Petra

Petra

Lawrence Technological University

November 11, 2016

Allen, Will (photograph)

Single built works

2015

Jordan (nation)

Petra (deserted settlement)

Nabatean

rock-cut tombs

View of rock-cut tombs along the Siq heading into Petra, Jordan. "One of Petra's mysteries is why the Nabateans plowed so much of their wealth into carving their remarkable facades and caves, which lasted long after the city's free-standing buildings collapsed from earthquakes and neglect. The soft stone cliffs made it possible to hollow out caves and sculpt elaborate porticoes, which the Nabateans painted, presumably in garish colors. Some caves, Tuttle says, were tombs—more than 800 have been identified—and others were places for family members to gather periodically for a meal memorializing the dead; still others were used for escaping the summer's heat"--Reconstructing Petra by Andrew Lawler, Smithsonian Magazine, June 2007.

sandstone

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