Archaeology

Excavations and Reports | The Carbonized Papyri | Other

Excavations and Reports

"The Pool-Complex at Petra" Preliminary Report by Leigh-Ann Bedal (UPenn). The author started out doing a "Lower Market Survey," only to discover the market area was an elaborate outdoor pool. Images, plans and so forth online. Her links page is nearly as good as mine (though opinions might differ on that!)

Petra, the Great Temple Excavation. Brown University team, headed by Martha Sharp Joukowsky, is excavating the Great Temple. Site includes a "A Brief History of Petra", a tour of their excavations and details on their finds.

"Mystery in Sand and Stone: In the Jordanian desert, a Brown team is uncovering a vanished Arab civilization whose brief, eclectic culture is as lovely as it is strange" by Norman Boucher for the Brown Alumni Magazine January, 1998. Photographs by John Foraste.

Excavation Book: Petra Great Temple, Volume 1: Brown University Excavations 1993-1997, by Martha Sharp Joukowsky.

"Kazneh at Petra" by Gustaf Dalman for the Palestine Exploration Fund, 1991. The plates (drawings of the plan and elevation) are here.

American Expedition to Petra, an independent archaeological foundation, is excavating the "Temple of the Winged Lions." The site has good pocket-histories of the Nabataeans and later occupants. Volunteers needed for summer excavation.

Web Archive: "Petra, Jordan: Conservation in an Ancient City" by Ana Hill, a student at Roger Williams University. Comprehensive overview of the risks to Petra and what is being done about them.

University of Florence Medieval Archaeology from the University of Florence, English and Italian; 10 years of excavation and survey on crusader's castles in Trans Jordan area, especially around the Petra Valley.

The Basel Excavations at Petra, in English. Full text, with images, of reports from 1996 to 2002. Also available in German.

Web Archive: Wadi Araba Archaeological Research Project .

The Carbonized Papyri, (information on a cache of partially-burnt documentary papyri found in 1992)

Petra Scroll Update from The American Center of Oriental Research, last updated November 1998. Brief text with image of papyri.

Koenen: Papyri shows historians may be wrong about ancient city by Mary Jo Frank University Relations for the University Record (UMich) March 1996.

Finnish page by Jaakko Frösén (director of the Finnish team). Seems relevant, but Finnish is completely opaque to me.

Other

Brown University, SHAPE (computer modeling of archaeological sites) is working on Petra, in collaboration with the Great Temple team.

The Great Temple at Petra, Jordan: Photogrammetric Digital Reconstruction in Archaeology by Eileen Vote. The original proposal, with explanation.

Petra: United States Support for the Worldwide Heritage Site from the Jordanian Embassy. A very thorough review of recent events in the archaeology and conservation of Petra.

Chrys's Gallery of the Free-Standing Petra Monuments by Chrysanthos Kanellopoulos, "a changing gallery of Chrys's images, photos, drawings, and water colors from Petra"

"To heck with Indiana Jones; archaeologist studies Bedouins and learns from old garbage" by Nancy Heiner Austin for the Utah State University Communication Department. Profiles Utah State professor and archaeologist Steven Simms.

Petra National Trust supports excavation and conservation.