ARCH 1475 Petra: Ancient Wonder, Modern Challenge

Professor Sue Alcock, Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World 101 Rhode Island Hall; 863-3710; [email protected] Office Hours: Monday, 2-5 pm or by appointment Course wiki: http://proteus.brown.edu/ancientandmodernpetra12 [psswd: petra12] Teaching Assistant: Clive Vella [[email protected]], TA Hours: Wednesday 1-3 pm or by appointment

It seems no work of Man's creative hand, by labour wrought as wavering fancy planned; But from the rock as if by magic grown, eternal, silent, beautiful, alone! … match me such marvel save in Eastern clime, a rose-red city half as old as time (J. W. Burgon, ‘Petra’, 1845)

Ancient Wonder Petra, in antiquity, had many claims to fame. It was the first capital of the Nabataean kingdom, a ‘middleman’ nation of traders who facilitated exchange between the Mediterranean world and peoples as far afield as China. Annexed by the Romans in 106 CE, the city was visited by emperors and became home to several early Christian bishoprics. Archaeological remains — of temples, theaters, churches and an astonishing series of rock cut tombs — are testimony to the ancient investment in the site of Petra.

Modern Challenge Petra today is also, officially since 2007, a ‘New Wonder of the World’. The site possesses a global identity, owing chiefly to its role in movies such as ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’ and ‘Transformers II: Revenge of the Fallen’. Such fame, in addition to the site’s ‘rose red’ beauty (the produce of a very fragile sandstone environment) today attracts almost a million tourists a year. Such interest is wonderful; it is also destroying the site. This class will explore the history and archaeology of Petra and debate how best to present and preserve the site. Emphasis will also be laid on discussing (and planning) Brown University’s ongoing fieldwork at this beautiful, but fragile, place.

Prerequisites: None Course requirements (Choose either Plan A or B)

Plan A • Short Assignments (2-3 pages each, or equivalent) = 10% each #1: Photo montage (one ppt slide): What makes Petra ‘rock’?, due February 8th #2: How else could we label our (on-loan) architectural fragments?, due February 22nd #3: Make your own version of a Petra papyrus, due March 7 #4: Craft (and send) a letter in support of archaeological conservation, due Apr

• Paper/Project (15-20 pages each, or equivalent) = 30% each #1: Exploration of some facet of this ‘Ancient Wonder’, due March 14 #2: Exploration of some facet of this ‘Modern Challenge’, due April 18

Plan B • Short Assignments (2-3 pages each, or equivalent) = 10% each #1: Photo montage (one ppt slide): What makes Petra ‘rock’?, due February 8th #2: How else could we label our (on-loan) architectural fragments?, due February 22nd #3: Computational exercise, due April 11

Required texts: Christian Auge and Jean-Marie Dentzer, Petra: Lost City of the Ancient World (2000)

Relevant Websites: Brown University Petra Archaeological Project http://proteus.brown.edu/bupap/Home Petra Links http://petragarden.homestead.com/links.html Petra: Lost City of Stone http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/petra/ Petra National Trust http://petranationaltrust.org/UI/Default.aspx

Course Outline

February 1st The power of Petra, especially at Brown *Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Ancient Wonder February 8 Topography, geology and ‘The Site’ *The Brown University Petra Archaeological Project Short Assignment’ #1 due: Photo montage (one ppt slide): What makes Petra ‘rock’?

February 15 The prehistory of Petra and the ‘rise’ of Nabataea *Lithic analysis and rocks before Petra

February 22 The Nabataean Kingdom, in and outside Petra *Trade and trade routes, and GIS Short Assignment #2 due How else could we label our (on-loan) architectural fragments?

February 29 The Romans arrive. Discuss! *Hands-on session with Petra pots

March 7 Byzantine and Islamic Petra *The World of the Petra Papyri Short Assignment #3 due Make your own version of a Petra papyrus

Modern Challenge March 14 Bedouin Petra and Middle Eastern politics *Water systems and making the desert bloom Paper/Project #1 due Exploration of some facet of this ‘Ancient Wonder’

March 21 Petra as a ‘Wonder of the World’ *Computational Analyses 101 (with Nick Sinott-Armstrong)

Spring Break

April 4 Master plans and heritage preservation *Archaeological advocacy Short Assignment #4 due Craft (and send) a letter in support of archaeological conservation

April 11 Is Petra sustainable? *Visualization, Mega-J and other databases Short Assignment: Computational exercise due

April 18 Saving Petra Paper/Project due Exploration of some facet of this ‘Modern Challenge’

April 25 Modern Challenge: Saving Petra Presentations

General Bibliography:

Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan (basic periodical on Jordanian archaeology) Studies in the History and Archaeology of Jordan (publication of period conferences on Jordan) Adams, R., ed. Jordan: An Archaeological Reader. London: Equinox. Comer, D. 2012. Tourism and Archaeological Heritage Management at Petra: Driver to Development or Destruction? Springer: Springer Briefs in Archaeology. Crawford, G.A. 2003. Petra and the Nabataeans: A Bibliography (ATLA Bibliography Series v. 49). Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. This book lists and indexes topically over 2400 works concerning Petra (in all periods) and the Nabataeans. It includes publications from 2000 and earlier. Bowersock, G.W. 1983. Roman Arabia. Cambridge and London: Harvard University Press. Joukowsky, M.S. 1998. Petra Great Temple: Brown University Excavations 1993-1997. Providence, RI: Brown University Petra Exploration Fund. Joukowsky, M.S. 2007. Petra Great Temple, Volume II: Archaeological Contexts of the Remains and Excavations. Providence, RI: Brown University Petra Exploration Fund. Kanellopoulos, Ch. 2004. The Temples of Petra: An Architectural Analysis. Mainz am Rhein: Philipp von Zabern. Levy, T. et. al. 2007. Crossing Jordan: North American Contributions to the Archaeology of Jordan. London: Equinox. Lindner, M. 1997. Petra und das Königreich der Nabatäer: Lebensraum, Geschichte und Kultur eines arabisch. München: Delp. Markoe, G (Ed.). 2003. Petra Rediscovered: The Lost City of the Nabataeans. New York: Harry N. Abrams in association with the Cincinnati Art Museum. McKenzie, J. 2005. The Architecture of Petra. Oxbow Books, Oxford. Rababeh, S.M. 2005. How Petra Was Built: An Analysis of the Construction Techniques of the Nabataean Freestanding Buildings and Rock-Cut Monuments in Petra, Jordan. Oxford: Archaeopress. Roche, M.-J. 2009. Pétra et les Nabatéens. Paris: Les Belles Lettres. Taylor, J. 2005. Petra and the Lost Kingdom of the Nabataeans. London: The Folio Society. Weber, T. and R. Wenning (Eds.). 1997. Petra: Antike Felsstadt zwischen arabischer Tradition und griechischer Norm. Mainz am Rhein: P. von Zabern.