The Evolution of the City Centre of Petra (Jordan) from the Hellenistic to the Byzantine Period

• Applicants: Professorin Dr.-Ing. Alexandra Druzynski von Boetticher; Professor Dr. Stephan G. Schmid
• Subject Area: Classical, Roman, Christian and Islamic Archaeology ; Architecture, Building and Construction History, Construction Research, Sustainable Building Technology
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 469184121

The primary goal of this project is to investigate Petra’s urban development from the increasingly sedentary practices of the nomadic Nabataeans to the rise of an ancient metropolis in an arid region until the abandonment of the city – all within a rather short period of just seven centuries.The area usually described as the city center was not continually settled, in contrast to certain regions in the city’s hinterland. This allows us not only to narrow our focus, but also to directly engage with only those periods relevant to the project. Over some 600 years of intensive building in the city center – public as well as domestic – a great number of buildings were constructed within a relatively short time. Beyond their various functions and correspondingly varied architecture, these buildings can be classified into several clearly different types: aside from the freestanding constructions that are usually the focus of archaeology and architectural history, there are numerous buildings carved into the living sandstone, as well as ambitious combinations of freestanding and rock-cut architecture within the same complex. Yet all these types of architecture have been examined so far individually, whether the focus lies on their typologies, their architectural and artistic chronologies, or their influences. A consideration of how these „solitary“ elements interacted within their urban space is still lacking.In order to sketch Petra’s urban development as a city, we must first gain a complete overview of the city’s urban structures (broadly conceived) and their immediate surrounds. Thus in the first phase of this project (10/2021-09/2024), all constructions and archaeological remains in the city center will be recorded. This will allow us to trace the city’s development from its earliest foundation in the Hellenistic period to its dissolution in the Byzantine period—as well as to create a fundamental overview for future research, and to support the administration and development of the city as a world cultural heritage site. To this end, all existing documentation of the buildings will be combined into a single georeferenced map, and the undocumented areas will be measured and recorded using the same state of the art methods. These investigations will be expanded to the city’s hinterland during a second phase of the project (10/2024-09/2027).

• DFG Programme: Research Grants