Digging In Petra

I dearly love to dig in Petra Jordan with good friends.

Field Supervisor Eudora Struble At the Temple of the Winged Lions

Eudora is carrying a rubber basket made from recycled tires and it is called a "goofa." We usually fill them with dirt for removal but they are also useful for transporting artifacts from the dig to the lab. Since she was the boss that goofa did not have dirt in it.

Walking the Main Road in Petra

Walking down a Roman road in the heart of Petra is my dear friend Eudora Struble in 2002. She was the field supervisor for the Temple of the Winged Lions excavation.

Here we get a glimpse of the grandeur that was that great city. Petra once held over thirty thousand people.

Crusader Fortress Near Petra

Crusader Fortress near Petra

I stopped on the road leading to this Crusader fortress because this view was so awesome. In the foreground is an eleventh century crusader castle or fortress set up to protect pilgrims on the way to Petra to visit the tomb of Aaron the first high priest of Israel and the brother of Moses.

 

That tomb is a little white dot at the top of the mountain in the background. It has been and still is a sacred place to Jews, Christians, and Moslem's. It is a considerable hike to get up that mountain but it is well worth the trip.

Narrow Passage Into Petra

Our group from the Ashkelon finally reaches the end of the Siq and the entrance to Petra. It had been an awesome walk and our journey was about to become even more awesome.This entrance into Petra was very easy to guard. With several gates blocking the path a small group of armed men could and did hold off invaders. 

Here I am in 1999 as I am ready to take those last few steps to reach Petra and fulfill a dream from my youth when I studied Petra for a geography class. I fell in love with Petra on that day.

I went back to dig there two more times and I will share all of that wonder with you.

The Main Road in Petra

The Romans built this road in Petra around 107 AD and most of it is still usable today. We could take some hints from the ancient Roman road builders they knew how to build a good road.

The main Roman Road in Petra

This road was once lined with columns and market stalls.

I would love to be ables to see how this looked then.

An Ancient Fresco

A Petra Fresco

In this picture you see what is left of a fresco on an inside wall of a Roman Administration Building in Petra. 

The rather rough wall was covered with thick plaster to even it out and then had wonderful paintings all over it.

This one was being removed for preservation and study. Once uncovered the weather would have destroyed it in short order. 

I was glad that I was there to see it in place before it was removed.

Digging In Petra Jordan

When I was studying geography in Jr. High School I did a report on Petra the city cut out of the living rock. I was enchanted by my research and made a vow that some day some how I would go there. And I did!

My first visit to Petra was in 1999 while I was digging at Ashkelon with Harvard University. We took weekly "Tell Tours" and were hosted by the archaeologist of those digs. On week five we went to Petra in Jordan and were were the guest of Brown University who gave us a tour of their dig and some back ground of Petra. It was awesome! Then we were allowed wander the city for the rest of the day.

In the picture below I am standing in front of the Treasury - miss named by early archaeologist. It was actually what we would call a funeral home. 

Me in Petra at last!

This is a close up of the top where the remains of an urn can be seen. I say remains because some people thought it contained gold coins so they shot at it hoping to break it open and let the coins spill out. Turns out it was solid rock.

I have over a thousand pictures of Petra so stand by for MORE!