Transliterated Name | Source | Name |
---|---|---|
Main Theater | English | |
Petra Theater | English | |
Masrah al-Batra | Arabic | مسرح البتراء |
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.
Hammond has, however, identified eight phases of occupation which, in our opinion, can be reduced to four major periods
Phase | Date | Comments |
---|---|---|
1 |
|
|
2 | probably in 363 and/or 419 CE |
|
3 |
|
|
4 | mid 8th century CE ? |
|
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.
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". Based on 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 dated the event to the mid-4th century.
Hammond (1964) labeled the destruction period as Period IV, stating 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" while Hammond (1962) noted that the columns of the
scaena toppled "in marshaled rows," sculpted blocks shattered, and the
backdrop's architectural plan was "buried beneath tons of hewn and polished debris."
Tholbecq & Paridaens (2024) states that "the building was certainly reoccupied after
the AD 363 earthquake."
Jones (2021:3 Table 1) reports a second potential seismic destruction
of the Theater in Phase VII, noting that "the Phase VII destruction of the
Main Theatre is difficult to date, as the structure had gone out of use long
before." He adds that it "may be the result of either the late 6th century
earthquake or the mid-8th century earthquake."
Tholbecq (2022) suggests that final destruction of the main theater probably occurred
"in the middle of the 8th century (Hammond phase VIII)".
Effect | Location | Image(s) | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Collapsed Walls | Main Theater |
|
Effect | Location | Image(s) | Description | Intensity |
---|---|---|---|---|
Collapsed Walls | Main Theater |
|
VIII + |
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
Jones, C. P. (2021) The southern Levantine earthquake of 418/419 AD and
the archaeology of Byzantine Petra, Levant 53(1): 1–16
Paradise, T. (1999) Analysis of Sandstone Weathering of the Roman Theater in Petra, Jordan
Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 43
Tholbecq, L. (2022) Mission archéologique française à Pétra (Jordanie).
Rapport des campagnes archéologiques 2022
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
Tholbecq, L. & Paridaens, J. (2024) The Petra Theater (2022–2023):
New Investigations and New Perspectives,
ACOR Annual of Interdisciplinary Jordanian Studies 4: 211–232
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.