THE NABATAEAN CULTURE

     Petra is an ancient city carved from sandstone, with some freestanding structures, inhabited by the Nabateans. Little is known about the Nabataean people, aside from the writings of Strabo, a Roman scholar. The Nabataeans who inhabited Petra were a very materialistic society. Petra was a community ruled by a royal family, however it was believed to have some aspects of democracy. Religion of the Nabataean people remains a mystery although there are many temples for multiple deities, as well as carving in the Siq to protect the entrance to Petra as well as hex anyone who dared enter that was not welcome. Due to Petra being a bustling trading hub there are many cultures that were represented in their architecture.

     There are two primary cultures that can be identified by looking at the architecture in Petra, Arabic and Greco-Roman. This can be easily seen in the columns used to line the main street in Petra that were built by the Romans after their takeover. A great example of Corinthian style columns are displayed at the Treasury. Animal carvings on the Treasury are also a great indication that aspects of other cultures were blended in with traditional Arabic. The Treasury was mislabeled as such because of an urn that was carved at the top of the facade. It is thought that the urn contained the riches of the King who was entombed there. Evidence of bullets shot into the urn can still be seen today. The Treasury is one of hundreds of tombs in Petra. 

     Petra was a very advanced city for its time. The citizens enjoyed running water brought in through aqueducts and terracotta pipes that ran from natural streams miles away. An estimated 12 million gallons flowed into Petra daily; this is enough water to sustain a 100,000 people in America today. They also had many cisterns to store the water in during the drier months. Because of their advanced water supply they were able to have lush gardens, pools, and reservoirs as well as grow their own crops. During the rainy season this area was known to flood, the Nabataeans built dams in the canyons to prevent this from happening. During excavations these dams were discovered, this model is still used to this day.