religious architecture

Religious architecture was mainly represented by Nabataean temples, represented by various architectural models built to adapt to Nabataean worship rituals, most notably the Great Temple&action=edit&redlink=1 "Great Temple (Petra) (not yet written)") and the Temple of the Winged Lions").[18]

The Nabataeans built numerous places for religious practice and worship. Known as "high places", shrines, temples and altars were often open-air buildings located high on nearby mountains.[19] These places created throughout the Nabataean kingdom would be dedicated to the worship of the same god(s), and it would be the way in which they carried out the worship that would vary from site to site. The offering would range from material goods and food to live sacrifices of animals, and perhaps humans. The Nabataean kingdom can be considered divided into five religious regions, each with locations of religious importance: the Negev and Hejaz, the Hauran, central Jordan, southern Jordan, and finally northwestern Saudi Arabia.[20] All religious sites in those locations are now in varying states of preservation, making it difficult to know which deities would have been worshiped at each particular shrine, altar, or temple. It is also difficult to know the details of cult practices, meaning that only informed speculation can be made.[21]​[22]​.

Located about 40 km southwest of Beersheba is the city of Sobata, one of the main cities of the Nabataean kingdom. Very few archaeological remains have been found of any form of worship, of temples, sanctuaries or Nabataean altars. A small amount of evidence of Dushara worship has been found.[20][23]​.

The complex of buildings known as the Oboda Temple is located on the city's acropolis. The temple was built as a dedication to the deified Nabataean king Obodas I. The temple is located adjacent to the east of two other buildings: a Christian chapel and a second temple known as the "western temple". The temple dedicated to the cult of King Obodas was built of hard limestone in the year 9 BC. C. during the reign of Obodas II"). The temple is a tripartite building: it consists of a portico, a hall and an adytum; its general dimensions are .

The building was divided into four rooms. The first and second rooms were unequal subdivisions of the adytum (debir); The first room was the eastern room, which is the smaller of the two and measures . The second room was the western room and the largest of the two and a half rooms.

• - Archaeological remains in Avdat.

The third room was probably the vestibule (hekhal), an oblong shape that measured and is now completely covered by a Talus. The fourth room was the porch ('ulam) divided into two compartments, one facing west, measuring approximately , and the other facing east, divided by a wall of .[25] A worshiper would enter through the porch, which faces south, across the vestibule to the adytum rooms at the north end. The worshiper would then turn south to worship images of the deities placed in niches in the wall. The western room had two niches that may have housed images of two Nabataean gods, Allat and Dushura. The other room had a single, larger niche, where it is believed that the challenged image of Obodas the king would be worshiped. The temple was built to be his eternal resting place and the center of worship for his cult.[26]​.

Located 300 km from Petra, a unique Nabataean-style temple has been discovered there. The inscription on the lintel dates the temple after the fall of the Nabataean kingdom.[21]​.

• - Archaeological remains in Al-Rawwafah.

Mampsis (medieval Greek: Μάμψις) or Memphis (ancient Greek: ), today Mamshit (Hebrew: ‎; Arabic: ‎), currently in Israel, was an ancient Nabataean caravan stop and later a Byzantine city. In the Nabataean period, Mampsis was an important station on the Incense Route, which connected southern Arabia via Edom, the Arabah Valley and Ma'ale Akrabim), to Mediterranean ports, as well as to Jerusalem via Beersheba and Hebron. The city comprises and is the smallest but best restored ancient city in the Negev Desert. The once luxurious houses feature unusual architecture not found in any other Nabataean city.

The reconstructed city allows the visitor to get an idea of ​​what Mampsis was like. Entire streets have survived intact and there are also large groups of Nabataean buildings with open rooms, courtyards and terraces. The stones are carefully carved and the arches that support the roof are very well built.

The Incense Route - Cities in the Negev Desert, including Mampsis, Haluza, Avdat and Shivta, were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in June 2005.[27]​.

• - Archaeological remains in Mampsis.

Located in southern Syria, Bostra was the northern capital of the Nabataean kingdom, with evidence of temples located at major intersections in the city. In the center of it there is a temple complex dedicated to Dushara-A'ra.[20] It is believed that A'ra was the god of the Nabataean kings and of the city of Bostra itself. The modern buildings make it difficult to search for archaeological evidence of the Nabataean cult. An inscription that reads "This is the wall that... and the windows that Taymu bar... built for... Dushara and the rest of the gods of Bostra" is found in what is believed to be that temple.

Located north of Bostra, near Canatha, the settlement has three large temples, the largest dedicated to Baalshamin. The two smaller temples would be dedicated to unknown deities. One has an inscription to the local goddess, Seeia, and may have been used to worship her. The temple complex is not of Nabataean design, but is an amalgamation of architectural styles from the cultures of the northern Nabataean frontier.

Temples of similar style are located in Wadi Rumm, Dharih, Tannur and Qasrawet.[21]​.

Temples similar to those located near Petra in Wadi Rumm, Dharih, Tannur and Qasrawet. The Nabataean inscription indicates cults dedicated to Allat and Baalshamin.[21]​.

Jirbet et-Tannur, located in central Jordan is a temple, a "high place", arranged isolated on top of the summit of Jebal Tannur. It can only be accessed via a single steep staircase. The isolation of the sites may indicate that it was of great religious importance to the Nabataeans.[20] The entrance to the inner sanctuary of the temple is decorated with representations of vegetation, foliage and fruits. Glueck identifies them as representatives of the Syrian goddess Atargatis. The inner sanctuary decorated with images of fruits, fish, vegetation, rays, as well as representations of deities. Glueck attributes these iconography to the Mesopotamian storm god Hadad, but Tyche and Nike "Nike (mythology)") are also represented. Starckly notes that the only god named is Qos, the Edomite weather god. An inscription on a stele at the site names him as the god of Hurawa.[19]​[20]​

Khirbet edh-Dharih.

Located 7 km south of Hurawa, the temple of Khirbet edh-Dharih") is surprisingly well preserved. The temple complex is surrounded by an outer and inner courtyard, with a paved path to the porticoes. There are also benches in the form of a theatron. The temple itself is divided into three sections, in a large open hall. From here is the cella, which was painted in rich and vibrant colors. At the back of the cella was the motab and betyl, a square podium flanked by stairs that was the seat of the divine. Despite its good condition, it is not known which god would have been worshiped here.[20]​.

Capital of the Nabataean kingdom since around 312 BC. C., the city was famous for its wonderful architecture carved into the rock. Located within the Shara Mountains), Dushara was the main male god accompanied by the female trinity Al-'Uzzá), Allat and Manāt.[19]​[22]​ In the city there is a stele dedicated to the Edomite god Qos. The Nabataeans worshiped pre-Islamic Arab gods and goddesses, along with deified kings such as Obodas I. The layout and design of the temples show the influence of Roman, Greek, Egyptian and Persian temple architecture. The "High Place" is located in high in the mountains surrounding Petra. Used as a place to offer gifts and sacrifice animals, perhaps humans, to the gods, the High Place consists of a pond for collecting water, two altars, and a large open courtyard.[22]​.

• - Archaeological remains in Al-Khazneh (the Treasury), Petra.

In this region is a temple with a 20 m long processional path leading to a courtyard overlooking Jebel Qalkha. The design of the betyls, as well as the remains of the offering, point to the possible worship of Dushara, perhaps even Jupiter.

Allat Temple. Rock shrine of Ayn esh-Shallaleh") located behind the temple of Allat. Betylos and cult niches to Dushara and Baalshamin.

Hegra (Arabic: ‎), now known as Mada'in Saleh[19]​[20]​ (Arabic: ‎, romanized: Madāʼin Ṣāliḥ, lit. 'cities of Salih'),[28]​ is an archaeological site located in the area of ​​al-'Ula within the province of Medina, in the historic Hejaz region, now Saudi Arabia. Most of the remains date from the Nabataean kingdom (century AD). The site constitutes the kingdom's southernmost settlement and its second largest city after Petra (now in Jordan), its capital city. Traces of Lihyanite and Roman occupation can also be found before and after Nabataean rule, respectively.

A ritual cult circle atop Jibel Ithlib Mountain rests on a rock outcrop. Around the site of Jibel Ithlib there are small betyls and niches for worship of other gods. The inscription "Lord of the Temple" may refer to Dushara. The Marseha cults are located here. Today Hegra is known as.

• - The lonely castle, Hegra, Saudi Arabia.

Residential architecture

The Nabataean residential buildings of which remains are preserved are palaces, large urban houses, rural houses and small, simple houses, generally made with local materials found in the region.[30]​[31]​ Relatively little archaeological research has been carried out in the residential areas of Petra. Work in the az-Zantur area of ​​Petra indicates that there would have been an evolution from non-permanent (tent-type) accommodation to constructed buildings, with sedentarization occurring only gradually, as tents coexisted with majestic mansions even in later phases of evolution. Even the well-researched, stone-built and elaborately decorated Nabataean mansion at az-Zantur consisted of a sumptuous representative wing, with Western stucco and fresco decoration, and a simple residential wing.

Caves were also used for residential purposes. The residential area of ​​Hegra is located in the middle of the plain, far from the outcrops.[32]​ The main construction material of the houses and the wall that enclosed them was sun-dried adobe brick.[32]​ Few vestiges of the residential area remain.

Public spaces

The monuments of Petra are a well-known example of this type of use of Nabataean architecture, with examples including all types of public buildings as well as private buildings. The architectural elements of the urban area of ​​Petra were built according to a general urban design of the city, since the main streets were influenced by Roman urban plans. These places divided the city into two halves, both aligned with the valley; Nabataean engineers also built several sewer channels under the street floor.[33]​.

A little further from the Treasury, at the foot of the mountain called en-Nejr, there is a huge theater, arranged so that the greatest number of tombs can be seen. At the point where the valley opens onto the plain, the site of the city is revealed with surprising effect. The theater was dug into the hillside and several of the tombs during its construction. The rectangular gaps in the seats are still visible. Almost surrounding it on three sides are pink mountain walls, divided into groups by deep fissures and covered with protuberances carved into the rock in the shape of towers.[34] The theater was said to have capacity for about 8,500 people.[35] The performances that the public could attend would be poetry readings and dramas. Gladiator fights were also said to take place there and attract the majority of the audience, although no gladiators were able to gain fame due to the high mortality rate. The theater was one of many buildings in Petra that suffered significant damage due to the Galilee earthquake of 363.

The Petra Pool and Garden Complex are a series of buildings in the center of the city. Originally said to be a market area,[36]​ although excavations at the site have allowed scholars to identify it as an elaborate Nabataean garden, which included a large pool, an island-pavilion, and an intricate hydraulic system.[37][38][39]​

In front of the pool and garden complex is the Colonnade Street, which is one of the few features of Petra that was built rather than carved from the natural rock. The street used to feature a semi-circular nymphaeum, which is now in ruins due to flash floods, and used to house Petra's only tree. It was intended to be a symbol of the peaceful atmosphere that the Nabataeans were able to build in Petra. Once the Romans took control of the city, the colonnaded street was narrowed to make room for a sidewalk and 72 columns were added to each side.[40]​.

Funerary architecture

Funerary monuments were represented by carved royal tombs and tombs built from carved stone. The Nabataeans paid great attention to their tombs, and this was reflected in their architecture, in which many architectural and artistic methods of respecting the dead were developed, suggesting the Nabataeans' interest in the afterlife. Among the most famous Nabataean monuments are the carved royal tombs. Several archaeological studies that have been carried out on them have concluded that the Nabataean engineer combined external influences from neighboring Arab and non-Arab civilizations with the Nabataean architectural style. Many of those tombs can be seen in different places in and around Petra, especially on the way before reaching the Siq. Among the famous funerary monuments of Petra are: the tomb of the Obelisk"), the tomb of the Urn") or the tomb of the Window").[41]​[42]​.

Nabataean tombs are primarily “rock-cut tombs.” They are created by directly carving into the landscape, traditionally rock (see: Rock-cut tombs in Israel.) entablatures of metopes and triglyphs, and capitals They were built to honor gods and leaders, as well as to house generations of a particular family. These tombs are usually found within the city. These tombs are simple in style but elaborate in function, often with steps, platforms, libation holes, cisterns, water channels, and sometimes banquet halls. springs, catchment ponds and canals.[43]​.

Crenellated tombs were also popular in Nabataean architecture. There are variations of the crenellation, changing the number of levels. Crenellated tombs were created to represent fortifications, creating a symbol of cities, strength, military power. Later, under the Achaemenid Persians, the fortification context was removed, giving greater scope to a sign of royalty and authority.

Several tombs have obelisks on the outside. Obelisks are narrow, tapering monuments, often used to represent the Nephesh), specific leaders and gods of monolithic societies. They are often found in Egyptian and Near Eastern architecture.

Tombs with detailed facades were also quite popular among the Nabataean community. There are a total of eight different types of facades[43]​ that offer the opportunity to understand the different stylistic typologies adopted by the Nabataeans:

• - with a simple trellis, where there are 7 small staggered decorations on the entrance door crowned by a corbel;.

• - double lattice, in which this decoration is duplicated in two different orders;.

• - with steps, the façade is simple but at the top there are 5 opposite steps that tend to widen, topped by a corbel;.

• - proto-Hegro in this case the steps are maintained but the decoration has two Nabataean style capitals on the sides with a corbel;.

• - Hegro, the style is more complex and the difference is a series of corbels;

Contenido

Han sobrevivido pocos ejemplos de pintura nabatea. La mayoría son fragmentos de pinturas interiores puramente decorativas, suficientes para demostrar que seguían el estilo helenístico contemporáneo, del que quedan pocas pinturas.[45]​.

En 2010, se reveló que un biclinio"), ahora conocido coloquialmente como la Casa Pintada, en Pequeña Petra (Jordania), tenía extensos frescos en el techo, que habían estado ocultos durante mucho tiempo bajo el hollín de las fogatas beduinas"), y de otras inscripciones de los siglos posteriores. Tras un proyecto de restauración de tres años se recuperaron y son ahora visibles. Representan, con gran detalle y con una variedad de medios, incluidos esmaltes y pan de oro, imágenes como vides y putti asociados con el dios griego Dionisios, lo que sugiere que el espacio podría haber sido utilizado para el consumo de vino, tal vez con los comerciantes visitantes. Además de ser el único ejemplo conocido de pintura figurativa interior nabatea in situ, es uno de los pocos ejemplos existentes de pintura helenística, considerado superior a las imitaciones romanas posteriores del estilo en Herculano.[45]​.

Las pinturas murales del Biclinio Pintado se pueden agrupar en dos grandes escenas. La cámara mayor tiene el muro meridional decorado con estuco, creando falsos elementos arquitectónicos que recuerdan a algunas pinturas murales pompeyanas. La habitación interior tiene una decoración pintada en un estilo completamente diferente al de la habitación exterior mayor. En lugar de adornos arquitectónicos, las paredes y el techo abovedado de esta sala muestran un programa complejo de enredaderas, flores, figuras, diversas variedades de aves locales e insectos entrelazados. Varios erotes —pequeños dioses alados asociados con el amor y ocasionalmente con el cultivo del vino— se ven participando en el manejo de la viticultura, usando escalas y podaderas, cargando canastas de uvas recolectadas y defendiendo las vides de las aves carroñeras. Los erotes están armados con arcos, flechas y lanzas. Además de las vides de uva domesticadas y cosechadas, vides silvestres de frambuesa y flores de enredadera envuelven la escena para rendir homenaje a la flora local del interior del norte de Petra. Twaisi et al. (2010) identificaron una figura antropomórfica más en la escena además de los erotes, que interpretaron como una representación de la diosa egipcia romanizada. Sin embargo, la escena iconográfica general y los paralelismos arquitectónicos con otras partes del área de Petra dan peso a la atribución del espacio como un centro de culto dionisíaco.[46]​[47]​[48]​

Además de la pintura figurativa y floral dentro de la sala interior del Biclinio Pintado, la sala parece haber sido embellecida aún más con un intrincado programa de decoración estucada. Se conservan restos de un entablamento en las paredes este y oeste de la sala, y el centro de la bóveda alguna vez tuvo un medallón de estuco.

• - Frescos árabes nabateos.

Meaning

The importance of these paintings lies in their figurative elements, a theme that is often absent in preserved Nabataean painting and other media. While a small fragment of a human face was found during the excavations of the Great Temple and the excavation of the Temple of the Winged Lions brought to light other select fragments, the frescoes in the Painted Biclinium form both the most complete painted scene in the Nabataean archaeological record and the only one remaining in situ. Features of the figurative composition, including almond-shaped eyes and round chins, have parallels with other pieces of Hellenistic paintings and mosaics, while the floral and faunal themes are clearly local. Furthermore, although the archaeological record pointing to the Dionysian cult appears prolific among the Nabataean elite, few contexts preserve any record of this practice outside of architecture and ceramics.[47] The Painted Biclinium provides a colorful element to that religious tradition in the rich semi-arid cultivated landscape around Petra.

El sistema de ingeniería de abastecimiento de agua fue el logro más importante de la civilización nabatea en su capital, que hizo posible la vida en la región seca del desierto jordano. Ese sistema incluía métodos de conservación de agua y represas que recogían el agua de lluvia durante el invierno. Los nabateos también utilizaron un sistema controlado de canales y tuberías de arcilla para distribuir el agua por toda la ciudad.

Las excavaciones han demostrado que fue la capacidad de los nabateos para controlar el suministro de agua lo que condujo al surgimiento de la ciudad del desierto, logrando crear un oasis artificial. El área sufre inundaciones repentinas, pero la evidencia arqueológica muestra que los nabateos controlaron esas inundaciones mediante el uso de presas, cisternas y conductos de agua. Esas innovaciones permitieron almacenar el agua durante los períodos prolongados de sequía y también que la ciudad prosperara gracias a su venta.[49]​[50]​.

Hydrology and hydraulics

Water, with the understanding of its hydrology and hydraulics, were the main drivers of the city of Petra. The city is built in a valley surrounded by mountains, crossed by the wadi Musa, a torrent that flows from east to west and divides the city in two and constitutes its spine. Strabo, Greek geographer of the century BC. C., on his way to the East he passed through Petra and indicated that the urban center "(...) is situated as a whole on a flat and uniform terrain (...) protected in a circle by steep and abrupt rocks."[51]​.

• - The path that leads to Al-Deir (اَلدَّيْر, the monastery).

• - Al Deir Monastery").

Apart from a few springs, some of them low-flow, the entire site of Petra is devoid of perennial water flows, insufficient for the needs of a city that continued to grow for almost a millennium. Charles Ortloff, an archaeologist at the University of Chicago, has estimated that at its peak, Petra's urban population reached 30,000. «Therefore, we must appeal to human constructions to make life possible in a natural environment where there is a shortage of water on the surface...». Petra receives significant amounts of rainwater during several months of the year, which motivated the construction of hydraulic infrastructure to allow the collection of rainwater, its storage and its distribution to meet the needs of the city.[Ge. 1]​[Or. 1]​.

Several mountains, such as the Sharah Mountains which rise to 1,550 m in the western part of the city, have water sources - Aïn Musa, Aïn Debdebeh, Aïn Umm Sar'ab, Aïn Ammon, Aïn Beidha, Aïn Bebdbeh and Aïn Braq - whose waters are channeled to Petra.[52]​ "The solutions adopted, the methods and The techniques employed confirm that Nabataean hydraulic design could meet, if not exceed, the needs of Petra and was one of the main reasons for the city's prosperity for centuries.'[Or. 2]​ Water was scarce in Petra, especially during the hot, dry season from June to September, when plants, animals and humans need it most. The first works, carried out with rudimentary tools, were small in size - cisterns, trenches, aqueducts - and carried out on the plains or on land with little resistance to excavation.[Ge. 2]​ «As soon as you find a development of any size and regularity, a canal or a constructed basin, you immediately see the marks of first orientalized Hellenism, then of Rome and, later, of Byzantium...»..[Ge. 3]​.

Strabo also spoke of the waters of abundant springs: "(...) and the inner part of the city having springs in abundance, both for domestic needs and for watering the gardens...".[53] To capture fresh water from the few available springs and retain the torrential waters that flowed from the mountains into the valley, from November to April, the inhabitants erected infrastructures there over the centuries for the collection, storage and distribution of those waters that came from the sky or from the subsoil. You can also find several arches that support narrow aqueducts to cross from one cliff to another, without changing level, and qanats excavated in the depths of the mountain.[Ol. 1]​[Ny. 1]​[Ge. 4]​.

«(...) Umm al-Biyara [the mother of cisterns], is a vast rocky area that dominates the city to the west. The numerous vestiges of cisterns excavated in sandstone or limestone, attributed to the Edomites, from the middle of the first millennium BC. C. and probably earlier, they are generally bottle-shaped, with a narrow neck at the mouth, with a widening in depth later."[Ny. 2]​[Ge. 5]​ For the collection of water, its filtration and storage, its transportation sometimes over long distances, the Nabataean Arab hydraulicians and plumbers of Petra were inspired by techniques already used a few millennia before, in the cities of the Indus Valley. - Mohenjo Daro, Harappa, and those of Jerusalem, or for the supply of the palace of Knossos on the island of Crete.[Or. 3]​ However, the geographical and hydrological conditions of the city forced us to rethink new hydraulic techniques, more appropriate to the needs of the inhabitants of Petra as permanent residents or simply caravanners, Mirra merchants and travelers.[Ny. 3]​.

«(...) Technical means to capture and store a fraction of the rain runoff through dams and cisterns, as well as the construction of flood control systems"), pipes and canals to bring water from distant sources and the management of those resources for the continuous supply of water to the city, is crucial to understanding the Nabataean contributions to hydraulic science. [...] While water storage was one of the keys to the city's survival, a number of sources internal and external to the city. [...] Ain Mousa, Ain Umm Sar'ab, etc., provided water that was channeled to the city. [...] This constituted the main source of water supply for the urban center...».[Or. 4]​.

• - Several examples of Nabataean aqueducts in Petra.

Charles R. Ortloff was able to reconstruct the plan of the hydraulic network of ancient Petra and identified a set of 8 water sources, 40 dams and water reservoirs and more than 200 tanks and cisterns, with a set of canals greater than .[54] Water tanks on the slopes of the mountains, with the construction of stone walls for the construction of terraces for crops, are not included. This Arab principle of traditional water collection is the oldest known system of both collection and storage of rainwater for agricultural purposes.[Ol. 2]​[Ge. 6]​.

Water collection

Rainwater harvesting was the beginning of the Nabataean hydraulic distribution system; In the early period of the Nabataean settlements, entire sections of the Petra region lacked springs, and the main supply of spring water came from a wide stone channel laid in the ground from the spring of 'Ain Moussa (lit.: 'spring of Moses'), situated some east of Petra, taking the waters from the spring of Ain Umm Sar'ab and carrying them to the Siq that ran through Petra.[Ny. 4] Later, depending on the needs of the city, they channeled several more sources to the center of Petra: Ain Braq, Ain Dibdiba, Ain Ammon, al Beidha, Ain Bebdbeh.[Ca. 1]​[Or. 5]​.

The catchment was generally carried out through dams or cofferdams in the lower part of the valleys, or torrents that descended from the surrounding mountains. This collection system allowed the retention and regulation of water during torrential rains, which collapsed the mountains and destroyed the crops and buildings in the valleys. These dams and reservoirs increased the irrigated areas and therefore the cultivable areas after the deposit of silt, a technique perhaps copied from the Nile Valley.[Ny. 5]​[Ol. 2]​

"This technique consists of building the field with alluvial deposits of running water, then using the field to absorb the water retained behind small dikes." Shortly before entering the Siq, a Nabataean diversion tunnel dug under the mountain directed the waters of the wadi Mousa towards the wadi Muhlima, reducing the risk of flooding in the center of Petra, whose waters previously passed directly through the Siq.[Ca. 2]​[Ny. 6]​ The collection of water from the mountains was also done through gutters or canals dug in the middle or lower part of the slope, which then allowed that water to be conveyed to reservoirs or cisterns, both used for water storage, and also for its decantation, in order to eliminate solid particles.[De. 1]​[Ca. 3]​.

"...This technique consists of having the field built by the alluvial deposits") of flowing water, then using the field to absorb the water retained behind small dikes[Ge. 6]​.

Decantation

The decantation of the water after its collection was carried out by the inhabitants responsible for the city's water management, including the "Water Lord." It was done not only in order to preserve its clarity and drinkability, but also to limit excessive evaporation over time, [Ca. 3]​ and also to regulate its use according to the needs of the city.[Ny. 7]​[Ca. 3]​ This technique had also been used in even older cities such as Mohenjo Daro, Knossos, Harapa, etc.[55]​ The purification of the water was done by driving the water after its capture to one or more consecutive pools.[56]​ This process greatly reduced the speed of the water and facilitated the sedimentation of heavy particles at the bottom of the reservoir, which were later removed.[Ge. 7]​[Or. 3]​ This simple filtering system allowed better conservation of water for domestic needs, especially in the case of buried storage tanks; and prevented solid deposits in pipes and gutters.

Each cistern and reservoir generally had a settling pit attached to the water inlet and a low wall at the tank entrance that allowed the water velocity to be reduced to facilitate the deposition of heavier particles, but also to prevent agitation and deposits at the bottom from increasing the turbidity of the water.[Ol. 3]​[Ge. 8]​ ​​The volume of the cistern does not always reflect the volume of water available; At the end of the dry season, the water at the bottom of the cisterns was unfit for consumption, it stagnated there for several months and some cisterns were only partially or never cleaned.[Or. 6][57].

Water storage

"Water storage" was a fundamental element for the development and survival of the city, as it provided a sufficient volume of water throughout the year. Hundreds of buried cisterns and open pools have been built at the site of Petra since its occupation by the Edomites. These warehouses were excavated in the rock of the mountain or built into the ground. The interior walls of these cisterns and tanks were left as they were or covered with a waterproof mortar, depending on nature. and porosity of the rock.[Ge. 9]​[Ol. 2]​ The cisterns and reservoirs have variable dimensions and adapt to the terrain in which they are excavated or built. One of the tanks is 32 m long by 2 m wide and 3 m deep; some successive cisterns could be connected. each other through their overflow, both to allow a more efficient form of decantation and to increase water storage in the case of a high concentration of habitat.[Ge 11]​.

During the prehistoric period") and the occupation of Petra by nomadic tribes, the Nabataeans knew the location of those buried cisterns that were used to store water. But those bottle-shaped cisterns with narrow entrances could also serve as a defense and shelter system in case of need. enemy, a description that corresponds quite well with the current knowledge that scholars have about the buried cisterns around Petra: «...they fled to the desert that serves as their fortress: the lack of water makes it inaccessible to others, but only for them, who have dug tanks in the earth covered with a lime plaster, is it a safe refuge [...] After having filled these tanks with rainwater, they plug the openings and level the ground around them, leaving marks known to them. them, but imperceptible to others».[58]​.

• - Ancient Nabataean Arab wells and cisterns in the Negev (Israel).

Water distribution

The distribution of water in Petra had a variable morphology and used various techniques, some simple and others more elaborate. Recent research indicates that all the city's hydraulic networks transported a total volume of water daily.[59][Ol. 4]​

Many canals were dug into the mountainside from the springs, sometimes very far from the inhabitants. The Aïn Mousa water source is 7 km from the city center.[Or. 7]​[Ol. 3]​ In order to recover water from these sometimes distant springs, the work to construct and maintain such canals and conduits on the mountainside required rigorous design and construction by workers whose experience exceeded the skills of the average nomad, with Nabataean professionals having to be trained in those techniques in the other regions of the Near East.[De. 2]​[Ge. 12].

Several canals were made of stone carved from blocks of marl or local limestone. With a length of 60 BC, this type of canal would have been used since the century BC. C. until the Byzantine era. The so-called gravity system was the most used, and networks of pressurized pipes—ceramic pipes—were little used to transport water to the city of Petra.[Ny. 8]​ ​​The slope of the canal was chosen for optimal flow and depending on its course, the canal was open air or covered with flat stones. In the case of slopes that were too steep, and to avoid overflows and water losses, wells were built along the channel to "break" the speed of the water, but also to allow the settlement of sand and stone particles that could be dragged by the current.[Ge. 13]​[Or. 8]​.

According to archaeologists, the stone-lined canals were used to transport water for domestic use, while the canals left outdoors were used to transport water for livestock or gardens and agriculture.[Or. 9]​[De. 3]​ By the time of Roman occupation, the excavation of canals in the mountainside was enhanced by the laying of terracotta pipes, sometimes arranged in the ancient canals on the east side of the Siq. These new networks were made up of terracotta pipes—low-fired clay tubes—with mortar bushings and joints, with thicknesses that can vary from and diameters from .

«Archaeologist Pilipp C. Hammond found pipes made from ceramic caps in the theater.»[Ge. 14]​[Or. 10] Some pipe networks were made of ceramics—high-temperature fired clay pipes—with a thickness of or sometimes less and a length of .[Ca. 5]​[Or. 10]​ The peculiarity of these pipe networks was twofold: each pipe element, mainly the terracotta ones, 30 a long, had a narrow shape in the middle, as if to create a "venturi" during the passage of water, a specific shape reminiscent of the shape of the terracotta pipes of the palace of Knossos in Crete.[Or. 3]​[60]​ Another peculiarity of certain terracotta pipes placed in Petra are the sinusoidal undulations on the inside of the pipe, made at the time of its manufacture and which, according to experts, allowed the flow of the pipe to be increased.[Or. 8]​.

Maintenance

The maintenance of the infrastructure of the entire hydraulic and hydrological system that supplied the city of Petra would have been carried out according to centralized management of the city's water. Due to its complexity, the different sources of water collection, storage and means of distribution, the network required the development and construction of equipment perfectly coordinated according to the needs, evolving over the centuries with the expansion of the city, but it also required regular, well-managed and quality maintenance of the hydraulic networks.[Or. 11]​[Ol. 6]​ "...it is indisputable that water management in the Petra region is an impressive testimony to the establishment of an efficient central administration, all the more notable as it was established by ancient nomads."[67]​.

To achieve this, it was necessary to train and maintain a qualified Nabataean Arab workforce for the construction and maintenance of this hydraulic assembly. «... The implementation of the projects ultimately depended on a decision-making and regulatory authority that assumed a structured political organization...». The design and installation of these complex networks over such long distances was the work of the Nabataean inhabitants, experts in the techniques of laying complex pipe networks to supply the city of Petra, rather than the work of the nomadic segment of the population.[De. 4]​[Ge. 16].

La producción de calor para las necesidades de los baños termales constaba de varios elementos, en cuya realización se trabajaba desde el inicio de la construcción de las termas.[68]​ El suministro de agua y la producción de calor constituían los dos elementos principales que se tenían en cuenta durante la construcción de las termas. Esa producción de calor debía aprovecharse para calentar determinados locales, así como para calentar el agua para los baños calientes.[69]​.

• - La sala de calefacción - Praefurnium - y el almacén de leña.

• - El hipocausto con los pilares y su techo compuesto - Suspensura.

• - La distribución de aire caliente, los tubos y los conductos de evacuación de humos.

El sistema de calefacción con el hipocausto funcionaba forzando la circulación de aire caliente y humo bajo un piso suspendido levantado por pilares (pilae). El calor irradiado a través del suelo, calentando la superficie del suelo, así como la habitación y el baño de arriba. Este sistema de calefacción fue inventado por los griegos en el siglo a. C. con un "proto-hipocausto" ineficiente, que utilizaba conductos colocados debajo de los pisos y dentro de las paredes, trayendo aire caliente a las habitaciones para calentarlas. [107] El sistema fue perfeccionado por los romanos, con el principio del techo suspendido - Suspensura - en el siglo a. conocido por ser el hipocausto de Vitruvio, quien él mismo añade: Hay descubrimientos que, sabemos, datan sólo de nuestra época. [108] “... Latubulus es un tubo de calefacción de cerámica (terracota) desarrollado por los romanos para crear cavidades en las paredes a través de las cuales podía circular el aire caliente. Una extensión del sistema del hipocausto, los sistemas de túbulos, fueron uno de los sistemas de calefacción más avanzados utilizados en la antigüedad y se utilizaron en todo el Imperio Romano..." [70]​.

Praefurnium

The heating room or hearth, Praefurnium, was generally arranged at a lower level of the premises to be heated, to facilitate the diffusion of heat, as can be seen in al Biyara, wadi Sabra.[71]​ The natural slope of the terrain was also often considered.[72]​ Depending on the importance of the thermal baths, there could be a single heating room, more or less large depending on the number of rooms and baths to be heated; some baths could have several hearths, as in ez Zantur.[73]​.

The structure of this square or rectangular room had an opening on the ignition and fuel reserve side, as well as for the supply of fresh air, and another opening on the hypocaust side, for the exit of smoke and gases, as well as hot air. The walls were made of stone or brick, depending on the materials available. The walls were thick and the ceiling was often vaulted.

A room adjacent to the hearth allowed fuel, firewood or coal to be stored. This service room opened directly to the outside, to facilitate the supply of fuel.[74]​[75]​.

Hypocaust

The hypocaust was composed of several elements: generally there is a void under the building of 0.50 m to 1.00 m used for the diffusion and distribution of heat inside the premises, the ground is generally stabilized and covered with stone or rests on rock. A set of brick pillars, of round or square section, supported the floor of the premises (suspensura) or the bathrooms to be heated.[76]​ "... The suspensura is a kind of basement with a roof of terracotta slabs, which are nothing more than large tiles supported on pillars. Care is taken that the advance of the smoke occurs in a constant upward movement; this condition agrees in the most natural way with the inclined arrangement of the rapids of the ponds..."[77]​.

The terracotta slabs used to rest on the pillars and at the same time formed the basic structure of the floor, a kind of formwork, which supported a thick layer of tile mortar. Before being covered by the stone or marble pavement, a sealing layer was made, generally using lead plates. This compact set of terracotta slabs and mortar allowed for the storage of heat with great inertia, and the transmission of heat by radiation. This heating principle also allows maintaining the temperature, both in the volume of the premises and in the floor. This required a certain skill in managing the thermal installation of the thermal baths, but also in adjusting all the parameters that would provide the appropriate temperature in the facilities and in the baths. This heating principle was comfortable for visitors to the thermal baths,[117].

Pipes

The heating of the premises was also carried out through hot air distribution ducts called tubules, these are terracotta duct elements of different shapes, which allow the circulation of hot air from the hypocaust to the upper parts of the thermal baths. Tubuli heating systems were one of the most advanced heating designs used in ancient times and were employed throughout the Roman Empire. [118] The ducts were placed vertically against the exterior walls of the room to be heated and sealed with mortar. [119].

"«... they formed vertical columns that allowed the circulation of hot air. To increase its circulation, ventilation holes were drilled in the lateral part of the ducts, which allowed the transmission of hot air between the adjacent columns..."" [119] The first use of tubules dates back to the end of the century BC. with improvement and more intensive use, particularly in the thermal baths of Petra, in the 2nd centuries AD. C. Tubules replaced the other techniques previously used for wall heating. The first wall heating systems, used by the Romans, were composed of terracotta plates, placed vertically against the walls and whose corners had a protuberance that allowed them to be separated to allow the passage of air - the tegulae mammatae. With other less elaborate manufacturing systems, they were simple terracotta plates, fixed by hooks with their built-in spacer system.[78]​.

Seneca the Younger"), a Roman philosopher, playwright and statesman of the 19th century, reveals that the Romans most valued the wall heating system for its ability to heat the bath rooms uniformly, up and down: ".. It is for man, it is not to the wise man that we owe these inventions [...] such as the baths suspended over their stoves, and these tubes, applied to the walls, which circulate the heat and keep it from bottom to top always the same."[79]​.

The vertical shafts were assembled and fixed together, and sealed to the walls with mortar. In some cases, T-hooks placed between two elements and secured to the walls allowed for proper duct spacing and maintenance. The whole was usually covered with stucco, before finishing with marble slabs or mosaic. Parts of the ducts had openings to allow air to pass from one duct to the other. [122].

In the rooms that required a high temperature - laconicum, sudatorium - the ceiling was vaulted and was equipped with an opening at the top, with a bronze disc that, depending on its position, allowed the temperature of the room to be regulated.[80] Many remains of networks of tubules have been found during the various excavations, particularly in the lower part of the networks, but due to the fragility of the material that constitutes the tubules, the upper part of the network is mixed among the remains of terracotta and archaeologists and historians know very little about this upper part of the heating system.

Pool heating

Heating of the pools, generally supplied with cold water from a nearby reservoir, was done in part by transmitting heat through the floor of the hypocaust, but this way of heating the water was not always sufficient. The increase in the temperature of the pool or pool was then done by means of boilers (hot water tank) placed on top of a floor that heated the water in the baths to the desired temperature, for the warm bath for the tepidarium and the hot bath for the caldarium.[My. 1]​[81]​ These boilers were to feed the laconicum, a hot and dry room, and the sudatorium, the hot and humid room.

The base part of the tanks, in contact with fire, was made of brass - bronze - the upper part was made of lead. [125] In order to reduce the heating time of the water in the basins and allow better control of heat diffusion, many hot springs included a metal "box", the testudo, generally made of copper, open at the bottom of the basin, and closed on the side of the chimney. This closed part was exposed to the heat of the hearth, thus heating the water in this part of the pond; The temperature difference between the very hot water of this "warmer" and the cooler temperature of the basin created a circular current that equalized the temperature in the pool.[My. 2]​.

Pool drainage

The drainage of the ponds and pools, or cold baths, the frigidarium and the loutron, as well as the swimming pools and gallinae, which were fed by a water tank, in turn fed by an aqueduct, [127] was generally done according to the Roman technique, which consisted of directing the evacuation or emptying of water, slightly loaded, towards the latrines, then serving for the evacuation of the most important waste, before being carried towards the wadis. [128] The emptying of these basins could be done directly into the city's water network, or into the nearby wadi.[82]​.

The emptying of the pools and hot baths was carried out from a tap fixed to the "heater" - testudo or semi-testudo - and then directed directly to a canal that carried the water to the city network or a wadi. The drainage could also be used to clean the floor of the hypocaust beneath, before sending it into a canal connected to the city's network or directly into a wadi; In some cases the water passed through the home and was used to clean it, as long as it was cold. [130] Vitruvius in the century BC. C., in his book Volume I on the heating of the thermal baths, gives explanations about the operation of this system: "...The hearth is installed in the basement. The water, supplied by a tank fed by the city pipes, is gradually heated in a boiler T and a boiler-boiler C. The body of these boilers is housed in a masonry chamber and receives direct heat from the chimney. [...] The hot water boiler communicates with the food bucket (cold water) and the boiler, with the hot water boiler. So that any intake of hot water is automatically replaced by an input of warm water; the latter in turn, by an influx of cold water..." [131]As for the various thermal baths of Petra, the destruction by earthquakes, the wear and tear of time or the flooding of the wadis, have not yet made it possible to perfectly define the drainage system of the various basins and pools, the excavations of which are still in progress.

Smoke evacuation

The evacuation of smoke, as well as the adequate diffusion of hot air, was an integral part of the proper functioning of a hypocaust and of the entire heat production of the system. The smoke duct was directed to the chimney at the top, or was sent directly to the outside through the roof or terrace.[83] The hearth was powered according to the heat needs in the premises and in the swimming pools. This work was intended for slaves, specialized in the proper functioning of the hot springs, supervised by the spa or supervisor of the hot springs.

The terracotta smoke ducts were generally placed next to the hot air ducts (tubules) that transported high-temperature air. They also helped heat the place.

Both the hot air ducts and the smoke ducts had an active role in the heating system of the thermal baths, but they also had a passive role in the insulation of the buildings and prevented condensation on the walls.[My. 3][84].

In 1998, a team of archaeologists and engineers reconstructed a set of thermal baths, using materials and techniques from the Roman era: "This experience has allowed us to better understand many aspects of the construction and operation of public baths, including the unresolved relationship between the tubules (which transport hot air) and smoke exhaust ducts." [85]​ The most economical design had the hot air tubules completely separated from the chimney. In this system, each column of tubules was blocked at the top and the smoke from the hearth and hypocaust did not pass into the tubules, they were evacuated directly, at the top, outside the building, or into the chimney.

Once testing was completed and all data was collected, engineers found that the method of blocking three of the four columns of tubules and leaving the last remaining one open proved effective. Despite the low current, there was still warm air circulation in the tubules and the wall was sufficiently heated. But the tubules were not completely effective in removing smoke and gases from the hypocaust. This discovery suggests that heating systems could work efficiently without a direct connection to the exhaust duct. The question of the separation of toxic fumes and hot air, at the exit from the home, does not seem to be perfectly defined by archaeologists and historians. [135]According to Vitruvius, smoke evacuation was done through ceramic tubes, which, placed along the wall, allowed draft from the hearth. «... The use of fuel with a clear flame avoided excessive soot deposits...». [136].

Operation and maintenance

The operation and maintenance of the facilities was carried out by several teams of slaves, generally housed on site, who were responsible for maintaining the thermal baths facilities, ensuring the constant supply of water, hot and cold, and its correct temperature depending on the spa. [137] The slaves assigned to the baths were also responsible for the maintenance and proper functioning of all the heat production of the baths: hearths, hypocausts, air diffusion ducts and smoke ducts. The slaves had to ensure the permanent supply of the home according to the hours of use, to maintain a pleasant temperature in the premises and in the bathrooms at the time of their occupation, but minimizing the costs of fuel use.

The stoker, or man in charge of the house, was called fornacator and was generally a slave. Two mosaics from North Africa support this claim. Both show naked men carrying a basket full of hot coals. That of Bir-Shana Moghane, shows the burning embers, to underline its link with the home of the thermal baths - praefurnium - and also includes a fire iron in the other hand. The iron could symbolize the task of the firefighter who also had to supervise the combustion in the home, to correct the air supply if it was necessary for the good combustion of the wood or coal. It could also indicate that some skill was needed to balance air flow, air diffusion temperature in the hypocaust and tubules, energy efficiency, and bath water temperature.[My. 4]​.

Restarting the thermal baths after a total shutdown took several days and significant fuel consumption. The thermal baths, depending on their importance, could be private, or be public buildings belonging to the city; There were also imperial baths, under the direct responsibility of the Emperor.[My. 5]​.

A set of baths was run by a director - conductor -, generally controlled by the municipality. A guardian of the thermal baths - curator operis thermarum or balneator - had the function of supervising the work of each of the workers on the site; the spar was a free man. [140] The fornacators in charge of the houses were slaves who lived on site, they worked as a team; Their task was to ensure the continuity of the home's supply, from the fuel stock and the orders of the supervisor or spa, to maintain the correct temperature of the pools, to the satisfaction of the owners and users of the hot springs. "...The good reputation of the thermal baths was that it was always hot enough; the supervisor was responsible for the quality of the baths. [...] Citizens could complain to the municipal auditor if the baths were not heated enough..." [141]Teams of slaves specialized in maintaining the baths also had to be always present on site, to quickly repair any fault that might arise during the occupation of the baths. The preventive and scheduled maintenance of the hot springs by the supervisor had to involve a certain number of qualified slaves in the cleaning of the pools and water supply aqueducts, the recovery of the marble or mosaic slabs, the degradation due to water infiltration, the replacement of the elements of the homes destroyed by fire. Other teams had to be in charge of maintaining the access roads as well as the surroundings of the hot springs.

Artisans in the Nabataean city of Petra, in modern-day Jordan, extended the tradition to West Asia, carving their temples and tombs into the yellowish-orange rock that defines the region's canyons and ravines. These buildings, which date back to the century BC. C. until approximately the century AD. C., are particularly important in the history of architecture given their experimental forms.[86] Because the buildings served as tombs, the interiors were quite superficial. In Petra there is even a theater where the seats are carved into the rock.

Small-scale production of concrete-like materials was pioneered by Nabataean traders who occupied and controlled a number of oases and developed a small empire in the regions of southern Syria and northern Jordan from the 1st century BC. They discovered the advantages of hydraulic lime"), with some self-cementing properties, around 700 BC. They built kilns to supply mortar for the construction of masonry houses, concrete floors, and underground waterproof cisterns. They kept the cisterns secret as they allowed the Nabataeans to thrive in the desert.[87] Some of these structures survive to this day.[87]

• - Apollodorus of Damascus: Nabataean architect and engineer from Damascus, Roman Syria, who flourished during the century AD. C. his massive architectural production earned him immense popularity during his time. He is one of the few architects whose name survives from antiquity, and is credited with introducing several oriental innovations into the Roman imperial style, such as making the dome a banner.[88] Apollodorus was Trajan's favorite architect and engineer. He designed and supervised the construction of the Forum, the Markets, the Temple and Trajan's Column (the first monument of its kind) and the Stadium of Domitian within the city of Rome. Outside the capital, Apollodorus built bridges over the Danube and Tagus in Spain and designed Trajan's triumphal arches at Benevento and Ancona. [145] He is the author of Siege Engines (Πολιορκητικά), dedicated to an anonymous emperor, probably Trajan. He designed and oversaw the construction of the Forum"), Markets, and Temple, and Column of Trajan") (the first monument of its kind), and the Stadium of Domitian within the city of Rome. Outside the capital, Apollodorus built bridges across the Danube") and the Tagus in Spain") and designed the triumphal arches of Trajan at Benevento&action=edit&redlink=1 "Arch of Trajan (Benevento) (not yet written)") and Ancona&action=edit&redlink=1 "Arch of Trajan (Ancona) (not yet written)").[89]​ He is the author of Siege Engines. (Πολιορκητικά), dedicated to an unnamed emperor, likely Trajan.[89]​.

• - Wahb'allahii: a first century stonemason who worked in the city of Hegra.[90]​ Wahb'allahi was the brother of the stonemason 'Abdharetat and father of 'Abd'obodat. He is named in an inscription as the stonemason responsible for the oldest datable tomb at Hegra&action=edit&redlink=1 "Hegra (Mada'in Salih) (not yet redacted)") in the ninth year of the Nabataean king Aretas IV (1 BC-1 AD).[91]​.

• - 'Abd'obodat son of Wahballahi") a Nabataean stonemason of the century who worked in the city of Hegra.[92]​ Inscriptions on five of the facades of the typical tombs of Hegra name him as the executing craftsman. On the basis of the inscriptions, four of the facades can be dated to the reigns of kings Aretas IV and Malichus II. 'Abd'obodat was evidently a craftsman successful. He succeeded his father Wahb'allahi and his uncle 'Abdharetat in at least one workshop of the second generation of Nabatean architects. 'Abd'obodat is considered the main representative of one of the two main schools of Nabataean stonemasons, to which his father, his uncle, belonged. Two more serious facades are assigned to the school on the basis of stylistic research; carry out the work.[93]​.

• - 'Aftah: a Nabataean mason who became prominent in the early third decade of the first century.[94] 'Aftah is attested in inscriptions on eight of the tomb facades at Hegra and one tomb as the executing stonemason. The facades are dated to the end of the reign of King Aretas IV. On one of the facades he worked with Halaf'allahi, on another with Wahbu and Huru. A tenth façade without inscription was attributed to the 'Aftah school of sculpture due to technical and stylistic similarities. He is the main representative of one of the two bricklayer schools in the city of Hegra.

• - Halaf'allahi: Nabataean stonemason who worked in the city of Hegra in the first century. Halaf'allahi is mentioned in the inscriptions of two tombs at Hegra as the responsible stonemason in the reign of the Nabataean king Aretas IV. The first tomb, which can be dated to 26-27 CE, was created together with the stonemason 'Aftah. Therefore, he is assigned to the 'Aftah workshop. Nabataean architects and sculptors were actually contractors who negotiated the costs of specific types of tombs and their decorations. Therefore, the tombs were executed based on the wishes and financial capabilities of their future owners. The activities of Halaf'allahi offer an excellent example of this, as he was commissioned to make a simple tomb for a person who apparently belonged to the lower middle class. However,[151].

Petra es un sitio en la intersección del patrimonio natural y cultural que forma un paisaje cultural único. Desde que Johann Ludwig Burckhardt,[95]​ también conocido como Sheikh Ibrahim, redescubrió la ciudad en ruinas de Petra, Jordania, en 1812, el sitio del patrimonio cultural ha atraído a diferentes personas que compartían el interés por la historia antigua y la cultura de los nabateos, como viajeros, peregrinos, pintores y eruditos.[96]​ Sin embargo, no fue hasta finales del siglo que los investigadores arqueológicos se acercaron sistemáticamente a las ruinas.[97]​ Desde entonces excavaciones arqueológicas periódicas[98]​ y la investigación en curso sobre la cultura nabatea han sido parte de Petra, el sitio del patrimonio cultural mundial de la UNESCO de hoy..[99]​

A través de las excavaciones en el Parque Arqueológico de Petra, un número cada vez mayor del patrimonio cultural nabateo está expuesto al impacto ambiental. Un tema central es la gestión del agua que impacta en el patrimonio construido y las fachadas excavadas en la roca.[100]​ La gran cantidad de descubrimientos y la exposición de estructuras y hallazgos exigen medidas de conservación que respeten la interconexión entre el paisaje natural y el patrimonio cultural, ya que esta conexión es especialmente un desafío central en el sitio del Patrimonio Mundial de la UNESCO.[101]​].

Conservation of cultural heritage

In recent years, different conservation campaigns and projects have been established at the Petra cultural heritage site.[102] The main works first focused on the situation of the Siq entrance to protect tourists and facilitate access. Likewise, different conservation and conservation research projects were carried out. Below is a list of projects, which will continue.

• - 1958: restoration of the third pillar of the Treasury building (Al-Khazneh"). This project was funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID);.

• - 1974-1990: conservation work in the excavated area of ​​the Temple of the Winged Lions");.

• - 1981: different restoration works by the Department of Antiquities of Jordan");[103]​.

• - 1985: restoration work on the Qasr El Bint Temple by the Department of Antiquities of Jordan;[104]​.

• - 1990-1998: excavation and conservation of the Byzantine church by the American Center of Research (ACOR);

• - 1992-2002: Conservation and Restoration Center in Petra, CARCIP, German GTZ Project;[101]​.

• - 1993-2000: excavation, conservation and restoration of the Great Temple, funded by Brown University, USA;[105]​.

• - 1996-onwards: restoration of the Siq and rehabilitation of its soil by the National Petra Fund founded by the Jordanian-Swiss counterpart Fund, the Swiss Agency for Development") and the World Monuments Fund.;[106]​.

• - 2001: restoration of the altar in front of the Casr Bint Firaun by UNESCO;.

• - 2003: development of a conservation and maintenance plan for the old drainage systems to protect the facades excavated in the rock;[100]​.

• - 2003-2017: evaluation of desalination and restoration on the facades of the tombs;[107]​.

• - 2006-2010: preservation and consolidation of the wall paintings at Siq al Barid by the Petra National Trust in cooperation with the Department of Antiquities of Jordan and the Courtauld Institute of Art (London);.

• - 2009: onwards, renewed effort to preserve and rehabilitate the Temple of the Winged Lions") by the Temple of the Winged Lions Cultural Management Initiative (TWLCRM), the Petra Archaeological Park (PAP) and the Department of Antiquities of Jordan;*2016-2019: characterization and conservation of wall paintings and sculptures from Nabataean Petra "The Project of Petra Paintings Conservation ("The Petra Painting Conservation Project (PPCP)"[108]​ funded by the German Research Foundation (Project number 285789434).[109]​.

• - Nabataean art.

• - Nabataean Kingdom.

• - Nabataean religion.

• - Arab culture.

• - History of the Arabs").

• - This work contains a translation derived from «Nabataean architecture» from English Wikipedia, published by its editors under the GNU Free Documentation License and the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

religious architecture

Religious architecture was mainly represented by Nabataean temples, represented by various architectural models built to adapt to Nabataean worship rituals, most notably the Great Temple&action=edit&redlink=1 "Great Temple (Petra) (not yet written)") and the Temple of the Winged Lions").[18]

The Nabataeans built numerous places for religious practice and worship. Known as "high places", shrines, temples and altars were often open-air buildings located high on nearby mountains.[19] These places created throughout the Nabataean kingdom would be dedicated to the worship of the same god(s), and it would be the way in which they carried out the worship that would vary from site to site. The offering would range from material goods and food to live sacrifices of animals, and perhaps humans. The Nabataean kingdom can be considered divided into five religious regions, each with locations of religious importance: the Negev and Hejaz, the Hauran, central Jordan, southern Jordan, and finally northwestern Saudi Arabia.[20] All religious sites in those locations are now in varying states of preservation, making it difficult to know which deities would have been worshiped at each particular shrine, altar, or temple. It is also difficult to know the details of cult practices, meaning that only informed speculation can be made.[21]​[22]​.

Located about 40 km southwest of Beersheba is the city of Sobata, one of the main cities of the Nabataean kingdom. Very few archaeological remains have been found of any form of worship, of temples, sanctuaries or Nabataean altars. A small amount of evidence of Dushara worship has been found.[20][23]​.

The complex of buildings known as the Oboda Temple is located on the city's acropolis. The temple was built as a dedication to the deified Nabataean king Obodas I. The temple is located adjacent to the east of two other buildings: a Christian chapel and a second temple known as the "western temple". The temple dedicated to the cult of King Obodas was built of hard limestone in the year 9 BC. C. during the reign of Obodas II"). The temple is a tripartite building: it consists of a portico, a hall and an adytum; its general dimensions are .

The building was divided into four rooms. The first and second rooms were unequal subdivisions of the adytum (debir); The first room was the eastern room, which is the smaller of the two and measures . The second room was the western room and the largest of the two and a half rooms.

• - Archaeological remains in Avdat.

The third room was probably the vestibule (hekhal), an oblong shape that measured and is now completely covered by a Talus. The fourth room was the porch ('ulam) divided into two compartments, one facing west, measuring approximately , and the other facing east, divided by a wall of .[25] A worshiper would enter through the porch, which faces south, across the vestibule to the adytum rooms at the north end. The worshiper would then turn south to worship images of the deities placed in niches in the wall. The western room had two niches that may have housed images of two Nabataean gods, Allat and Dushura. The other room had a single, larger niche, where it is believed that the challenged image of Obodas the king would be worshiped. The temple was built to be his eternal resting place and the center of worship for his cult.[26]​.

Located 300 km from Petra, a unique Nabataean-style temple has been discovered there. The inscription on the lintel dates the temple after the fall of the Nabataean kingdom.[21]​.

• - Archaeological remains in Al-Rawwafah.

Mampsis (medieval Greek: Μάμψις) or Memphis (ancient Greek: ), today Mamshit (Hebrew: ‎; Arabic: ‎), currently in Israel, was an ancient Nabataean caravan stop and later a Byzantine city. In the Nabataean period, Mampsis was an important station on the Incense Route, which connected southern Arabia via Edom, the Arabah Valley and Ma'ale Akrabim), to Mediterranean ports, as well as to Jerusalem via Beersheba and Hebron. The city comprises and is the smallest but best restored ancient city in the Negev Desert. The once luxurious houses feature unusual architecture not found in any other Nabataean city.

The reconstructed city allows the visitor to get an idea of ​​what Mampsis was like. Entire streets have survived intact and there are also large groups of Nabataean buildings with open rooms, courtyards and terraces. The stones are carefully carved and the arches that support the roof are very well built.

The Incense Route - Cities in the Negev Desert, including Mampsis, Haluza, Avdat and Shivta, were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in June 2005.[27]​.

• - Archaeological remains in Mampsis.

Located in southern Syria, Bostra was the northern capital of the Nabataean kingdom, with evidence of temples located at major intersections in the city. In the center of it there is a temple complex dedicated to Dushara-A'ra.[20] It is believed that A'ra was the god of the Nabataean kings and of the city of Bostra itself. The modern buildings make it difficult to search for archaeological evidence of the Nabataean cult. An inscription that reads "This is the wall that... and the windows that Taymu bar... built for... Dushara and the rest of the gods of Bostra" is found in what is believed to be that temple.

Located north of Bostra, near Canatha, the settlement has three large temples, the largest dedicated to Baalshamin. The two smaller temples would be dedicated to unknown deities. One has an inscription to the local goddess, Seeia, and may have been used to worship her. The temple complex is not of Nabataean design, but is an amalgamation of architectural styles from the cultures of the northern Nabataean frontier.

Temples of similar style are located in Wadi Rumm, Dharih, Tannur and Qasrawet.[21]​.

Temples similar to those located near Petra in Wadi Rumm, Dharih, Tannur and Qasrawet. The Nabataean inscription indicates cults dedicated to Allat and Baalshamin.[21]​.

Jirbet et-Tannur, located in central Jordan is a temple, a "high place", arranged isolated on top of the summit of Jebal Tannur. It can only be accessed via a single steep staircase. The isolation of the sites may indicate that it was of great religious importance to the Nabataeans.[20] The entrance to the inner sanctuary of the temple is decorated with representations of vegetation, foliage and fruits. Glueck identifies them as representatives of the Syrian goddess Atargatis. The inner sanctuary decorated with images of fruits, fish, vegetation, rays, as well as representations of deities. Glueck attributes these iconography to the Mesopotamian storm god Hadad, but Tyche and Nike "Nike (mythology)") are also represented. Starckly notes that the only god named is Qos, the Edomite weather god. An inscription on a stele at the site names him as the god of Hurawa.[19]​[20]​

Khirbet edh-Dharih.

Located 7 km south of Hurawa, the temple of Khirbet edh-Dharih") is surprisingly well preserved. The temple complex is surrounded by an outer and inner courtyard, with a paved path to the porticoes. There are also benches in the form of a theatron. The temple itself is divided into three sections, in a large open hall. From here is the cella, which was painted in rich and vibrant colors. At the back of the cella was the motab and betyl, a square podium flanked by stairs that was the seat of the divine. Despite its good condition, it is not known which god would have been worshiped here.[20]​.

Capital of the Nabataean kingdom since around 312 BC. C., the city was famous for its wonderful architecture carved into the rock. Located within the Shara Mountains), Dushara was the main male god accompanied by the female trinity Al-'Uzzá), Allat and Manāt.[19]​[22]​ In the city there is a stele dedicated to the Edomite god Qos. The Nabataeans worshiped pre-Islamic Arab gods and goddesses, along with deified kings such as Obodas I. The layout and design of the temples show the influence of Roman, Greek, Egyptian and Persian temple architecture. The "High Place" is located in high in the mountains surrounding Petra. Used as a place to offer gifts and sacrifice animals, perhaps humans, to the gods, the High Place consists of a pond for collecting water, two altars, and a large open courtyard.[22]​.

• - Archaeological remains in Al-Khazneh (the Treasury), Petra.

In this region is a temple with a 20 m long processional path leading to a courtyard overlooking Jebel Qalkha. The design of the betyls, as well as the remains of the offering, point to the possible worship of Dushara, perhaps even Jupiter.

Allat Temple. Rock shrine of Ayn esh-Shallaleh") located behind the temple of Allat. Betylos and cult niches to Dushara and Baalshamin.

Hegra (Arabic: ‎), now known as Mada'in Saleh[19]​[20]​ (Arabic: ‎, romanized: Madāʼin Ṣāliḥ, lit. 'cities of Salih'),[28]​ is an archaeological site located in the area of ​​al-'Ula within the province of Medina, in the historic Hejaz region, now Saudi Arabia. Most of the remains date from the Nabataean kingdom (century AD). The site constitutes the kingdom's southernmost settlement and its second largest city after Petra (now in Jordan), its capital city. Traces of Lihyanite and Roman occupation can also be found before and after Nabataean rule, respectively.

A ritual cult circle atop Jibel Ithlib Mountain rests on a rock outcrop. Around the site of Jibel Ithlib there are small betyls and niches for worship of other gods. The inscription "Lord of the Temple" may refer to Dushara. The Marseha cults are located here. Today Hegra is known as.

• - The lonely castle, Hegra, Saudi Arabia.

Residential architecture

The Nabataean residential buildings of which remains are preserved are palaces, large urban houses, rural houses and small, simple houses, generally made with local materials found in the region.[30]​[31]​ Relatively little archaeological research has been carried out in the residential areas of Petra. Work in the az-Zantur area of ​​Petra indicates that there would have been an evolution from non-permanent (tent-type) accommodation to constructed buildings, with sedentarization occurring only gradually, as tents coexisted with majestic mansions even in later phases of evolution. Even the well-researched, stone-built and elaborately decorated Nabataean mansion at az-Zantur consisted of a sumptuous representative wing, with Western stucco and fresco decoration, and a simple residential wing.

Caves were also used for residential purposes. The residential area of ​​Hegra is located in the middle of the plain, far from the outcrops.[32]​ The main construction material of the houses and the wall that enclosed them was sun-dried adobe brick.[32]​ Few vestiges of the residential area remain.

Public spaces

The monuments of Petra are a well-known example of this type of use of Nabataean architecture, with examples including all types of public buildings as well as private buildings. The architectural elements of the urban area of ​​Petra were built according to a general urban design of the city, since the main streets were influenced by Roman urban plans. These places divided the city into two halves, both aligned with the valley; Nabataean engineers also built several sewer channels under the street floor.[33]​.

A little further from the Treasury, at the foot of the mountain called en-Nejr, there is a huge theater, arranged so that the greatest number of tombs can be seen. At the point where the valley opens onto the plain, the site of the city is revealed with surprising effect. The theater was dug into the hillside and several of the tombs during its construction. The rectangular gaps in the seats are still visible. Almost surrounding it on three sides are pink mountain walls, divided into groups by deep fissures and covered with protuberances carved into the rock in the shape of towers.[34] The theater was said to have capacity for about 8,500 people.[35] The performances that the public could attend would be poetry readings and dramas. Gladiator fights were also said to take place there and attract the majority of the audience, although no gladiators were able to gain fame due to the high mortality rate. The theater was one of many buildings in Petra that suffered significant damage due to the Galilee earthquake of 363.

The Petra Pool and Garden Complex are a series of buildings in the center of the city. Originally said to be a market area,[36]​ although excavations at the site have allowed scholars to identify it as an elaborate Nabataean garden, which included a large pool, an island-pavilion, and an intricate hydraulic system.[37][38][39]​

In front of the pool and garden complex is the Colonnade Street, which is one of the few features of Petra that was built rather than carved from the natural rock. The street used to feature a semi-circular nymphaeum, which is now in ruins due to flash floods, and used to house Petra's only tree. It was intended to be a symbol of the peaceful atmosphere that the Nabataeans were able to build in Petra. Once the Romans took control of the city, the colonnaded street was narrowed to make room for a sidewalk and 72 columns were added to each side.[40]​.

Funerary architecture

Funerary monuments were represented by carved royal tombs and tombs built from carved stone. The Nabataeans paid great attention to their tombs, and this was reflected in their architecture, in which many architectural and artistic methods of respecting the dead were developed, suggesting the Nabataeans' interest in the afterlife. Among the most famous Nabataean monuments are the carved royal tombs. Several archaeological studies that have been carried out on them have concluded that the Nabataean engineer combined external influences from neighboring Arab and non-Arab civilizations with the Nabataean architectural style. Many of those tombs can be seen in different places in and around Petra, especially on the way before reaching the Siq. Among the famous funerary monuments of Petra are: the tomb of the Obelisk"), the tomb of the Urn") or the tomb of the Window").[41]​[42]​.

Nabataean tombs are primarily “rock-cut tombs.” They are created by directly carving into the landscape, traditionally rock (see: Rock-cut tombs in Israel.) entablatures of metopes and triglyphs, and capitals They were built to honor gods and leaders, as well as to house generations of a particular family. These tombs are usually found within the city. These tombs are simple in style but elaborate in function, often with steps, platforms, libation holes, cisterns, water channels, and sometimes banquet halls. springs, catchment ponds and canals.[43]​.

Crenellated tombs were also popular in Nabataean architecture. There are variations of the crenellation, changing the number of levels. Crenellated tombs were created to represent fortifications, creating a symbol of cities, strength, military power. Later, under the Achaemenid Persians, the fortification context was removed, giving greater scope to a sign of royalty and authority.

Several tombs have obelisks on the outside. Obelisks are narrow, tapering monuments, often used to represent the Nephesh), specific leaders and gods of monolithic societies. They are often found in Egyptian and Near Eastern architecture.

Tombs with detailed facades were also quite popular among the Nabataean community. There are a total of eight different types of facades[43]​ that offer the opportunity to understand the different stylistic typologies adopted by the Nabataeans:

• - with a simple trellis, where there are 7 small staggered decorations on the entrance door crowned by a corbel;.

• - double lattice, in which this decoration is duplicated in two different orders;.

• - with steps, the façade is simple but at the top there are 5 opposite steps that tend to widen, topped by a corbel;.

• - proto-Hegro in this case the steps are maintained but the decoration has two Nabataean style capitals on the sides with a corbel;.

• - Hegro, the style is more complex and the difference is a series of corbels;

Contenido

Han sobrevivido pocos ejemplos de pintura nabatea. La mayoría son fragmentos de pinturas interiores puramente decorativas, suficientes para demostrar que seguían el estilo helenístico contemporáneo, del que quedan pocas pinturas.[45]​.

En 2010, se reveló que un biclinio"), ahora conocido coloquialmente como la Casa Pintada, en Pequeña Petra (Jordania), tenía extensos frescos en el techo, que habían estado ocultos durante mucho tiempo bajo el hollín de las fogatas beduinas"), y de otras inscripciones de los siglos posteriores. Tras un proyecto de restauración de tres años se recuperaron y son ahora visibles. Representan, con gran detalle y con una variedad de medios, incluidos esmaltes y pan de oro, imágenes como vides y putti asociados con el dios griego Dionisios, lo que sugiere que el espacio podría haber sido utilizado para el consumo de vino, tal vez con los comerciantes visitantes. Además de ser el único ejemplo conocido de pintura figurativa interior nabatea in situ, es uno de los pocos ejemplos existentes de pintura helenística, considerado superior a las imitaciones romanas posteriores del estilo en Herculano.[45]​.

Las pinturas murales del Biclinio Pintado se pueden agrupar en dos grandes escenas. La cámara mayor tiene el muro meridional decorado con estuco, creando falsos elementos arquitectónicos que recuerdan a algunas pinturas murales pompeyanas. La habitación interior tiene una decoración pintada en un estilo completamente diferente al de la habitación exterior mayor. En lugar de adornos arquitectónicos, las paredes y el techo abovedado de esta sala muestran un programa complejo de enredaderas, flores, figuras, diversas variedades de aves locales e insectos entrelazados. Varios erotes —pequeños dioses alados asociados con el amor y ocasionalmente con el cultivo del vino— se ven participando en el manejo de la viticultura, usando escalas y podaderas, cargando canastas de uvas recolectadas y defendiendo las vides de las aves carroñeras. Los erotes están armados con arcos, flechas y lanzas. Además de las vides de uva domesticadas y cosechadas, vides silvestres de frambuesa y flores de enredadera envuelven la escena para rendir homenaje a la flora local del interior del norte de Petra. Twaisi et al. (2010) identificaron una figura antropomórfica más en la escena además de los erotes, que interpretaron como una representación de la diosa egipcia romanizada. Sin embargo, la escena iconográfica general y los paralelismos arquitectónicos con otras partes del área de Petra dan peso a la atribución del espacio como un centro de culto dionisíaco.[46]​[47]​[48]​

Además de la pintura figurativa y floral dentro de la sala interior del Biclinio Pintado, la sala parece haber sido embellecida aún más con un intrincado programa de decoración estucada. Se conservan restos de un entablamento en las paredes este y oeste de la sala, y el centro de la bóveda alguna vez tuvo un medallón de estuco.

• - Frescos árabes nabateos.

Meaning

The importance of these paintings lies in their figurative elements, a theme that is often absent in preserved Nabataean painting and other media. While a small fragment of a human face was found during the excavations of the Great Temple and the excavation of the Temple of the Winged Lions brought to light other select fragments, the frescoes in the Painted Biclinium form both the most complete painted scene in the Nabataean archaeological record and the only one remaining in situ. Features of the figurative composition, including almond-shaped eyes and round chins, have parallels with other pieces of Hellenistic paintings and mosaics, while the floral and faunal themes are clearly local. Furthermore, although the archaeological record pointing to the Dionysian cult appears prolific among the Nabataean elite, few contexts preserve any record of this practice outside of architecture and ceramics.[47] The Painted Biclinium provides a colorful element to that religious tradition in the rich semi-arid cultivated landscape around Petra.

El sistema de ingeniería de abastecimiento de agua fue el logro más importante de la civilización nabatea en su capital, que hizo posible la vida en la región seca del desierto jordano. Ese sistema incluía métodos de conservación de agua y represas que recogían el agua de lluvia durante el invierno. Los nabateos también utilizaron un sistema controlado de canales y tuberías de arcilla para distribuir el agua por toda la ciudad.

Las excavaciones han demostrado que fue la capacidad de los nabateos para controlar el suministro de agua lo que condujo al surgimiento de la ciudad del desierto, logrando crear un oasis artificial. El área sufre inundaciones repentinas, pero la evidencia arqueológica muestra que los nabateos controlaron esas inundaciones mediante el uso de presas, cisternas y conductos de agua. Esas innovaciones permitieron almacenar el agua durante los períodos prolongados de sequía y también que la ciudad prosperara gracias a su venta.[49]​[50]​.

Hydrology and hydraulics

Water, with the understanding of its hydrology and hydraulics, were the main drivers of the city of Petra. The city is built in a valley surrounded by mountains, crossed by the wadi Musa, a torrent that flows from east to west and divides the city in two and constitutes its spine. Strabo, Greek geographer of the century BC. C., on his way to the East he passed through Petra and indicated that the urban center "(...) is situated as a whole on a flat and uniform terrain (...) protected in a circle by steep and abrupt rocks."[51]​.

• - The path that leads to Al-Deir (اَلدَّيْر, the monastery).

• - Al Deir Monastery").

Apart from a few springs, some of them low-flow, the entire site of Petra is devoid of perennial water flows, insufficient for the needs of a city that continued to grow for almost a millennium. Charles Ortloff, an archaeologist at the University of Chicago, has estimated that at its peak, Petra's urban population reached 30,000. «Therefore, we must appeal to human constructions to make life possible in a natural environment where there is a shortage of water on the surface...». Petra receives significant amounts of rainwater during several months of the year, which motivated the construction of hydraulic infrastructure to allow the collection of rainwater, its storage and its distribution to meet the needs of the city.[Ge. 1]​[Or. 1]​.

Several mountains, such as the Sharah Mountains which rise to 1,550 m in the western part of the city, have water sources - Aïn Musa, Aïn Debdebeh, Aïn Umm Sar'ab, Aïn Ammon, Aïn Beidha, Aïn Bebdbeh and Aïn Braq - whose waters are channeled to Petra.[52]​ "The solutions adopted, the methods and The techniques employed confirm that Nabataean hydraulic design could meet, if not exceed, the needs of Petra and was one of the main reasons for the city's prosperity for centuries.'[Or. 2]​ Water was scarce in Petra, especially during the hot, dry season from June to September, when plants, animals and humans need it most. The first works, carried out with rudimentary tools, were small in size - cisterns, trenches, aqueducts - and carried out on the plains or on land with little resistance to excavation.[Ge. 2]​ «As soon as you find a development of any size and regularity, a canal or a constructed basin, you immediately see the marks of first orientalized Hellenism, then of Rome and, later, of Byzantium...»..[Ge. 3]​.

Strabo also spoke of the waters of abundant springs: "(...) and the inner part of the city having springs in abundance, both for domestic needs and for watering the gardens...".[53] To capture fresh water from the few available springs and retain the torrential waters that flowed from the mountains into the valley, from November to April, the inhabitants erected infrastructures there over the centuries for the collection, storage and distribution of those waters that came from the sky or from the subsoil. You can also find several arches that support narrow aqueducts to cross from one cliff to another, without changing level, and qanats excavated in the depths of the mountain.[Ol. 1]​[Ny. 1]​[Ge. 4]​.

«(...) Umm al-Biyara [the mother of cisterns], is a vast rocky area that dominates the city to the west. The numerous vestiges of cisterns excavated in sandstone or limestone, attributed to the Edomites, from the middle of the first millennium BC. C. and probably earlier, they are generally bottle-shaped, with a narrow neck at the mouth, with a widening in depth later."[Ny. 2]​[Ge. 5]​ For the collection of water, its filtration and storage, its transportation sometimes over long distances, the Nabataean Arab hydraulicians and plumbers of Petra were inspired by techniques already used a few millennia before, in the cities of the Indus Valley. - Mohenjo Daro, Harappa, and those of Jerusalem, or for the supply of the palace of Knossos on the island of Crete.[Or. 3]​ However, the geographical and hydrological conditions of the city forced us to rethink new hydraulic techniques, more appropriate to the needs of the inhabitants of Petra as permanent residents or simply caravanners, Mirra merchants and travelers.[Ny. 3]​.

«(...) Technical means to capture and store a fraction of the rain runoff through dams and cisterns, as well as the construction of flood control systems"), pipes and canals to bring water from distant sources and the management of those resources for the continuous supply of water to the city, is crucial to understanding the Nabataean contributions to hydraulic science. [...] While water storage was one of the keys to the city's survival, a number of sources internal and external to the city. [...] Ain Mousa, Ain Umm Sar'ab, etc., provided water that was channeled to the city. [...] This constituted the main source of water supply for the urban center...».[Or. 4]​.

• - Several examples of Nabataean aqueducts in Petra.

Charles R. Ortloff was able to reconstruct the plan of the hydraulic network of ancient Petra and identified a set of 8 water sources, 40 dams and water reservoirs and more than 200 tanks and cisterns, with a set of canals greater than .[54] Water tanks on the slopes of the mountains, with the construction of stone walls for the construction of terraces for crops, are not included. This Arab principle of traditional water collection is the oldest known system of both collection and storage of rainwater for agricultural purposes.[Ol. 2]​[Ge. 6]​.

Water collection

Rainwater harvesting was the beginning of the Nabataean hydraulic distribution system; In the early period of the Nabataean settlements, entire sections of the Petra region lacked springs, and the main supply of spring water came from a wide stone channel laid in the ground from the spring of 'Ain Moussa (lit.: 'spring of Moses'), situated some east of Petra, taking the waters from the spring of Ain Umm Sar'ab and carrying them to the Siq that ran through Petra.[Ny. 4] Later, depending on the needs of the city, they channeled several more sources to the center of Petra: Ain Braq, Ain Dibdiba, Ain Ammon, al Beidha, Ain Bebdbeh.[Ca. 1]​[Or. 5]​.

The catchment was generally carried out through dams or cofferdams in the lower part of the valleys, or torrents that descended from the surrounding mountains. This collection system allowed the retention and regulation of water during torrential rains, which collapsed the mountains and destroyed the crops and buildings in the valleys. These dams and reservoirs increased the irrigated areas and therefore the cultivable areas after the deposit of silt, a technique perhaps copied from the Nile Valley.[Ny. 5]​[Ol. 2]​

"This technique consists of building the field with alluvial deposits of running water, then using the field to absorb the water retained behind small dikes." Shortly before entering the Siq, a Nabataean diversion tunnel dug under the mountain directed the waters of the wadi Mousa towards the wadi Muhlima, reducing the risk of flooding in the center of Petra, whose waters previously passed directly through the Siq.[Ca. 2]​[Ny. 6]​ The collection of water from the mountains was also done through gutters or canals dug in the middle or lower part of the slope, which then allowed that water to be conveyed to reservoirs or cisterns, both used for water storage, and also for its decantation, in order to eliminate solid particles.[De. 1]​[Ca. 3]​.

"...This technique consists of having the field built by the alluvial deposits") of flowing water, then using the field to absorb the water retained behind small dikes[Ge. 6]​.

Decantation

The decantation of the water after its collection was carried out by the inhabitants responsible for the city's water management, including the "Water Lord." It was done not only in order to preserve its clarity and drinkability, but also to limit excessive evaporation over time, [Ca. 3]​ and also to regulate its use according to the needs of the city.[Ny. 7]​[Ca. 3]​ This technique had also been used in even older cities such as Mohenjo Daro, Knossos, Harapa, etc.[55]​ The purification of the water was done by driving the water after its capture to one or more consecutive pools.[56]​ This process greatly reduced the speed of the water and facilitated the sedimentation of heavy particles at the bottom of the reservoir, which were later removed.[Ge. 7]​[Or. 3]​ This simple filtering system allowed better conservation of water for domestic needs, especially in the case of buried storage tanks; and prevented solid deposits in pipes and gutters.

Each cistern and reservoir generally had a settling pit attached to the water inlet and a low wall at the tank entrance that allowed the water velocity to be reduced to facilitate the deposition of heavier particles, but also to prevent agitation and deposits at the bottom from increasing the turbidity of the water.[Ol. 3]​[Ge. 8]​ ​​The volume of the cistern does not always reflect the volume of water available; At the end of the dry season, the water at the bottom of the cisterns was unfit for consumption, it stagnated there for several months and some cisterns were only partially or never cleaned.[Or. 6][57].

Water storage

"Water storage" was a fundamental element for the development and survival of the city, as it provided a sufficient volume of water throughout the year. Hundreds of buried cisterns and open pools have been built at the site of Petra since its occupation by the Edomites. These warehouses were excavated in the rock of the mountain or built into the ground. The interior walls of these cisterns and tanks were left as they were or covered with a waterproof mortar, depending on nature. and porosity of the rock.[Ge. 9]​[Ol. 2]​ The cisterns and reservoirs have variable dimensions and adapt to the terrain in which they are excavated or built. One of the tanks is 32 m long by 2 m wide and 3 m deep; some successive cisterns could be connected. each other through their overflow, both to allow a more efficient form of decantation and to increase water storage in the case of a high concentration of habitat.[Ge 11]​.

During the prehistoric period") and the occupation of Petra by nomadic tribes, the Nabataeans knew the location of those buried cisterns that were used to store water. But those bottle-shaped cisterns with narrow entrances could also serve as a defense and shelter system in case of need. enemy, a description that corresponds quite well with the current knowledge that scholars have about the buried cisterns around Petra: «...they fled to the desert that serves as their fortress: the lack of water makes it inaccessible to others, but only for them, who have dug tanks in the earth covered with a lime plaster, is it a safe refuge [...] After having filled these tanks with rainwater, they plug the openings and level the ground around them, leaving marks known to them. them, but imperceptible to others».[58]​.

• - Ancient Nabataean Arab wells and cisterns in the Negev (Israel).

Water distribution

The distribution of water in Petra had a variable morphology and used various techniques, some simple and others more elaborate. Recent research indicates that all the city's hydraulic networks transported a total volume of water daily.[59][Ol. 4]​

Many canals were dug into the mountainside from the springs, sometimes very far from the inhabitants. The Aïn Mousa water source is 7 km from the city center.[Or. 7]​[Ol. 3]​ In order to recover water from these sometimes distant springs, the work to construct and maintain such canals and conduits on the mountainside required rigorous design and construction by workers whose experience exceeded the skills of the average nomad, with Nabataean professionals having to be trained in those techniques in the other regions of the Near East.[De. 2]​[Ge. 12].

Several canals were made of stone carved from blocks of marl or local limestone. With a length of 60 BC, this type of canal would have been used since the century BC. C. until the Byzantine era. The so-called gravity system was the most used, and networks of pressurized pipes—ceramic pipes—were little used to transport water to the city of Petra.[Ny. 8]​ ​​The slope of the canal was chosen for optimal flow and depending on its course, the canal was open air or covered with flat stones. In the case of slopes that were too steep, and to avoid overflows and water losses, wells were built along the channel to "break" the speed of the water, but also to allow the settlement of sand and stone particles that could be dragged by the current.[Ge. 13]​[Or. 8]​.

According to archaeologists, the stone-lined canals were used to transport water for domestic use, while the canals left outdoors were used to transport water for livestock or gardens and agriculture.[Or. 9]​[De. 3]​ By the time of Roman occupation, the excavation of canals in the mountainside was enhanced by the laying of terracotta pipes, sometimes arranged in the ancient canals on the east side of the Siq. These new networks were made up of terracotta pipes—low-fired clay tubes—with mortar bushings and joints, with thicknesses that can vary from and diameters from .

«Archaeologist Pilipp C. Hammond found pipes made from ceramic caps in the theater.»[Ge. 14]​[Or. 10] Some pipe networks were made of ceramics—high-temperature fired clay pipes—with a thickness of or sometimes less and a length of .[Ca. 5]​[Or. 10]​ The peculiarity of these pipe networks was twofold: each pipe element, mainly the terracotta ones, 30 a long, had a narrow shape in the middle, as if to create a "venturi" during the passage of water, a specific shape reminiscent of the shape of the terracotta pipes of the palace of Knossos in Crete.[Or. 3]​[60]​ Another peculiarity of certain terracotta pipes placed in Petra are the sinusoidal undulations on the inside of the pipe, made at the time of its manufacture and which, according to experts, allowed the flow of the pipe to be increased.[Or. 8]​.

Maintenance

The maintenance of the infrastructure of the entire hydraulic and hydrological system that supplied the city of Petra would have been carried out according to centralized management of the city's water. Due to its complexity, the different sources of water collection, storage and means of distribution, the network required the development and construction of equipment perfectly coordinated according to the needs, evolving over the centuries with the expansion of the city, but it also required regular, well-managed and quality maintenance of the hydraulic networks.[Or. 11]​[Ol. 6]​ "...it is indisputable that water management in the Petra region is an impressive testimony to the establishment of an efficient central administration, all the more notable as it was established by ancient nomads."[67]​.

To achieve this, it was necessary to train and maintain a qualified Nabataean Arab workforce for the construction and maintenance of this hydraulic assembly. «... The implementation of the projects ultimately depended on a decision-making and regulatory authority that assumed a structured political organization...». The design and installation of these complex networks over such long distances was the work of the Nabataean inhabitants, experts in the techniques of laying complex pipe networks to supply the city of Petra, rather than the work of the nomadic segment of the population.[De. 4]​[Ge. 16].

La producción de calor para las necesidades de los baños termales constaba de varios elementos, en cuya realización se trabajaba desde el inicio de la construcción de las termas.[68]​ El suministro de agua y la producción de calor constituían los dos elementos principales que se tenían en cuenta durante la construcción de las termas. Esa producción de calor debía aprovecharse para calentar determinados locales, así como para calentar el agua para los baños calientes.[69]​.

• - La sala de calefacción - Praefurnium - y el almacén de leña.

• - El hipocausto con los pilares y su techo compuesto - Suspensura.

• - La distribución de aire caliente, los tubos y los conductos de evacuación de humos.

El sistema de calefacción con el hipocausto funcionaba forzando la circulación de aire caliente y humo bajo un piso suspendido levantado por pilares (pilae). El calor irradiado a través del suelo, calentando la superficie del suelo, así como la habitación y el baño de arriba. Este sistema de calefacción fue inventado por los griegos en el siglo a. C. con un "proto-hipocausto" ineficiente, que utilizaba conductos colocados debajo de los pisos y dentro de las paredes, trayendo aire caliente a las habitaciones para calentarlas. [107] El sistema fue perfeccionado por los romanos, con el principio del techo suspendido - Suspensura - en el siglo a. conocido por ser el hipocausto de Vitruvio, quien él mismo añade: Hay descubrimientos que, sabemos, datan sólo de nuestra época. [108] “... Latubulus es un tubo de calefacción de cerámica (terracota) desarrollado por los romanos para crear cavidades en las paredes a través de las cuales podía circular el aire caliente. Una extensión del sistema del hipocausto, los sistemas de túbulos, fueron uno de los sistemas de calefacción más avanzados utilizados en la antigüedad y se utilizaron en todo el Imperio Romano..." [70]​.

Praefurnium

The heating room or hearth, Praefurnium, was generally arranged at a lower level of the premises to be heated, to facilitate the diffusion of heat, as can be seen in al Biyara, wadi Sabra.[71]​ The natural slope of the terrain was also often considered.[72]​ Depending on the importance of the thermal baths, there could be a single heating room, more or less large depending on the number of rooms and baths to be heated; some baths could have several hearths, as in ez Zantur.[73]​.

The structure of this square or rectangular room had an opening on the ignition and fuel reserve side, as well as for the supply of fresh air, and another opening on the hypocaust side, for the exit of smoke and gases, as well as hot air. The walls were made of stone or brick, depending on the materials available. The walls were thick and the ceiling was often vaulted.

A room adjacent to the hearth allowed fuel, firewood or coal to be stored. This service room opened directly to the outside, to facilitate the supply of fuel.[74]​[75]​.

Hypocaust

The hypocaust was composed of several elements: generally there is a void under the building of 0.50 m to 1.00 m used for the diffusion and distribution of heat inside the premises, the ground is generally stabilized and covered with stone or rests on rock. A set of brick pillars, of round or square section, supported the floor of the premises (suspensura) or the bathrooms to be heated.[76]​ "... The suspensura is a kind of basement with a roof of terracotta slabs, which are nothing more than large tiles supported on pillars. Care is taken that the advance of the smoke occurs in a constant upward movement; this condition agrees in the most natural way with the inclined arrangement of the rapids of the ponds..."[77]​.

The terracotta slabs used to rest on the pillars and at the same time formed the basic structure of the floor, a kind of formwork, which supported a thick layer of tile mortar. Before being covered by the stone or marble pavement, a sealing layer was made, generally using lead plates. This compact set of terracotta slabs and mortar allowed for the storage of heat with great inertia, and the transmission of heat by radiation. This heating principle also allows maintaining the temperature, both in the volume of the premises and in the floor. This required a certain skill in managing the thermal installation of the thermal baths, but also in adjusting all the parameters that would provide the appropriate temperature in the facilities and in the baths. This heating principle was comfortable for visitors to the thermal baths,[117].

Pipes

The heating of the premises was also carried out through hot air distribution ducts called tubules, these are terracotta duct elements of different shapes, which allow the circulation of hot air from the hypocaust to the upper parts of the thermal baths. Tubuli heating systems were one of the most advanced heating designs used in ancient times and were employed throughout the Roman Empire. [118] The ducts were placed vertically against the exterior walls of the room to be heated and sealed with mortar. [119].

"«... they formed vertical columns that allowed the circulation of hot air. To increase its circulation, ventilation holes were drilled in the lateral part of the ducts, which allowed the transmission of hot air between the adjacent columns..."" [119] The first use of tubules dates back to the end of the century BC. with improvement and more intensive use, particularly in the thermal baths of Petra, in the 2nd centuries AD. C. Tubules replaced the other techniques previously used for wall heating. The first wall heating systems, used by the Romans, were composed of terracotta plates, placed vertically against the walls and whose corners had a protuberance that allowed them to be separated to allow the passage of air - the tegulae mammatae. With other less elaborate manufacturing systems, they were simple terracotta plates, fixed by hooks with their built-in spacer system.[78]​.

Seneca the Younger"), a Roman philosopher, playwright and statesman of the 19th century, reveals that the Romans most valued the wall heating system for its ability to heat the bath rooms uniformly, up and down: ".. It is for man, it is not to the wise man that we owe these inventions [...] such as the baths suspended over their stoves, and these tubes, applied to the walls, which circulate the heat and keep it from bottom to top always the same."[79]​.

The vertical shafts were assembled and fixed together, and sealed to the walls with mortar. In some cases, T-hooks placed between two elements and secured to the walls allowed for proper duct spacing and maintenance. The whole was usually covered with stucco, before finishing with marble slabs or mosaic. Parts of the ducts had openings to allow air to pass from one duct to the other. [122].

In the rooms that required a high temperature - laconicum, sudatorium - the ceiling was vaulted and was equipped with an opening at the top, with a bronze disc that, depending on its position, allowed the temperature of the room to be regulated.[80] Many remains of networks of tubules have been found during the various excavations, particularly in the lower part of the networks, but due to the fragility of the material that constitutes the tubules, the upper part of the network is mixed among the remains of terracotta and archaeologists and historians know very little about this upper part of the heating system.

Pool heating

Heating of the pools, generally supplied with cold water from a nearby reservoir, was done in part by transmitting heat through the floor of the hypocaust, but this way of heating the water was not always sufficient. The increase in the temperature of the pool or pool was then done by means of boilers (hot water tank) placed on top of a floor that heated the water in the baths to the desired temperature, for the warm bath for the tepidarium and the hot bath for the caldarium.[My. 1]​[81]​ These boilers were to feed the laconicum, a hot and dry room, and the sudatorium, the hot and humid room.

The base part of the tanks, in contact with fire, was made of brass - bronze - the upper part was made of lead. [125] In order to reduce the heating time of the water in the basins and allow better control of heat diffusion, many hot springs included a metal "box", the testudo, generally made of copper, open at the bottom of the basin, and closed on the side of the chimney. This closed part was exposed to the heat of the hearth, thus heating the water in this part of the pond; The temperature difference between the very hot water of this "warmer" and the cooler temperature of the basin created a circular current that equalized the temperature in the pool.[My. 2]​.

Pool drainage

The drainage of the ponds and pools, or cold baths, the frigidarium and the loutron, as well as the swimming pools and gallinae, which were fed by a water tank, in turn fed by an aqueduct, [127] was generally done according to the Roman technique, which consisted of directing the evacuation or emptying of water, slightly loaded, towards the latrines, then serving for the evacuation of the most important waste, before being carried towards the wadis. [128] The emptying of these basins could be done directly into the city's water network, or into the nearby wadi.[82]​.

The emptying of the pools and hot baths was carried out from a tap fixed to the "heater" - testudo or semi-testudo - and then directed directly to a canal that carried the water to the city network or a wadi. The drainage could also be used to clean the floor of the hypocaust beneath, before sending it into a canal connected to the city's network or directly into a wadi; In some cases the water passed through the home and was used to clean it, as long as it was cold. [130] Vitruvius in the century BC. C., in his book Volume I on the heating of the thermal baths, gives explanations about the operation of this system: "...The hearth is installed in the basement. The water, supplied by a tank fed by the city pipes, is gradually heated in a boiler T and a boiler-boiler C. The body of these boilers is housed in a masonry chamber and receives direct heat from the chimney. [...] The hot water boiler communicates with the food bucket (cold water) and the boiler, with the hot water boiler. So that any intake of hot water is automatically replaced by an input of warm water; the latter in turn, by an influx of cold water..." [131]As for the various thermal baths of Petra, the destruction by earthquakes, the wear and tear of time or the flooding of the wadis, have not yet made it possible to perfectly define the drainage system of the various basins and pools, the excavations of which are still in progress.

Smoke evacuation

The evacuation of smoke, as well as the adequate diffusion of hot air, was an integral part of the proper functioning of a hypocaust and of the entire heat production of the system. The smoke duct was directed to the chimney at the top, or was sent directly to the outside through the roof or terrace.[83] The hearth was powered according to the heat needs in the premises and in the swimming pools. This work was intended for slaves, specialized in the proper functioning of the hot springs, supervised by the spa or supervisor of the hot springs.

The terracotta smoke ducts were generally placed next to the hot air ducts (tubules) that transported high-temperature air. They also helped heat the place.

Both the hot air ducts and the smoke ducts had an active role in the heating system of the thermal baths, but they also had a passive role in the insulation of the buildings and prevented condensation on the walls.[My. 3][84].

In 1998, a team of archaeologists and engineers reconstructed a set of thermal baths, using materials and techniques from the Roman era: "This experience has allowed us to better understand many aspects of the construction and operation of public baths, including the unresolved relationship between the tubules (which transport hot air) and smoke exhaust ducts." [85]​ The most economical design had the hot air tubules completely separated from the chimney. In this system, each column of tubules was blocked at the top and the smoke from the hearth and hypocaust did not pass into the tubules, they were evacuated directly, at the top, outside the building, or into the chimney.

Once testing was completed and all data was collected, engineers found that the method of blocking three of the four columns of tubules and leaving the last remaining one open proved effective. Despite the low current, there was still warm air circulation in the tubules and the wall was sufficiently heated. But the tubules were not completely effective in removing smoke and gases from the hypocaust. This discovery suggests that heating systems could work efficiently without a direct connection to the exhaust duct. The question of the separation of toxic fumes and hot air, at the exit from the home, does not seem to be perfectly defined by archaeologists and historians. [135]According to Vitruvius, smoke evacuation was done through ceramic tubes, which, placed along the wall, allowed draft from the hearth. «... The use of fuel with a clear flame avoided excessive soot deposits...». [136].

Operation and maintenance

The operation and maintenance of the facilities was carried out by several teams of slaves, generally housed on site, who were responsible for maintaining the thermal baths facilities, ensuring the constant supply of water, hot and cold, and its correct temperature depending on the spa. [137] The slaves assigned to the baths were also responsible for the maintenance and proper functioning of all the heat production of the baths: hearths, hypocausts, air diffusion ducts and smoke ducts. The slaves had to ensure the permanent supply of the home according to the hours of use, to maintain a pleasant temperature in the premises and in the bathrooms at the time of their occupation, but minimizing the costs of fuel use.

The stoker, or man in charge of the house, was called fornacator and was generally a slave. Two mosaics from North Africa support this claim. Both show naked men carrying a basket full of hot coals. That of Bir-Shana Moghane, shows the burning embers, to underline its link with the home of the thermal baths - praefurnium - and also includes a fire iron in the other hand. The iron could symbolize the task of the firefighter who also had to supervise the combustion in the home, to correct the air supply if it was necessary for the good combustion of the wood or coal. It could also indicate that some skill was needed to balance air flow, air diffusion temperature in the hypocaust and tubules, energy efficiency, and bath water temperature.[My. 4]​.

Restarting the thermal baths after a total shutdown took several days and significant fuel consumption. The thermal baths, depending on their importance, could be private, or be public buildings belonging to the city; There were also imperial baths, under the direct responsibility of the Emperor.[My. 5]​.

A set of baths was run by a director - conductor -, generally controlled by the municipality. A guardian of the thermal baths - curator operis thermarum or balneator - had the function of supervising the work of each of the workers on the site; the spar was a free man. [140] The fornacators in charge of the houses were slaves who lived on site, they worked as a team; Their task was to ensure the continuity of the home's supply, from the fuel stock and the orders of the supervisor or spa, to maintain the correct temperature of the pools, to the satisfaction of the owners and users of the hot springs. "...The good reputation of the thermal baths was that it was always hot enough; the supervisor was responsible for the quality of the baths. [...] Citizens could complain to the municipal auditor if the baths were not heated enough..." [141]Teams of slaves specialized in maintaining the baths also had to be always present on site, to quickly repair any fault that might arise during the occupation of the baths. The preventive and scheduled maintenance of the hot springs by the supervisor had to involve a certain number of qualified slaves in the cleaning of the pools and water supply aqueducts, the recovery of the marble or mosaic slabs, the degradation due to water infiltration, the replacement of the elements of the homes destroyed by fire. Other teams had to be in charge of maintaining the access roads as well as the surroundings of the hot springs.

Artisans in the Nabataean city of Petra, in modern-day Jordan, extended the tradition to West Asia, carving their temples and tombs into the yellowish-orange rock that defines the region's canyons and ravines. These buildings, which date back to the century BC. C. until approximately the century AD. C., are particularly important in the history of architecture given their experimental forms.[86] Because the buildings served as tombs, the interiors were quite superficial. In Petra there is even a theater where the seats are carved into the rock.

Small-scale production of concrete-like materials was pioneered by Nabataean traders who occupied and controlled a number of oases and developed a small empire in the regions of southern Syria and northern Jordan from the 1st century BC. They discovered the advantages of hydraulic lime"), with some self-cementing properties, around 700 BC. They built kilns to supply mortar for the construction of masonry houses, concrete floors, and underground waterproof cisterns. They kept the cisterns secret as they allowed the Nabataeans to thrive in the desert.[87] Some of these structures survive to this day.[87]

• - Apollodorus of Damascus: Nabataean architect and engineer from Damascus, Roman Syria, who flourished during the century AD. C. his massive architectural production earned him immense popularity during his time. He is one of the few architects whose name survives from antiquity, and is credited with introducing several oriental innovations into the Roman imperial style, such as making the dome a banner.[88] Apollodorus was Trajan's favorite architect and engineer. He designed and supervised the construction of the Forum, the Markets, the Temple and Trajan's Column (the first monument of its kind) and the Stadium of Domitian within the city of Rome. Outside the capital, Apollodorus built bridges over the Danube and Tagus in Spain and designed Trajan's triumphal arches at Benevento and Ancona. [145] He is the author of Siege Engines (Πολιορκητικά), dedicated to an anonymous emperor, probably Trajan. He designed and oversaw the construction of the Forum"), Markets, and Temple, and Column of Trajan") (the first monument of its kind), and the Stadium of Domitian within the city of Rome. Outside the capital, Apollodorus built bridges across the Danube") and the Tagus in Spain") and designed the triumphal arches of Trajan at Benevento&action=edit&redlink=1 "Arch of Trajan (Benevento) (not yet written)") and Ancona&action=edit&redlink=1 "Arch of Trajan (Ancona) (not yet written)").[89]​ He is the author of Siege Engines. (Πολιορκητικά), dedicated to an unnamed emperor, likely Trajan.[89]​.

• - Wahb'allahii: a first century stonemason who worked in the city of Hegra.[90]​ Wahb'allahi was the brother of the stonemason 'Abdharetat and father of 'Abd'obodat. He is named in an inscription as the stonemason responsible for the oldest datable tomb at Hegra&action=edit&redlink=1 "Hegra (Mada'in Salih) (not yet redacted)") in the ninth year of the Nabataean king Aretas IV (1 BC-1 AD).[91]​.

• - 'Abd'obodat son of Wahballahi") a Nabataean stonemason of the century who worked in the city of Hegra.[92]​ Inscriptions on five of the facades of the typical tombs of Hegra name him as the executing craftsman. On the basis of the inscriptions, four of the facades can be dated to the reigns of kings Aretas IV and Malichus II. 'Abd'obodat was evidently a craftsman successful. He succeeded his father Wahb'allahi and his uncle 'Abdharetat in at least one workshop of the second generation of Nabatean architects. 'Abd'obodat is considered the main representative of one of the two main schools of Nabataean stonemasons, to which his father, his uncle, belonged. Two more serious facades are assigned to the school on the basis of stylistic research; carry out the work.[93]​.

• - 'Aftah: a Nabataean mason who became prominent in the early third decade of the first century.[94] 'Aftah is attested in inscriptions on eight of the tomb facades at Hegra and one tomb as the executing stonemason. The facades are dated to the end of the reign of King Aretas IV. On one of the facades he worked with Halaf'allahi, on another with Wahbu and Huru. A tenth façade without inscription was attributed to the 'Aftah school of sculpture due to technical and stylistic similarities. He is the main representative of one of the two bricklayer schools in the city of Hegra.

• - Halaf'allahi: Nabataean stonemason who worked in the city of Hegra in the first century. Halaf'allahi is mentioned in the inscriptions of two tombs at Hegra as the responsible stonemason in the reign of the Nabataean king Aretas IV. The first tomb, which can be dated to 26-27 CE, was created together with the stonemason 'Aftah. Therefore, he is assigned to the 'Aftah workshop. Nabataean architects and sculptors were actually contractors who negotiated the costs of specific types of tombs and their decorations. Therefore, the tombs were executed based on the wishes and financial capabilities of their future owners. The activities of Halaf'allahi offer an excellent example of this, as he was commissioned to make a simple tomb for a person who apparently belonged to the lower middle class. However,[151].

Petra es un sitio en la intersección del patrimonio natural y cultural que forma un paisaje cultural único. Desde que Johann Ludwig Burckhardt,[95]​ también conocido como Sheikh Ibrahim, redescubrió la ciudad en ruinas de Petra, Jordania, en 1812, el sitio del patrimonio cultural ha atraído a diferentes personas que compartían el interés por la historia antigua y la cultura de los nabateos, como viajeros, peregrinos, pintores y eruditos.[96]​ Sin embargo, no fue hasta finales del siglo que los investigadores arqueológicos se acercaron sistemáticamente a las ruinas.[97]​ Desde entonces excavaciones arqueológicas periódicas[98]​ y la investigación en curso sobre la cultura nabatea han sido parte de Petra, el sitio del patrimonio cultural mundial de la UNESCO de hoy..[99]​

A través de las excavaciones en el Parque Arqueológico de Petra, un número cada vez mayor del patrimonio cultural nabateo está expuesto al impacto ambiental. Un tema central es la gestión del agua que impacta en el patrimonio construido y las fachadas excavadas en la roca.[100]​ La gran cantidad de descubrimientos y la exposición de estructuras y hallazgos exigen medidas de conservación que respeten la interconexión entre el paisaje natural y el patrimonio cultural, ya que esta conexión es especialmente un desafío central en el sitio del Patrimonio Mundial de la UNESCO.[101]​].

Conservation of cultural heritage

In recent years, different conservation campaigns and projects have been established at the Petra cultural heritage site.[102] The main works first focused on the situation of the Siq entrance to protect tourists and facilitate access. Likewise, different conservation and conservation research projects were carried out. Below is a list of projects, which will continue.

• - 1958: restoration of the third pillar of the Treasury building (Al-Khazneh"). This project was funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID);.

• - 1974-1990: conservation work in the excavated area of ​​the Temple of the Winged Lions");.

• - 1981: different restoration works by the Department of Antiquities of Jordan");[103]​.

• - 1985: restoration work on the Qasr El Bint Temple by the Department of Antiquities of Jordan;[104]​.

• - 1990-1998: excavation and conservation of the Byzantine church by the American Center of Research (ACOR);

• - 1992-2002: Conservation and Restoration Center in Petra, CARCIP, German GTZ Project;[101]​.

• - 1993-2000: excavation, conservation and restoration of the Great Temple, funded by Brown University, USA;[105]​.

• - 1996-onwards: restoration of the Siq and rehabilitation of its soil by the National Petra Fund founded by the Jordanian-Swiss counterpart Fund, the Swiss Agency for Development") and the World Monuments Fund.;[106]​.

• - 2001: restoration of the altar in front of the Casr Bint Firaun by UNESCO;.

• - 2003: development of a conservation and maintenance plan for the old drainage systems to protect the facades excavated in the rock;[100]​.

• - 2003-2017: evaluation of desalination and restoration on the facades of the tombs;[107]​.

• - 2006-2010: preservation and consolidation of the wall paintings at Siq al Barid by the Petra National Trust in cooperation with the Department of Antiquities of Jordan and the Courtauld Institute of Art (London);.

• - 2009: onwards, renewed effort to preserve and rehabilitate the Temple of the Winged Lions") by the Temple of the Winged Lions Cultural Management Initiative (TWLCRM), the Petra Archaeological Park (PAP) and the Department of Antiquities of Jordan;*2016-2019: characterization and conservation of wall paintings and sculptures from Nabataean Petra "The Project of Petra Paintings Conservation ("The Petra Painting Conservation Project (PPCP)"[108]​ funded by the German Research Foundation (Project number 285789434).[109]​.

• - Nabataean art.

• - Nabataean Kingdom.

• - Nabataean religion.

• - Arab culture.

• - History of the Arabs").

• - This work contains a translation derived from «Nabataean architecture» from English Wikipedia, published by its editors under the GNU Free Documentation License and the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.