Nabataean echoes in al-Ḥarrah: New evidence in light of recent field work†

ABSTRACT

During a survey conducted by the authors in the eastern part of al-?arrah in Jordan in 2017,¹1. The term al-?arrah is used to refer to the basalt steppe-desert located in northern Jordan and southern Syria. a number of new Safaitic and Nabataean texts were found. Some of them mention events dated during the reigns of ?r?t and rb?l, others refer to the revolt of dm?y. Other Safaitic texts contain references to the Nabataeans. Three Nabataean graffiti were also found and are presented here. These sixteen new texts constitute a remarkable addition to the corpus of Safaitic and Nabatean texts found in this region.     

THE ‘LORD OF THE STONEMASONS’: PART II. ‘STANDING FIGURE WITH BETYLS’ AT PETRA

Abstract

This paper presents the second type of representation of the ‘lord’ of the Nabataean stonemasons, a male figure standing with betyls. This type is found in five rock-cut reliefs in Petra, usually high in the walls of quarries or monuments. It is argued that, like the so-called ‘sword deity’ figures presented in Part I, this second type was also carved by the stonemasons as another representation of their tutelary deity, possibly Dushara. Study of these little-known figures reveals new information on the diverse depiction of Nabataean deities, as well as on the religious beliefs of the stonemasons at Petra.     

AN INSCRIBED NABATAEAN BRONZE OBJECT DEDICATED TO OBODAS THE GOD FROM WĀDĪ MŪSĀ, SOUTHERN JORDAN

Abstract

A part of a Nabataean bronze inscribed object has been found recently in Wādī Mūsā, near Petra, Jordan. The text, which is dated to the reign of the last Nabataean king, Rabbel II (ad 70–106), is of great interest since it contains words that occur for the first time in Nabataean. It mentions a dedication made by a priest and his son to ‘Obodas the God’ in Gaia. In sum, it adds significant new data to our knowledge of the Nabataean kingdom and its religion.     

THE ‘LORD OF THE STONEMASONS’: PART I. THE ‘SWORD DEITY’ AT PETRA

Abstract

During the 2000 Season of the Brown University excavations of the so-called Great Temple at Petra, an elusive rock-cut figure (termed the ‘Sword Deity’) was discovered in the southern perimeter wall. Since then, the current authors have identified other such figures as belonging to this previously unknown type, which has similarities with the Greek herm. Based on a contextual analysis of these figures, it is proposed that the type may depict a protective deity or ‘lord’ of the Nabataean stonemasons, most likely Dushara. According to this interpretation, the stonemasons sought divine protection during their work by carving the image of the deity high in the rock faces. This paper sheds new light not only on the representation of Nabataean deities, but also on the role of religion in the daily life of the inhabitants of Petra and their relationship with the natural environment.     

A survey of the Nabataean/Roman Site,Umm at-Tawabin,Ghor as-Safi,Jordan

Umm at-Tawabin is an extensive Nabataean/Roman site overlooking Wadi al-‘Arabah in southern Jordan. The site, as a whole, consists of a number of buildings, circular stone structures, a roadway and other features that are fortified, for the most part, by a lengthy wall and with a predominance of Nabataean and Roman surface pottery on the ground. Up until now, the site has only been documented in brief in a handful of survey reports since its discovery in the late nineteenth century and its chronology has since been the subject of some conjecture among scholars. With a grant from the Palestine Exploration Fund, the author has sought to better understand the occupational history of this undoubted historically important site through survey and by extension, a study of its surface pottery and architectural remains.     

A Nabataean and Roman shrine with civic and military gods at Humayma,Jordan

The lifecycle of a Nabataean and Roman community shrine at Humayma, Jordan reflects the evolving values of the town's inhabitants from the first to the third century CE. This paper reviews the evidence for the shrine's appearance and significance over this period, as well as the nature of the cult practised there. Beginning its existence as a Nabataean shrine, whose design incorporated the rising sun and the town's primary peak, the building was damaged when the Romans converted Nabataea into Provincia Arabia. The Roman garrison initially dismantled the shrine to build their fort, but a few decades later the shrine was restored with a centrally placed Nabataean betyl and legionary altar symbolising harmony between the garrison and the town. The garrison's god, Jupiter‐Ammon‐Serapis, and possibly Isis, were now worshipped alongside the town's Nabataean deity. This shrine stressing military‐civilian harmony was later deliberately damaged, most likely during Zenobia's revolt.     

An Arab Chariot Monument at Umm al-Jimāl

ABSTRACT

This article deals with unpublished fragments of sculpture in basalt found at Umm al-Jimāl, a site of a ruined Nabataean-Roman to Byzantine settlement in northern Jordan, six kilometers south of the border with Syria. The sculptures are typical for the southern Syrian volcanic zone of the Hawrān. The site is located at the extreme southern outcrop of this area, today part of The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

The fragments are contemporary with a better-preserved corpus of similar sculptures investigated by the authors in the basalt desert of al-Ledjā, ancient Trachon(itis). At Umm al-Jimāl, an analogous chariot group driven by deities can be identified by a wheel block with traces of the tail hairs of animals in harness. The assembled figures in human shape with drapery are parallel to the Sahr al-Ledjā statuary. Taking all extant evidence into account, the authors propose recognizing the sculptural remnants from Umm al-Jimāl as testimony of a strongly Hellenistic-Romanized embellishment of a hitherto little-known Arab-Nabataean sanctuary dating to the first or second century AD. This shrine together with its sculptures had most probably been destroyed by the Palmyrenean Campaign in the later third century AD.     

The crowsteps motif in Nabataean architecture: insights into its meaning and use

Nabataeans, in constructing their tombs, added many symbols and geometrical forms, plants and animals. Crowsteps, as a geometrical form, are the most common among these symbols. This study investigates the use of the crowsteps motif found frequently on the facades of Nabataean tombs. The primary focus is to replace models of typological explanation for the introduction of crowsteps into the Nabataean rock‐cut facades. The study begins with tracing the origin of the crowsteps motif and the way it was adopted by the Nabataeans to become one of the most significant features in the making of Nabataean architectural vocabularies. It then provides a theoretical framework for explaining the use and meaning of the crowsteps in Nabataean architecture. Thematic analysis of related literature and existing architectural remains allows us to suggest that crowsteps served both sacred and secular purposes. Sacredly, crowsteps were used to connect the deceased with the principal deities through metaphorical representation either as a ‘high place’ or as a ‘throne’. Secularly, crowsteps served basic human needs: representing identity, wealth and social structure. The study also considers that the Nabataean rock‐cut crowsteps activated the dialogue between different cultural traditions and helped in shaping the ideological cult and identity of the Nabataeans.