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Petra - Main Theater

Petra Main Theater Aerial View of Petra Main Theater

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Bernard Gagnon - Wikipedia - CC BY-SA 3.0


Names
Transliterated Name Source Name
Main Theater English
Petra Theater English
Masrah al-Batra Arabic مسرح البتراء
Introduction
Introduction

As one enters Petra through the Siq, after passing "The "Treasury", the Main Theater is the first structure one encounters before entering the valley that comprises the central part of Petra. The seats are carved out of a cliff of Nubian Sandstone. Hammond (1964) excavated the Main Theater over two seasons in 1961 and 1962.

Ancient Theater Glossary

Textual Glossary



Illustrations of Individual Components mentioned as damaged in the Phase IV Earthquake

Scaenae



Scaenae Stories (aka Scaenae Frons)



Blockade Walls (aka analemmata)



Tribunalia(e)



Petra - Introduction Webpage

Aerial Views, Plans, Sections, and 3D Imagery
Aerial Views, Plans, Sections, and 3D Imagery

Aerial Views

  • Petra Main Theater in Google Earth
    Petra Main Theater in Google Earth

    click on image to explore this site on a new tab in Google Earth
  • Aerial View of Petra Main Theater
    Aerial View of Petra Main Theater

    click on image to open a high res magnifiable image in a new tab

    Bernard Gagnon - Wikipedia - CC BY-SA 3.0
    from Wikipedia
  • Frontal View of Petra Main Theater
    Frontal View of Petra Main Theater

    Douglas Perkins - Wikipedia - CC-2.0
    from Wikipedia

Plans

Normal Size

  • Pl. 90 - Plan of the Main Theatre
    Pl. 90

    The Main Theatre - General Plan

    McKenzie (1990)
    from McKenzie (1990)
  • Top View of the Main Theater
    Ampitheatre - Top view

    Zamani Project
    from Zamani Project
  • Fig. 14 - Plan of theater
    Fig. 14

    General plan of the theater (2022)

    (Ambroise Berthier)

    Tholbecq et al. (2022)
    from Tholbecq et al. (2022)
  • Fig. 1 - Plan of theater
    Fig. 1

    General plan of the Petra theater, with the location of the 2022-2023 surveys

    (Report and DAO A. Berthier 2022, supplements M. Kurdy 2023, MAFP)

    Tholbecq et. al. (2023)
    from Tholbecq et. al. (2023)

Magnified

  • Pl. 90 - Plan of the Main Theatre
    Pl. 90

    The Main Theatre - General Plan

    McKenzie (1990)
    from McKenzie (1990)
  • Top View of the Main Theater
    Ampitheatre - Top view

    Zamani Project
    from Zamani Project
  • Fig. 14 - Plan of theater
    Fig. 14

    General plan of the theater (2022)

    (Ambroise Berthier)

    Tholbecq et al. (2022)
    from Tholbecq et al. (2022)
  • Fig. 1 - Plan of theater
    Fig. 1

    General plan of the Petra theater, with the location of the 2022-2023 surveys

    (Report and DAO A. Berthier 2022, supplements M. Kurdy 2023, MAFP)

    Tholbecq et. al. (2023)
    from Tholbecq et. al. (2023)

Sections

  • Fig. 5.35d - Section of the
    Fig. 5.35d

    Section elevation, showing the original slope and the line of cut.

    (after Hammond 1965: Pl. XVI).

    Rababeh (2005)
    Main Theatre from Rababeh (2005)

Links to 3D Images

3D image of Petra Main Theater from Zamani Project - click link to open in a new tab

3D panorama tour of Petra Main Theater from Zamani Project - click link to open in a new tab

Chronology
Phasing

Hammond (1964)



Tholbecq et al. (2022)

  • from Tholbecq (2022)
  • Hammond has, however, identified eight phases of occupation which, in our opinion, can be reduced to four major periods
Phase Date Comments
1
  • At least two construction phases (Hammond phases Ia, Ib and Ic) followed by two phases of use of the building (II-III)
2 probably in 363 and/or 419 CE
  • Major destruction, probably in 363 and/or 419, followed by abandonment (IV-V)
3
  • Partial reuse of space, probably during the Byzantine era (VI-VII)
4 mid 8th century CE ?
  • Final destruction, probably in the middle of the 8th century (Hammond phase VIII)

Tholbecq (2024) - REVISED CHRONOLOGY

two phases have been securely identified, one dating from the turn of the 1st/2nd centuries AD, and a second corresponding to a major transformation of the stage building that occurred between the second half of the 2nd and the first half of the 3rd century. As the more recent levels of occupation were removed in 1961–1962, insights come from the pictures and drawings published in 1965 (Hammond 1965). The latest published material can be dated securely to the first half of the 5th century AD, indicating that the building was certainly reoccupied after the AD 363 earthquake. Unfortunately, all the archaeological material collected during these two rescue campaigns was destroyed in December 2023 by an arson attack that destroyed all the excavation material accumulated by the French and Belgian teams working in Petra over the last thirty years.

Phase IV Earthquake - mid-4th century CE

Russell (1980) reports that during the 1961-1962 seasons,

Hammond (1965:13-17) found evidence of 4th century AD architectural collapse while excavating the Main Theater. From the stratigraphic evidence and the recovery of two coins of Constantine I (ruled 306 - 337 AD) and one of Constantius II (ruled 337-361 AD), he was able to date this event to the mid 4th century.
Hammond (1964) labeled the destruction period as Period IV noting that
In this period the scaena and its stories, blockade walls, the tribunalia(e), and other built parts of the Theater were all cataclysmically destroyed.
Tholbecq (2024) states that the building was certainly reoccupied after the AD 363 earthquake.

Phase VII Destruction - 6th-8th century CE Earthquake

Jones (2021:3 Table 1) reports a second potential seismic destruction of the Theater in Phase VII.

The Phase VII destruction of the Main Theatre is difficult to date, as the structure had gone out of use long before. It may be the result of either the late 6th century earthquake or the mid-8th century earthquake.

Seismic Effects
Phase IV Earthquake - mid-4th century CE

Effect Location Image(s) Description
Collapsed Walls           Main Theater

Deformation Maps
Phase IV Earthquake - mid-4th century CE

Deformation Map

modified by JW from Plate 90 of McKenzie (1990)

Intensity Estimates
Phase IV Earthquake - mid-4th century CE

Effect Location Image(s) Description Intensity
Collapsed Walls           Main Theater VIII +
The archeoseismic evidence requires a minimum Intensity of VIII (8) when using the Earthquake Archeological Effects chart of Rodríguez-Pascua et al (2013: 221-224).

Notes and Further Reading
References

Articles and Books

Hammond, P. C. (1962). "Petra: The Excavation of the Main Theater." The American Scholar 32(1): 93-106.

Hammond, P. C. (1964). The Excavation of the Main Theater at Petra, 1961-1962, Bernard Quaritch, for Colt Archaeological Institute.

Hammond, P. C. (1996:7). The Temple of the Winged Lions, Petra, Jordan, 1973-1990, Petra Pub.

Hammond, P.C. (1964) The Excavation of the Main Theater At Petra, 1961-1962 Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 08/9

Paradise, T. (1999) Analysis of Sandstone Weathering of the Roman Theater in Petra, Jordan Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 43

Tholbecq, T. (2024) Petra: Main theater , in Pearce Paul Creasman, Jack Green and China P. Shelton (Eds.), Archaeology in Jordan 4, 2022-2023 Seasons, p. 136-137

Excavation Reports

Hammond, P. C. (1965). The Excavation of the Main Theater at Petra, 1961-1962: Final Report. London, Quaritch.

Tholbecq, L., et al. (2022). Mission archéologique française à Pétra. Rapport des campagnes archéologiques 2022.

Tholbecq, L., et al. (2023). Mission archéologique française à Pétra. Rapport des campagnes archéologiques 2023.

Websites

Ancient Theater Glossary at whitman.edu

Petra Main Theater at Manar al-Athar (Oxford University)

Petra Main Theater at Archnet

Wikipedia pages

Petra (Main) Theater



Nubian Sandstone