Reimagining Urban Space: Petra in the 1st - 4th Centuries A.D.

FAIN: RZ-51555-13

North Carolina State University (Raleigh, NC 27695-0001)
S. Thomas Parker (Project Director: December 2012 to May 2021)
Megan Perry (Co Project Director: December 2012 to May 2021)

Funding details:
Original grant (2013) $290,000.00
Supplement (2017) $14,759.00
Supplement (2021) ($5.63)

Archaeological excavation and analysis of first through fourth century materials at the North Ridge of ancient Petra, Jordan. (36 months)

Diverse writers throughout history have commented on the overcrowded, dangerous, disease-ridden, and rubbish- and vermin-filled nature of urban life. Ancient cities in particular have been seen as demographic drains on rural populations, depending on immigrants from the rural countryside to sustain their population. Immigrants, less exposed to diseases supported by large populations or bringing with them their own disease pathogens, would profoundly impact the urban ecosystem. To what extent does this ecological model fit urban centers in antiquity? This project explores the urban ecosystem of Petra, an ancient city in Jordan, through analysis of human health, disease, diet, domestic space, and public health infrastructure. These data will be generated through the excavation of 1st century A.D. tombs and 1st - 4th centuries A.D. domestic structures on Petra's North Ridge.

Associated Products

Petra North Ridge Project: The 2012 Season (Article)
Title: Petra North Ridge Project: The 2012 Season
Author: S. Thomas Parker
Author: Megan A. Perry
Abstract: This article summarizes in preliminary fashion the 2012 season of renewed excavation on the Petra North Ridge. The project aims to learn about the non-elite population of Petra through excavation of shaft tombs and domestic structures, all dating from the 1st to 4th centuries A.D. In addition, the project conducted soundings of Petra's city wall, obtaining the first stratified evidence for dating this structure, which was erected about the turn of the 2nd century A.D.
Year: 2014
Access Model: Subscription only
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan v. 57: 399-407
Publisher: Department of Antiquities of Jordan

The Roman Army at Petra (Article)
Title: The Roman Army at Petra
Author: S. Thomas Parker
Abstract: This paper summarizes the available evidence and reconsiders the strength and mission of the Roman army at Petra from the second to the fourth centuries, particularly in light of new evidence obtained by the Petra North Ridge Project.
Year: 2015
Secondary URL: http://www.naim.bg
Access Model: Subscription only- Collected papers from the Roman Frontier Congress in Bulgaria
Format: Other
Periodical Title: Limes XXII: Proceedings of the International Congress of Roman Frontier Studies, Ruse, Bulgaria, September 2012
Publisher: National Museum of Bulgaria

New Light on Nabataean Mortuary Practices at Petra (Article)
Title: New Light on Nabataean Mortuary Practices at Petra
Author: Megan A. Perry
Abstract: Excavation of shaft tombs atop Petra's North Ridge yielded extensive artifactual and skeletal data to reconstruct Nabataean mortuary practices and the health and quality of life of the inhabitants of Petra prior to the Roman annexation of A.D. 106.
Year: 2016
Access Model: Subscription
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Studies in the History and Archaeology of Jordan XII
Publisher: Department of Antiquities of Jordan

Petra North Ridge Project: The 2014 Season (Article)
Title: Petra North Ridge Project: The 2014 Season
Author: Megan A. Perry
Author: S. Thomas Parker
Abstract: The second season of renewed excavations on the Petra North Ridge continued to recover evidence about the non-elite population of Petra through excavation of shaft tombs and of domestic structures. The six excavated tombs have yielded much artifactual and human skeletal evidence about mortuary practices and the health of of the city's population prior to the Roman annexation of A.D. 106. Several excavated domestic complexes illuminated social and economic life in the city both before and after the annexation. Excavation also continued on two segments of Petra's city wall, further supporting a construction date around the turn of the 2nd century A.D.
Year: 2017
Access Model: Subscription only
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan v. 58: 287-302
Publisher: Department of Antiquities of Jordan

The Petra North Ridge Project (Article)
Title: The Petra North Ridge Project
Author: Megan A. Perry
Author: S. Thomas Parker
Abstract: Brief summary of the 2012 Season of the Petra North Ridge Project.
Year: 2014
Primary URL: http://www.ajaonline.org
Secondary URL: http://jstor.org/journal/amerjarch
Access Model: Open access and subscription
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: American Journal of Archaeology v. 118: 666-667.
Publisher: American Institute of Archaeology

The Petra North Ridge Project (Article)
Title: The Petra North Ridge Project
Author: Megan A. Perry
Author: S. Thomas Parker
Abstract: Brief summary of the 2016 season of the Petra North Ridge Project
Year: 2016
Primary URL: http://www.ajaonline.org
Secondary URL: http://www.jstor.org/journal/amerjarch
Access Model: open access and subscription
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: American Journal of Archaeology v. 120: 664-665
Publisher: Archaeological Institute of America

The Petra North Ridge Project: Domestic Structures and the City Wall (Article)
Title: The Petra North Ridge Project: Domestic Structures and the City Wall
Author: S. Thomas Parker
Abstract: This article summarizes results of the excavations of domestic complexes and the city conducted by the Petra North Ridge Project in 2012 and 2014. The domestic complexes reveal insights into the life of the non-elite population of Petra in the 1st through 4th centuries A.D. Soundings of the city wall on the ridge suggest that it was erected around the turn of the 2nd century A.D.
Year: 2016
Access Model: subscription only
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Studies in the History and Archaeology of Jordan XII
Publisher: Department of Antiquities of Jordan

Sensing the Dead: Mortuary Ritual and Tomb Visitation at Nabataean Petra (Article)
Title: Sensing the Dead: Mortuary Ritual and Tomb Visitation at Nabataean Petra
Author: Megan A. Perry
Abstract: The visual prominence of mortuary structures within the Nabataean capital city of Petra clearly indicates that the deceased maintained a constant presence amongst the living. However, current systematic archaeological exploration of these mortuary features documents a more intimate view of the interaction between the living and the dead. Since 1998, the Petra North Ridge Project has sought to record the mortuary practices and gather data on health and diet of non-elite residents of 1st cent. AD Petra. Artifactual, taphonomic, and osteological data indicate that engagement of the city’s inhabitants with the dead occurred through the senses of smell, touch, taste, and sight. Nabataean visits to their familial tombs included ritual feasting and reorganization of the mortuary space, accompanied by the scents of incense, perfumed oils, and quicklime. In addition, mourners left behind material goods that served to illuminate, bedazzle, and entertain the dead. Through this repeated exchange of sensory stimulation, the Nabataeans established and preserved a dynamic relationship with their deceased ancestors.
Year: 2017
Primary URL Description: ISBN 978-2-35159-739-2
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Syria. Archeologie, Art, and Histoire
Publisher: Institut français du Proche-Orient

Petra North Ridge Project (Article)
Title: Petra North Ridge Project
Author: Megan A. Perry
Author: S. Thomas Parker
Abstract: Brief summary of results of the 2016 field season in the "Archaeology of Jordan" Newsletter published by the AIA.
Year: 2018
Primary URL: http://www.acorjordan.org/archaeology-jordan-aij/
Format: Other
Periodical Title: The Archaeology of Jordan Newsletter 2016 and 2017 Seasons
Publisher: Archaeological Institute of America

Conservation of the two marble Aphrodite statues at Petra (Blog Post)
Title: Conservation of the two marble Aphrodite statues at Petra
Author: Michael Morris
Abstract: Michael, a CAORC Fellow at the American Center of Oriental Research in Amman, discusses the conservation and analysis of the Aphrodite statues discovered by the Petra North Ridge Project in 2016.
Date: 11/11/2018
Primary URL: http://www.acorjordan.org/2018/11/11/morris-acor-caorc-fellow-fall-2018/
Blog Title: Michael Morris, ACOR-CAORC Post-Doctoral Fellow Fall 2018
Website: American Center of Oriental Research

Forbidden City of the Desert (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: Forbidden City of the Desert
Writer: Rosie Woodcock (researcher)
Director: James Franklin
Producer: Windfall Productions Ltd
Abstract: The ancient city of Petra, a city carved from desert rock, has baffled experts for decades. Now, new technologies resurrect the city and reveal why the spectacular civilization was suddenly abandoned.
Year: 2017
Primary URL: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074TKXQRT/ref=oh_aui_d_detailpage_o00_?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Access Model: Initially broadcast on cable on Discovery Science Channel 8/17/2017. Now available by purchase through Amazon.com
Format: Video
Format: Web

The Nabataean Way of Death on Petra’s North Ridge (Article)
Title: The Nabataean Way of Death on Petra’s North Ridge
Author: Jessica L. Walker
Author: Megan A. Perry
Abstract: Recent excavation of non-elite shaft tombs on Petra's north Ridge from the 1st centuries B.C./A.D. have opened new windows into Nabataean mortuary culture and the health of this ancient city's inhabitants.
Year: 2018
Access Model: subscription only
Format: Other
Periodical Title: Pp. 121-137 in: Death and Burial in the Near East from Roman to Islamic Times, Christoph Eger and Michael Mackensen, eds.
Publisher: Münchner Beiträge zur Provinzialrömischen Archäologie

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