The First Seminar for Nabataean Studies
The Nabataean Centre for Archaeological Studies
Al-Hussein Bin Talal University
19-20 August 2007
ABSTRACTS
Professor Jean-François Salles, IFPO-Amman, or
Umm Hadar, a military outpost between Judeans and Nabataeans?
When telling us the story of Hyrcan the Tobiad and his settling in wadi Seer-Iraq al-Amir, Flavius Josephus records that, when he was in Transjordan during ca 10 years as far we can estimate (probably longer), Hyrcan was persistently fighting against the Arabs, trying to kill as many as possible or to put them in captivity.
This is the only literary source we have about troubles in this region – let’s say from Birta-Philadelphia/Amman down to Na’ur and the Jordan Valley—during the first two or three decades of the IInd cent. BC: was it a real political turmoil (the Judeo-Greek historian insists on «persistently»), or was it part of Hyrcan’s function as he was the tax perceptor for the Lagid power in the area? If so, however, it would not seem much needed to kill or make captive Arabs who then would become unable to pay any tax any longer …
And who were these Arabs? We know that, besides a very few exceptions, Josephus used this word to designate the Nabataeans, and it looks most likely that Hyrcan’s wars took place against the Nabataeans. It is well established now that Nabataeans and other Arab communities were established in Ammanitidis during the IIIrd-IInd cent. BC (e. g. in Amman) or even in the Jordan Valley (Pella probably): their rôle, especially the Nabataeans, was to control the trading route from their centre in the South to Bosra and Damascus in the North, long before the Trajana Nova. Were they present also in the wadi Seer? Although a few Nabatean pottery sherds and coins were recovered from the American excavations in the village of Iraq al-Amir, there is no reason to assume the existence of a Nabatean community there.
So, the question which arises is twofold: (a) what was the real extension of Hyrcan’s estate – eventually petty kingdom in the last years of his life – to the South, along the ridge of the Jordanian plateau, and to the South-West, in connection with the Jordan Valley (assuming than Amman was most probably part of his domain to the North)? and (b) where did these confrontations take place, even if we consider that some of these Arabs were still semi-nomads?
One must remember that Hyrcan came from Jerusalem and originated in a rich and powerful Judean family; one should also consider that a few years after his death, ca 175 or 170 BC, his domain became a Hasmonean possession, as shown for example by the Hasmonean pottery and coins discovered at Iraq al-Amir (village, American excavations, and Qasr al-Abd). The abovementioned question should thus be enlarged: where was the «border» between the Judeans and the Arabs-Nabataeans?
A very preliminary piece of evidence may come from recent excavations at the site of Umm Hadar, in the lower wadi Kufrayn (= Umm Hadar Plains), about 200m upstream the Kufrayn Dam, which will be presented during this address.
Professor John F. Healey, The University of Manchester, UK,
"The Realities behind Nabataean Tomb Inscriptions” imagining an aspect of Nabataean life
The paper attempts to define more clearly the nature of Nabataean tomb inscriptions, exploring the fact that though they refer to legal realities they are not in themselves legal documents. In fact they raise many questions which cannot be answered definitively on the basis of current knowledge, but a certain amount of light on the likely real-life situations leading to the writing of particular inscriptions can be provided by comparisons with Palmyrene and similar epigraphic sources.
It is clear that tombs were very important to Nabataeans and it is not surprising that so much energy was put into their construction and religious or legal protection. Protection by the threat of curses and fines is characteristic and an attempt is made to explain the background of references to these aspects.
Professor Stephan G. Schmid, Université Montpellier III – CNRS UMR 5140,
Reflections on the Plan and Functioning of Nabataean Funerary Complexes at Petra
Recent research focussing on the complex of the so-called Soldier Tomb in the Wadi Farasa East revealed several results concerning that complex, but also Nabataean funerary installations in a more general term.
For instance, archaeological excavation revealed a huge peristyle courtyard in front of the Soldier Tomb. That courtyard was linking the Soldier tomb to the opposite banqueting hall as well as to a two storied built structure, were multipurpose tasks were taking place, such as cooking, storing and probably also living. The architectural layout of the complex closely follows prototypes from Hellenisitic and early Roman luxury architecture such as huge villae and palaces.
Within other results, this means that the monumental façade of the Soldier Tomb was not at all an outside façade, but turned towards an interior space, more precisely the peristyle courtyard. In other terms, when approaching the Wadi Farasa East, visitors would not have seen the tomb façade or only a small bit of it. Surprisingly, Several other such installations can be pointed out in the Petra area. Some of them belong to well known monuments such as ed-Deir, but there is also an increasing number of smaller and less prominent monuments that clearly show similar characteristics.
This leads to the question whether such multipurpose installations were rather the rule or the exception at Nabataean Petra and the present paper tries to give a preliminary answer.
Professor Hani Hayajneh, Yarmouk University,
"The Nabataean - AncientNorth Arabian bilingualism in the epigraphical heritage ofWadi Ramm"
No abstract provided
Professor Christian Auge, CNRS Researcher (IFPO Amman), or
Researches on the Qasr al-Bint sacred area: new results of the French Mission.
The Qasr al-Bint, the best preserved among the masonry-built temples in Petra, towers over a long paved courtyard including an altar and other structures. While former studies on the temple itself were in the press, new field-researches were initiated in 1999 by the French Institute at Amman, at the request of the Department of Antiquities, in order to set the building back in its architectural and archaeological context. Nine campaigns of fieldwork already took place under the direction of Christian Augé and François Renel. From 2001 on, the project has been part of the mission From Petra to Wadi Rum.
For the sake of publication, we currently focus on the area in front of the temple. The main altar, a large elevated platform, originally Nabataean, went through several transformations in ancient times. On top of it a watertight cavity was hollowed out, connected with a complicated system of channels and drains which run under the paving stones of the courtyard.
The excavation of the western part of the court revealed an impressive apse monument (‘exedra’), built in Roman times at the edge of a previous building. This monument probably collapsed from an earthquake in the 4th century AD. On its remains, a dwelling was built which was later on destroyed in the 5th century AD. A considerable amount of archaeological material was found, including fragments of decoration and of statues carved in both marble and sandstone. Inscriptions show that the apse monument was inaugurated in honour of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, co-emperors from 161 to 169 AD. In April 2004 a beautiful marble portrait of Marcus Aurelius was discovered and is now on display in the Archaeological Museum of Amman. His colossal statue was probably displayed in the curved central recess, close to Verus’ one. Our architects, Laurent Borel and Chrystelle March, are now able to submit a hypothetical reconstitution drawing for that monument, perhaps scheduled at first as a fountain or nymphaeum, then as a theatrical façade which created a dramatic effect to visitors entering the courtyard.
We also investigate an extensive Nabataean building located on the eastern side of the temple and opening onto the sacred area through a monumental gate. In the Nabataean period this building may have been devoted to some religious or official use and was also re-occupied in Late Roman times.
Besides new information on the monumental arrangements during the Roman Empire and on the Late Roman phases, the last campaigns shed more light on previous periods, revealing structures linked to a Hellenistic occupation level, which is quite new in this area, and several building phases in the extensive architectural programme conducted in later Nabataean times. Our team, highly indebted to Dr Peter Parr’s investigations, intends to get a more accurate view on the organization of the sanctuary, its water supply and draining, its approaches and insertion in central Petra.
Dr. Zeyad al-Salameen, al-Hussein Bin Talal University,
Weights, Measures and Time Reckoning In Nabataea
Nabataean epigraphic materials provide evidence that there were specified metrological units in Nabataea. Preliminary study has shown that weight and measure systems in addition to the names of the months in the Nabataean kingdom were based on those of Mesopotamia.
This study will try to:
· discuss various weight and measure units that were practiced by Nabataeans and this will include the linear measurements, weights and measures of capacity. Most of these measures were widely used and known by the eastern merchants even though they had variations in values.
· determine the modern equivalents of these weights and measures. As we do not have enough evidence to cover the whole matter comprehensively, this study is subject to changes and modifications in the light of the archaeological discoveries. This study will try to determine as nearly as possible their modern equivalents. Various attempts have been made to ascertain the exact value of the ancient measures and weights but every unit had different value. It was difficult to determine the exact modern equivalents of these units but we could ascertain their approximate values.
· discuss the Nabataean year and its division into months, days and hours.
Dr. Salah Said, al-Hussein Bin Talal University,
Two New Inscriptions with the Name ¢ÝÃRÆ from UMM al-‰IMÆL
During the work with the survey team of Al al-Bayt University to explore the area which extending from Umm es-Surab in the west to Kūm el- ’A…mar in the east, and from the Syrian border in the north to the Baghdad Highway in the south, an area about 200km2, This survey which was conducted eleven weeks period from the middle of November 1996 to the end of January 1997, many of new Greek, Latin, Safaitic, and Nabataean inscription were found.
This paper will study two Greek and Nabataean funerary inscriptions written on basalt stone, bearing only the name of the deceased person and their patronym, and as typical of the Greek inscriptions they included the age of the deceased. Both of them were found throughout the ruins of Umm al-‰imæl, the ancient town which locate 20 km to the east of Mafraq. These two inscriptions included a new addition for the name Šýãræ the national God of the Nabataeans as a compound name in „auræn.
Lucy Wadeson, PhD candidate, Keble College, Oxford University, UK,
New Investigations into the Interiors of Petra’s Façade Tombs
While Petra is renowned for its monumental tomb-facades carved in the surrounding sandstone mountains, the funerary customs related to these tombs have remained elusive. This is because there are few textual sources and burial evidence has been lost through looting and later habitation of the tombs. Although the decorative façades have received much scholarly attention for their unique blend of Eastern and Western architectural forms, their interior chambers have not previously been the subject of a detailed analysis, which is the current focus of my research.
This paper will present the preliminary results of the analysis of data collected from the first-hand examination of the interiors of the façade tombs. Although the chambers now lack burials, they have remains of rock-cut burial and funerary installations. My work involves subjecting these features to a mathematical and comparative methodology in order to establish relations between the tomb interiors and their façade types and to find patterns that unite groups of tombs. Ascertaining developments in the internal arrangement of the tombs will shed light on their chronology and the little-known funerary customs of the Nabataeans.
Dr. Shaher Rababeh, Hashemite University,
Factors determined the choice of the building techniques in Petra
Diodorus Siculus (XIX, 93-97) described the people of Petra, the Nabataeans, as having a nomadic life style in 312 BC. On the other hand, Strabo (16.4.26) observed that in 24 BC the Nabataeans had costly stone houses and painted and moulded works. These two descriptions are considered the first real mentions of the Nabataeans in the ancient documents. Despite the contrast between them, the ruins of Petra are rich and full of marvellous buildings. Therefore, it is worth considering how the Nabataeans changed and developed their architecture, what types of construction techniques they used to bring Petra to the height of its prominence, and what determined their choice of building techniques. To answer these questions, it is necessary to study the monuments of Petra in depth in order to reconstruct the engineering programme carried by the Nabataean architect. This will be achieved by considering the carved monuments as the main sources of evidence. Their technical features were documented by fieldwork, and this evidence was then analysed to determine precisely when and why these features appeared or evolved. This leads to explaining how the Nabataeans developed their architecture, and what types of construction techniques they used to bring Petra’s architecture to its peak.