Petra - Jordan - page 345

upper seating tiers, they sliced through more tombs. Under the stage floor were store-
rooms and a slot through which a curtain could be lowered at the start of a performance.
From near the slot, an almost-complete statue of Hercules was recovered.
The Theatre was badly damaged by an earthquake in AD 363, and parts of it were then
removed to help build other structures in Petra. With a backdrop worthy of a David
Roberts canvas, the Theatre (sometimes closed) now offers a vantage point from which to
watch a modern tragi-comedy of the ill-costumed, cursing their high-heeled footwear; the
ill-cast, yawning at tedious tour guides; and the ill-tempered - mainly in the form of irrit-
able camels and their peevish owners.

THE TOMBS OF PETRA

There are more tombs dotted around Petra than any other type of structure and for years visitors assumed that the
city was a vast necropolis. One plausible reason why so few dwellings have been discovered is that many of the
Nabataeans lived in tents, much like some Bedouin do today.

Petra's earliest rock tombs date from the 3rd century BC. The size and design of the tombs depended on the social
status and financial resources of the deceased, ranging from simple cave-like tombs to the ornate facades of the
Royal Tombs, the high point of Nabataean funerary architecture.
More sculptors than architects, the Nabataeans quickly realised that it was easier to carve tombs out of the soft
sandstone rock than to build free-standing structures that were vulnerable to earthquakes. The larger tombs were
carved out of the rock from the top down, using scaffolding support, and the facades were then plastered and painted
(almost none of this decoration remains).

The dead were buried in loculi (small, separate cavities) carved from the plain walls inside the tomb, while the
exterior decoration was made to represent the soul (and sometimes likeness) of the deceased. All but the most
simple tombs contained banqueting halls where funerals and annual commemorative feasts were held. Some rooms
were frescoed and you can still see traces of coloured decoration in Wadi Siyagh's Painted House and in Siq al-Bar-
id (Little Petra).

The Nabataeans were a nomadic desert people without an architectural heritage of their own, but as traders they
were cosmopolitan enough to borrow elements of art and architecture from neighbours. Thus you'll see Egyptian,
Assyrian, Mesopotamian, Hellenistic and Roman styles throughout Petra, as well as unique local architectural in-
ventions such as the Nabataean horned column. If you combine this eclecticism with the organic nature of Petra's
cave-like tombs, the stunning natural colour of the rock and natural grandeur of the landscape, it's easy to see how
Petra has captured the imagination of generations of travellers.

Royal Tombs
Offline map

TOMBS