.”

Introducing the inscriptions as a group, commenting on their style, content, and the scripts (or alphabets), Al-Jallad adds, “Writing came to the nomads of North Arabia as early as the beginning of the first millennium B.C.E. By the turn of the Common Era, the nomads of the Harra had mastered the written word. They carved tens of thousands of rock inscriptions in their local vernacular, an early dialect of Arabic, using an indigenous, consonantal alphabet, which modern scholars have called Safaitic.”

Possibly the earliest witness to Christianity in Arabia, the Jesus inscription from the Wadi al-Khudari is a memorial inscription, meaning that it commemorates a deceased person. It consists of three parts: It first gives the inscriber’s name (Wahb-El) and genealogy, then adds a commemoration of his deceased uncle, and finally concludes with a unique religious invocation—to Isay, which corresponds to the name given to Jesus in the Quran: “O Īsay (‘sy), help him against those who deny you.” There can be little doubt that the writer (and possibly also his uncle) was Christian.

Jesus in the Quran is called Isa, which corresponds to the divine name ‘sy (circled) invoked in this memorial text. Drawing: Courtesy of the Badia Epigraphic Survey Project.

“The present text is a typical Safaitic composition, but the old gods and prayers are replaced by a Christian invocation. Wahb-El may therefore have been a convert who modified the Safaitic writing tradition to accommodate his new faith, invoking Jesus with the same formulaic structure used to invoke the old gods.” Regarding the circumstances surrounding the inscription and the rise of Christianity in Arabia, Al-Jallad theorizes, “[Wahb-El] may have had close contacts with settled areas, such as Bostra in Syria or the cities of the Decapolis in Transjordan, which appear in other Safaitic texts. On the other hand, it is possible that his inscription reflects the efforts of missionaries to convert the nomads.”

To further explore the context and implications of the Jesus inscription as the earliest evidence of Christianity in Arabia, read Ahmad Al-Jallad’s article “Jesus in Arabia: Tracing the Spread of Christianity into the Desert,” published in the Spring 2022 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review.

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This article was first published in Bible History Daily on March 30, 2022.

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The monolith with an engraved ancient blueprint at Jibal al-Khashabiyeh, Jordan. Courtesy SEBAP & Crassard et al. 2023 PLOS ONE.

Archaeologists in Jordan and Saudi Arabia have discovered the world’s oldest known blueprints. Dating to 8,000 years ago, the blueprints are precise scale carvings of nearby desert kites, mega-structures thousands of feet long that were used for hunting wild animals. Writing in the journal PLOS ONE, the team argued that these blueprints must have been made by the people who built or used the kites, as the structures are far too large for their overall shape and structure to be seen from the ground.

Designing a Desert Kite

Discovered at two separate sites—Jibal al-Khashabiyeh in southeastern Jordan and Jebel az-Zilliyat in northwestern Saudi Arabia—the ancient blueprints depict nearby desert kites in exceptional detail. According to the international team of researchers led by Rémy Crassard, Wael Abu-Azizeh, and Olivier Barge, the kites themselves were made of multiple stone walls, sometimes extending for miles, that converged to a single point or enclosure. The walls functioned to funnel gazelle and other animals into the small area at the end of the kite, where hunters would be waiting.

The engraved stone with close up of blueprints at Jibal al-Khashabiyeh. Courtesy Crassard et al. 2023 PLOS ONE.

The blueprint discovered at Jibal al-Khashabiyeh was uncovered in a small hunting camp dating to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (c. 8800–6500 BCE). It was carved in shallow relief into a large standing stone and depicts a desert kite measuring roughly 1.5 feet tall, with an enclosure over 1.5 feet in diameter. Comparing this to similar kites in the area, the team estimated that the carving was done at a scale of roughly 1:425.

Drawing of the kites’ representation at Jebel az-Zilliyat, Saudi Arabia. Courtesy Crassard et al. 2023 PLOS ONE.

While the Jibal al-Khashabiyeh carving depicts a single kite, the drawing from Jebel az-Zilliyat shows a pair of structures. Carved into a massive boulder found in a dry riverbed, the carvings are twice the size of the al-Khashabiyeh blueprint and closely match the shapes of two kites discovered about 1.5 miles away from the site. The researchers believe these drawings were made at a scale of 1:175.

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“The extreme precision of these engravings is remarkable, representing gigantic neighboring Neolithic stone structures,” the team wrote. “They reveal a widely underestimated mental mastery of space perception, hitherto never observed at this level of accuracy in such an early context.”

Aerial view of a desert kite from Jebel az-Zilliyat, Saudi Arabia. Credits O. Barge, CNRS.

While people have been reproducing images of their surroundings for 40,000 years or more, it was previously assumed that true-to-life depictions did not appear until at least the third millennium BCE in Mesopotamia and Egypt, while a few semi-representative models may have been produced for a millennium or two before then. This makes the kite carvings the earliest known realistic blueprints, a feat made even more remarkable given the massive size of the kites themselves. It is, however, not certain what purpose the carvings served, whether they were intended as construction plans, used to map out hunting strategies, or perhaps had a ritual or symbolic function. Non-schematic representations of desert kites are widespread, with some also including depictions of hunters and animals. A 9,000-year-old ritual complex also found at Jibal al-Khashabiyeh, features a drawing of a kite carved into an anthropomorphic stone figure.

Desert Kites and Neolithic Hunting

Map of the distribution of desert kites. Courtesy Crassard et al. 2023 PLOS ONE.

Desert kites were a common type of hunting trap used throughout the arid and semiarid regions of prehistoric southwest Asia, with over 6,000 examples found from Saudi Arabia to Kazakhstan. The kites functioned as giant funnels, forcing animals into an ever-smaller area until they reached a central corral outfitted with pit traps. The first kites were constructed as early as 7000 BCE, making them some of the oldest large-scale constructions from anywhere in the world. It was not until the early 20th century, however, and the advent of aerial photography that modern researchers became aware of the kites, as their massive size only allowed them to be discernable from above. Today, researchers identify them with satellite imagery before surveying them on the ground. These features would have required mass hunting strategy and wide-scale cooperation and resource mobilization, both for their use and construction. As researchers continue to learn more about them and the people responsible for their construction, the sophistication and advancement of Neolithic culture comes ever more into focus.

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Aeriel view of one of the Roman army camps in Jordan. Courtesy APAAME.

While carrying out a satellite survey of the Jordan-Saudi border region, a team of archaeologists from the University of Oxford made an unexpected discovery: three lost Roman army camps. While ground-truthing surveys have not yet been carried out, the team proposed in the journal Antiquity that the camps likely date to a previously unknown Roman campaign against the Nabatean kingdom following the death of the last Nabatean king in 106 CE.

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Romans Camps in Jordan

The three Roman army camps are located in Jordan’s southeastern desert. Forming a line extending east from the oasis of Bayir, the forts are constructed at roughly 25-mile intervals leading toward Dumat al-Jandal and Sakaka in northern Saudi Arabia, which marked the eastern extent of the Nabatean kingdom. According to the researchers, the distance was too far to have been covered by infantry and thus the camps likely supported mounted cohorts, possibly camel cavalry.

“These camps are a spectacular new find and an important new insight into Roman campaigning in Arabia,” said Mike Bishop, an expert on the Roman military and member of the team.

Map of the Roman army camps in Jordan. Courtesy EAMENA.

The westernmost of the camps, which covered three acres, was large enough to hold two cohorts, around 1,000 troops, while the center and eastern camps were half the size. The team does not yet know why these camps were smaller. “Why does the western camp have twice the capacity of the other two?” asks Michael Fradley, who led the research and first identified the camps. “Did the force split, and if so, where did the other half go? Was it half wiped out in a battle, or did they remain in the western camp to resupply the other camps with water?”

Small Roman army camps were frequently used during short campaigns or sieges, such as siege of Masada. The presence of these camps indicates a previously unknown Roman campaign directed toward the eastern portion of the Nabatean kingdom. As proposed by the researchers, the campaign most likely took place during the annexation of the Nabatean kingdom in 106 CE, during the reign of Emperor Trajan.

“These marching camps suggest the Roman annexation of the Nabatean kingdom following the death of the last king, Rabbel II Soter in 106 CE, was not an entirely straightforward affair, and that Rome moved quickly to secure the kingdom,” said Andrew Wilson, a co-author of the paper. An earlier campaign against the Nabateans was carried out in 62 BCE, although this was mainly focused on the Nabatean capital of Petra, far to the west of these camps, and thus is unlikely to be related.

The location of the camps along a secondary caravan route—rather than the main road along the Wadi Sirhan—suggests a possible surprise attack or a flanking maneuver in concert with a main force through the Sirhan. It is possible that several other Roman army camps were built between the easternmost camp identified by the team and the settlements of Dumat al-Jandel and Sakaka, the major oases that were likely the goal of the campaign. However, the team was not able to identify additional camps, which suggests their remains may now be covered by desert sand. A fourth camp is believed to have been located near the oasis of Bayir, but it was destroyed in the early 20th century without sufficient archaeological documentation.

The three Roman army camps were identified as part of a larger project to document the location and condition of archaeological sites around the Middle East and North Africa. As many of these sites are hard to reach, the team uses satellite imagery provided by Google Earth. Although not known before the project, the three camps were identified based on their distinctive “playing card” shape. Following their identification, the team was also able to take high-resolution aerial photos of the sites.

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Petra’s famous Khazneh. Courtesy Nathan Steinmeyer, BAS.

Tucked away in the sandstone cliffs of southern Jordan sits a wonder of the ancient world: Petra of the Nabateans. Whether it is the stunning façade of the Khazneh or the winding entryway into the city, known as the Siq, the beauty and grandeur of this ancient city are enough to cause even the most seasoned explorer to pause in awe.

Exploring Petra

Walking through the Siq, Petra’s ancient entryway. Courtesy Nathan Steinmeyer, BAS.

Despite Petra’s instant recognizability from films like Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, the greater city and the people who built it are far less familiar. While habitation of the area surrounding Petra likely began as early as the Neolithic period (c. 8300–4500 BCE), it was not until the Hellenistic period (c. 332–-37 BCE) that the magnificent city that we know today emerged, half built and half carved, from the rocky hills of the Sharah mountains.

Originally the naturally protected stronghold of the nomadic Nabatean tribes, Petra is entered through the Siq, a narrow gorge that meanders for nearly a mile through the hills before it opens onto the famous Khazneh. In antiquity, the Siq likewise served as the grand entryway into the city, with rock-carved niches throughout, some still bearing sacred carvings and prayers to deities, displaying the religious character of this important path.

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From its founding, Petra was a strategic junction in the rich Arabian trade network that carried goods from the Mediterranean, Far East, and Arabian Peninsula. Despite its economic importance, however, it is Petra’s ceremonial character that remains most visible today, with many of the dazzling stone-carved structures being tombs of the Nabatean royals and elites. The Khazneh is the perfect example. Despite meaning “Treasury” in Arabic, the Khazneh was originally the tomb or family mausoleum of the Nabatean king Aretas IV, who reigned in the first century CE. Ad Deir, or “the Monastery,” is another such example, thought to have been either a royal tomb or a memorial shrine to the Nabatean king Obodas I, who was later deified. The largest of Petra’s monuments, Ad Deir stands at a stunning 148 feet tall and 160 feet wide.

The first glimpse of the Khazneh. Courtesy Nathan Steinmeyer, BAS.

Although the Nabateans were a nomadic Arab tribe, the architectural style of Petra stands as a stunning fusion of Hellenistic and Nabatean traditions, a sign of their involvement in the greater Hellenistic world at the time. While many of the buildings are carved in a heavily Hellenized style, it was the Nabateans’ skill in desert agriculture and the harvesting of rainwater that allowed the city to flourish. Reaching an estimated population of 20,000 people in the first century CE, the city was watered through a system of channels, dams, and cisterns that collected fresh spring water and sparse rainfall from across their arid desert landscape. All along the Siq, for example, are channels, aqueducts, and dams that conveyed, stored, and diverted water from the surrounding hills to the city center.

Water canal running along the side of the Siq. Courtesy Nathan Steinmeyer, BAS.

Beyond the Siq and the Khazneh are the remains of the thriving Hellenistic city. Among the city’s marvels was an impressive theater. Carved out of the rock, the theater could have held upwards of 6,000 people. Further along the path is the city’s colonnaded street: a wide, half-mile-long, stone-paved thoroughfare flanked on all sides by the key institutions of the city’s Hellenistic life. On the left, one can spot the remnants of luxurious pools and gardens, as well as a bustling market and a grand audience hall reached by a monumental staircase; to the right, there is an elegant nymphaeum and an opulent shrine, the so-called Temple of the Winged Lions, dedicated to al-Uzza, thought to be the chief goddesses of the Nabateans.

Petra’s Qasr al-Bint temple. Courtesy Nathan Steinmeyer, BAS.

Further down the avenue, beyond the remains of a towering triumphal gate, stands the imposing edifice of Petra’s main temple, known today as Qasr al-Bint. With its walls preserved to a height of over 75 feet, Qasr al-Bint was built in the guise of a traditional Roman temple, with a broad colonnaded porch leading to a smaller interior shrine, or Holy of Holies. It was likely built in honor of the chief Nabatean god Dushara. A short distance behind this temple, on a hill overlooking the city’s main street, archaeologists have uncovered Petra’s high-rent district, where wealthy citizens owned villas adorned with colorful Pompeian-style frescoes and supplied with the finest local and imported wares.

Walking down Petra’s colonnaded street. Courtesy Nathan Steinmeyer, BAS.

Beyond the city center, however, the Hellenistic flavor of Petra gives way to monuments and features that are directly born of the Nabateans’ nomadic and Arabian origins. A rigorous climb up Jabal al-Madhbah behind the Roman theater, for example, brings you to an open-air sanctuary topped by towering obelisks that were set aside for religious sacrifices and rituals. A similar open-air sanctuary has been found atop neighboring Jebel al-Khubtha to the east. Both sites, in addition to providing stunning views over the heart of ancient Petra and its intricate honeycomb of rock-cut tombs, highlight the importance of traditional high-place sanctuaries within Nabatean society.

Who Were the Nabateans?

The Nabateans arose from humble nomadic origins in the vast deserts of northern Arabia sometime during the Persian period (539–332 BCE). By the late fourth century BCE, they had established themselves in the area around Petra (or Reqem, as it was known to them), but they still maintained a largely nomadic existence, moving seasonally across the desert with their tents and herds in search of water and fresh pasture.

The farthest extent of the Nabatean Kingdom. Courtesy Biblical Archaeology Society.

But it was also about this time that the Nabateans began to get involved in the lucrative trade in South Arabian frankincense and myrrh, the same business that had led the Queen of Sheba to visit the court of Solomon some five centuries earlier (1 Kings 10). At first, the Nabateans were little more than middlemen in the trade, simply responsible for ferrying goods on camelback from Petra to the ports of Gaza and Alexandria on the Mediterranean coast. But as their economic and political fortunes improved in the ensuing centuries, the Nabateans gained political control over all of the lands bordering the Arabian frontier, a vast territory stretching from Damascus in the north to Hegra in the south.

By the first century BCE, Petra had become a full-fledged capital city, its rulers raking in considerable profits from an international spice trade that now extended from India to Rome. With such wealth and position, the Nabatean kings had to present both themselves and their city as equal partners in the international community, which at the time meant adopting the styles, tastes, and the mores of “western” Hellenistic civilization. Much like Jerusalem under the Herodian dynasty, Petra was to be built as a first-order Greco-Roman city ruled by Western-looking kings.

But the height of this prosperous desert capital that rivaled Herod’s Jerusalem was short-lived. By 106 CE, the kingdom of Nabatea had been swallowed by the Roman Empire. Although Petra continued to flourish for many years, its importance waned as the overland trade in South Arabian incense declined and the Roman imperial economy collapsed. The city, like much of the southern Levant, was then devastated by an earthquake in 363 CE. Petra carried on and even saw the rise of a significant Christian community, but it never again attained its former glory.

Read more in Bible History Daily:

Site-Seeing: Petra’s Temple of the Winged Lions

Solving the Enigma of Petra and the Nabataeans

All-Access members, read more in the BAS Library:

The Petra Scrolls

When People Lived at Petra

Not a BAS Library or All-Access Member yet? Join today.

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Khirbat al-Balu’a at sunrise. Courtesy Sully Sullivan.

From my seat on the airplane, I looked down on the lights below shining against the darkened countryside, like gems on black velvet. As the lights came closer and closer into view, I braced for the moment of landing. I had arrived in Jordan.

As I embarked on my summer archaeological journey, I did not know what awaited me. While I had hoped the field school would be a fulfilling academic experience, I had not anticipated how transformative it would be for both my character and aspirations.

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My field school was at Khirbat al-Balu’a, a site rich in Iron Age Moabite material culture as well as later Islamic period occupation. Every day our team commuted from the edge of the imposing city of Kerak. Once a medieval fortress, known for its castle built by Christians during the Crusades, the city has expanded to include a much larger area. It is there that we made our home at the Mujeb Hotel. I was appreciative of the hospitality I received from everyone I met. From the hotel manager sharing family photos with me over Jordanian coffee, to our bus driver who took to me as he would a son, always checking to make sure my collar sat right and my shirt was tucked in by the end of a day of work. I was always welcomed.

Rush hour at Khirbat al-Balu’a. Courtesy Sully Sullivan.

On the face of it, waking up before dawn to kneel on basalt rocks while the sun beats down with intense heat may not sound like the most relaxing way to spend a summer, but what it provided was a welcome release from the monotony of life back at college. Every day there was progress to be made, to uncover more about the people we were studying. Whether that meant dutiful pick-work through tumbled boulders or careful brushing of a plaster surface, it was a delight to be accomplishing something so original that was both physically and mentally engaging. With the right hat (mine all but stayed glued to my head), the right attitude, and a healthy serving of watermelon and falafel, dig life can be extraordinary.

Excavating at the site. Courtesy Sully Sullivan.

My weekends were occupied by trips all over Jordan. To the south, I visited the ever-important site of Petra, where my pants were stained pink by a good day of hiking through the site’s red sandstone mountains. To the north, I felt my ears pop as I descended to the Dead Sea, the lowest spot on Earth, and even went for a swim (or rather, float) in its buoyant, mineral-filled water. I also took a trip to Bethany Beyond the Jordan, a site recognized by the Byzantines and many modern Christians as the baptismal site of Jesus. I appreciated it mainly as a site of recognition and pilgrimage. The history of how people create meaning in the spaces they occupy and visit has been of great interest to me in my study of archaeology.

Additionally, my travels outside of Kerak brought me a new understanding of architectural preservation and context. Architecture is one of the most important physical reminders of the human past. Some of the structures I saw showed the complex histories of appropriation and recontextualization that is typical for this form of material culture, namely what remained of Qasr al-Mushatta as well as the recently reconstructed Qasr al-Hallabat. The former no longer has its decorated facades, as they were taken to the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, while the latter featured pieces of inscribed basalt that were reused from an earlier Byzantine monument. The work done to preserve the buildings relied on the concerted efforts and specialized knowledge of many archaeologists and engineers. As someone who is also engaged in work towards urban studies and architectural design, it was important to see that I could combine those disciplines in future work.

The Biblical Archaeology Society offers dig scholarships of $2,000 each to people who wish to participate in a dig and demonstrate sufficient need. Click the link below to fill in the online application. Apply for a BAS Dig Scholarship Now!

Sully Sullivan is a student in Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology and The Growth and Structure of Cities at Bryn Mawr College. His research interests include urbanism, gender, and landscape among other topics in the ancient Near East. In 2022, he worked at the site of Khirbat Al-Balu’a with the Balu’a Regional Archaeological Project (BRAP).

Read more in Bible History Daily:

Step Into Moabite Jordan

Exposing Petra’s North Ridge

All-Access members, read more in the BAS Library:

Moab Comes to Life

Ammon, Moab and Edom: Gods and Kingdoms East of the Jordan

Not a BAS Library or All-Access Member yet? Join today.

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Burton MacDonald
Courtesy American Center of Research

“Peace.” That was the trademark conversation sign off and genuine wish of well-known Canadian archaeologist Burton MacDonald, who passed away on October 20, 2022, at the age of 83. MacDonald was a giant in the field of Near Eastern archaeology, who contributed significantly to our understanding of the ancient sites and peoples east of the Jordan River. Having known and worked with him for several decades, we came to appreciate his eternal optimism, limitless generosity, cheerful spirit, inquiring mind, boundless energy, endearing politeness, mischievous nudging, and indefatigable sense of adventure and curiosity.

Burton enjoyed a 62-year relationship with St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, where he received his bachelor’s degree in 1960, returning to teach there in 1966 and staying on for more than 40 years. After his bachelor’s, he earned a master’s degree in religious education from St. Paul’s Seminary (University of Ottawa), and in 1974, received his Ph.D. in Near Eastern languages and literature from Catholic University in Washington D.C., with additional graduate studies at the École Biblique et Archéologique Francais in Jerusalem.

Burton was best known for his archaeological research in Jordan, but he also excavated in Israel, Cyprus, and Egypt. In Jordan, he spent 40 years carrying out five major survey projects, contributing significantly to our knowledge of the vast rural hinterlands in the southern parts of the country, especially the lands of biblical Edom. He published 12 volumes and more than a hundred articles, including several popular works on Jordan’s biblical past, especially “East of the Jordan”: Territories and Sites of the Hebrew Scriptures (ASOR, 2005) and Pilgrimage in Early Christian Jordan (Oxbow, 2011). In addition, he was awarded fellowships at the University of Cambridge, the University of Toronto, Dumbarton Oaks, and the American Center of Research (ACOR) in Amman, Jordan. Longtime supporters of Jordan’s archaeology, he and his wife Dr. Rosemarie Sampson also funded an annual ACOR fellowship to support Canadian students participating on excavations in Jordan.

Larry Geraty remembers Burton as a friend and colleague for the last 50 years, mostly associated with the archaeology of Jordan, but also for an article they co-authored on the southern location of biblical Sodom, soon to appear in the Lexham Geographical Commentary. “Burton had already done most of the research, going back into the classical sources, so I wanted to share with him the honorarium we received, but generous to a fault, he insisted on my keeping it. To him, friendship was more important than income.”

Larry Herr, who spent a good deal of time studying the pottery recovered from Burton’s Edomite surveys, remembers him as “Mr. Archaeological Survey.” They looked together at thousands of broken pieces of pottery, assessing their types and periods. “Burton was a vivid personality that will always remain clear in my mind. His energy was boundless. I still remember him opening every bag of pottery and dumping them on the table for reading. We would keep at it all morning and afternoon … with proper times for breaks.”

Douglas Clark recalls that whenever they would meet over the years—at international conferences or at ACOR—“Burton would come sauntering up to me, flashing a mischievous Cheshire Cat grin, with a comment or question about the archaeology of Jordan, often baiting me to offer an opinion about how recent finds related to the Bible, something Burton knew extremely well. Few people were as engaging and engaged as Burton.”

With deep appreciation, sincere admiration, and warm affection, we wish for Burton, Rosemarie, and their family “Peace.”

Douglas Clark is Director of the Center for Near Eastern Archaeology at La Sierra University. He excavated at the site of Tall Hisban and served as co-director and then director of the Madaba Plains Project excavation at Tall al-Umayri in Jordan. He currently co-directs the Madaba Regional Archaeological Museum Project.

Larry Herr is retired Professor of Religious Studies at Burman University in Lacombe, Alberta, Canada. He excavated at Tall Hisban, Jordan, and co-directed the Madaba Plains Project excavation at Tall al-Umayri from 1984 to 2008. He specializes in ceramics and inscriptions.

Larry Geraty is President Emeritus of La Sierra University and Associate Director of the Center for Near Eastern Archaeology. He directed excavations at Tall Hisban (1973–1976) and co-directed the Madaba Plains Project excavation at Tall al-Umayri from 1984 to 1992. He was also President of the American Society of Overseas Research (ASOR) from 2002 to 2006.

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