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The rose-red city of Petra is famous for its magnificent rock-cut tomb facades of the Nabatean and Roman periods. Regrettably, the later periods in Petra have not received sufficient scholarly attention, so the discovery of a Byzantine church by Kenneth W. Russell in 1990 was a significant breakthrough in our understanding of the Byzantine period in Petra. The Petra Church was officially opened to the public by H.M. Queen Noor al-Hussein on July 8, 1998. This was much more than a simple excavation in which some dirt is moved and an article submitted to an obscure scholarly journal. From the beginning, this project was envisioned as more than that. ACOR archaeologist Kenneth W. Russell had first noticed the building in 1973 and in April of 1990 documented the surface remains. At the time, he wrote: "While the excavation of this structure is highly desirable, it is suggested that the simple clearance of the structure solely to uncover floor mosaics would not do justice to significant data relating to reconstructing Byzantine chronology and the history of Petra. Similarly, the potential for mosaics warrants extremely careful excavation techniques, with a conservation staff on hand during excavation to deal immediately with uncovered materials. Obviously, a long term preservation plan must also be developed, with consideration made for possible public visitation of the site. The development of the site therefore involves 1) archaeological excavation, 2) conservation, 3) stabilization of the ancient structure, and 4) the construction of a protective shelter." The first of three grants for the project was given to ACOR by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in October 1991. From that time until his death in May of 1992, Ken Russell and ACOR began the work of realizing the project. After his death, the project continued under the general direction of ACOR Director Pierre M. Bikai, who appointed Zbigniew T. Fiema, Khairieh Amr, and Robert Schick as directors. There were four excavation phases. The first, in 1992-93, involved some 25 archaeologists and three conservators as well as artists, surveyors, and photographers. In that phase, the main church was uncovered with spectacular mosaics in the aisles. The church is a tripartite basilica, measuring ca. 26 m by 15 m, with three apses to the east and three entrances to the west. Much of the material used for the construction of the church, such as the capitals, door jambs, and reliefs, must have come from the already ruined monuments of the Nabatean and Roman periods. The church complex also included an atrium - a stone paved courtyard to the west. The preserved decoration of the church attests to its original magnificence. Both of the aisles have mosaic floors of patterns stylistically dated to the early 6th century A.D. In the northern aisle, three parallel rows of roundels depict native and exotic animals and variety of vessels and containers, the latter perhaps of symbolic meaning. The eastern part of the southern aisle presents a variety of motifs. The central panels contain personifications of the Seasons (Spring is right), Ocean, Earth, and Wisdom. These are flanked by birds, animals and fish. The marble pavement of the nave was, unfortunately, poorly preserved. Several marble screens were also found, including the screens for the cancel area and for enclosing both side apses. Thousands of glass tesserae found scattered, some of them gilded, indicated that there were once mosaics on the walls. The excavation produced numerous small finds. Among them are coins, bronze and iron door fittings, glass, Osaka, fragments of Nabatean and Greek inscriptions of reused stones, and an engraved amethyst seal. A large marble vessel decorated with two panthers forming the handles was reconstructed from more than 100 pieces (see drawing at the top of this page). The collapse of the church's walls and columns, well evidenced during the excavations, can be associated with earthquakes. Prior to that, the church suffered a fire which brought down the wooden roof, and it was abandoned. Squatter occupation, documented in the atrium and some parts of the abandoned church, could have continued into the 7th century A.D. After the mosaics were found, it was clear that a shelter would have to be built and that, in order to build it, the whole northern side would have to be excavated for the foundations. The second excavation phase, with Zbigniew Fiema as the chief field archaeologist, started in September 1993 and continued into April 1994. On Dec. 4, 1993, a cache of 152 papyrus scrolls were uncovered at the site. No one could have foreseen that event, but within a few months ACOR assembled the very best papyrologist to work on the materials. Right now, some twenty persons from the University of Michigan and the University of Helsinki are engaged in deciphering the scrolls. Simultaneously, the search for a solution to the problem of sheltering the beautiful mosaics without doing damage to the site continued. With the help of a volunteer review committee, the present shelter was designed. It is a space frame and rides on only six columns. Therefore, it has only the most minimal impact on the Roman and Nabatean antiquities that we know are below the church. The third phase of work was in mid-1996, again under the supervision of Dr. Fiema, was devoted to conservation and preparation for the shelter which was installed in May of 1997. After that, the conservation of the mosaics continued and, in the final phase in 1998, under the direction of Pierre M. Bikai, Chrysanthos Kanellopoulos, and Nazeh Fino, attention was given to the configuration of the site so that it could be open to the public: the floor in the nave was restored (right), doors and barriers installed, and work began on the restoration of the baptistery, which is the largest and best preserved in the region. Work at the site itself is nearly complete, but work on the materials uncovered will continue. In addition to those who are working on the scrolls, some 25 other persons have been engaged in research on the other materials found here, from the tiny engraved amethyst that can be seen in the Petra Museum to the coins, statuary, pottery, glass, mosaics, architecture, and so on. All of these reports are currently being prepared for a publication that will appear in the near future. This was not just another archaeological project. ACOR deliberately set out to create a project that included all of the components that were outlined at the beginning: not just excavation, but also conservation, presentation, and publication. The philosophy behind the project was that every archaeological site, including this one, has multiple values. Here there was a clear historical value in the building itself and in the scrolls. The mosaics and other finds have artistic value. There was also an economic value to the persons who found employment at the site in that difficult time right after the Gulf Crisis. The project has an educational value to those who will visit and to those who were trained in conservation and reconstructions. One of the Jordanian students completed a full-year internship in conservation at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. The site has a value also to Jordan itself in its effort to develop the tourist industry. The project was funded in the main by grants totaling $1.05 million from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Other contributions were made by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the World Monuments Fund, and US/ICOMOS. The scroll project is funded by the National Endowments for the Humanities, the Academy of Finland, the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, the United States Information Agency, and numerous private donors. The American Center of Oriental Research thanks the Embassy of the United States of America, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the Petra Regional Council, the Ministry of Planning, the numerous archaeologists and researchers who participated, and the Bidul, Liyatna, Sa'ydeen, and Amareen who worked at the site. Currently, ACOR is involved in an endowment campaign to ensure the long-term preservation of the mosaics. Donors can adopt one of the large mosaic panels for $5000 or one of the smaller ones for $1000. The names of the donors will be listed on a plaque at the site.
Click here to ask our staff any questions. Jordan
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