The Architecture of Petra

The British Academy is proud to launch this new series dedicated to the publication of major archaeological research. The British Schools and Institutes abroad (which are funded by the Academy) have sustained a high level of archaeological activity over the last 30 years. The series, concentrating on work in the Near East and Africa, will include major past excavations (such as Kathleen Kenyon's in Jerusalem, 1961-7) as well as the first substantial publications of young scholars...
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The British Academy is proud to launch this new series dedicated to the publication of major archaeological research. The British Schools and Institutes abroad (which are funded by the Academy) have sustained a high level of archaeological activity over the last 30 years. The series, concentrating on work in the Near East and Africa, will include major past excavations (such as Kathleen Kenyon's in Jerusalem, 1961-7) as well as the first substantial publications of young scholars developing programmes of research. All periods from prehistory to early modern times will be covered in the series, and `archaeology' is interpreted broadly to encompass the study of material culture in all its aspects. The regions covered are ones of great cultural diversity, and the continuing study of their antiquity illuminates present history and offers much to anyone interested in the roots of civilization. Petra in Jordan is famed for its `baroque' architecture carved out of pink sandstone by the Nabataeans. Both the dating and style of the monuments have long been problematic, particularly in their relationship to the architectural scenes painted on the walls of at Pompeii. This book attempts to date many of the famous Petra monuments, partly through comparison with similar rock-cut tombs at Medain Saleh, in Saudi Arabia. The author also presents and dates the little known remains of Ptolemaic Alexandria, the Hellenistic city founded by Alexander the Great. From this the solution to the mystery unfolds: that the earliest baroque architecture was that of Ptolemaic Alexandria. This was transmitted to Petra and to Pompeii. Lavishly illustrated (700 photographs and figures) and with a detailed catalogue of the monuments, this volume reveals Petra as a city, not merely a necropolis. (British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem and British Institute at Amman for Archaeology and History)