Transliterated Name | Source | Name |
---|---|---|
Pool Complex | ||
Lower Market |
Phase | Date | Comments |
---|---|---|
I | Nabataean, 1st century BCE | Pre-garden occupation |
II | Nabataean, end of the 1st century BCE - early 1st century CE | Monumental garden and pool complex |
III | Roman, early 2nd century CE | Renovations |
IV | Roman, late 2nd?-3rd century CE | Abandonment |
V | Late Roman, 363 CE | Destruction |
VI | Late Roman-Byzantine, 4th-5th century CE | Squatter Farmers |
VII | Byzantine, 6th century CE? | Destruction |
VIII | Post Classical/Medieval | Agricultural activity |
IX | Bedouin, >20th century | Modern occupation |
According to the refined pottery sequence from ez-Zantur, the type 3c Nabataean painted ware was produced in a brief span of time, between ca.100 and 106/114 CE. Based on this pottery evidence, it is possible to assign the floor bedding and by direct association the bridge with a terminus post quem of the early 2nd century CE.
...
However, a single rim sherd also found embedded in the floor mortar (Fig. 18) may be more closely identified with a type 4 painted bowl from ez-Zantur, dated post-106/114 CE (Schmid 1996:166, 208, abb. 704), in which case the Phase II renovations in the Pool-Complex must be dated to a period following the annexation of Petra into the Roman Empire.
The architectural elements of the pool complex suffered serious damage in the mid-4th century AD, most likely a result of the well-documented earthquake of 363 AD. The upper courses of the pavilion walls collapsed into the pool, forming a dense layer of large stone rubble in a reddish-brown sandy matrix overlying the Phase IV fill (trench 1) (Fig. 24Bedal (2003:79) entertained the). In the south-west corner, stones falling from the South Wall and the Great Temple's East Perimeter Wall formed a similar destruction layer (Fig. 23![]()
Figure 24
Trench 1, deep sounding in pool, west baulk. Two destruction layers are clearly visible in the pool fill.
Bedal et al (2007)).![]()
Figure 23
Trench 12, from the south. Stones of the Phase V destruction, are clearly visible in the north baulk sandwiched between the Phase IV and Phase VI fills. The Phase VII destruction level is already excavated away at the time of this photo.
Bedal et al (2007)
less likelypossibility that the observed
destructionwas due to decay rather than seismic forces.
While it is possible that this destruction resulted from neglect and structural decay over a long period of time, it more likely that the island-pavilion fell victim to the major earthquake of 363 CE that caused irreparable damage to many of the major monuments at Petra and destruction throughout the region (Russell 1980; 1985:42; Amiran et al. 1994:265). 74Bedal (2003:79) dated Phase V seismic destruction to the 4th century CE unlike Bedal et al (2007) who dated it to the mid 4th century CE.
A stratum of large stone debris in a reddish-brown sandy matrix overlying the Phase VI fill in the southern half of the site (trench 1, 3, 4 5, 9, 11, 12, and 14) marks a second major destruction episode causing the further collapse of the walls surrounding the pool complex and the island-pavilion (Fig. 24Bedal (2003:83) discussed this potential seismic destruction in a similar manner in a passage which is less certain that the debris from this phase was a result of seismic destruction.). Elements of the pavilion's architectural decor (marble flower, volutes, capital fragments and painted stucco) and its construction (iron nails, a plaster nail anchor, and charred wood) mark further disintegration of this structure.![]()
Figure 24
Trench 1, deep sounding in pool, west baulk. Two destruction layers are clearly visible in the pool fill.
Bedal et al (2007)
It is clear from the presence of architectural debris in this stratum - large architectural elements (ashlars, doorjambs, etc.), small capital fragments, volutes (Pl. XVIIIa), and a unique flower (carved from limestone or a low-grade marble) (Fig. 12 and Pl. XVIIIb), iron nails, a plaster nail anchor, and some charred wood - that the structure continued to disintegrate following its major destruction as a result of the 363 earthquake. At this time, there is no evidence to specifically link this secondary collapse with the 551 earthquake, although that cannot be ruled out.
1 It should be noted that these building elements could have come from another structure - for example the nearby Great Temple where Joukowsky and Basile (2001:50) report an early 2nd century CE earthquake in Phase VI.
The upper courses of the pavilion walls collapsed into the pool, forming a dense layer of large stone rubble in a reddish-brown sandy matrix overlying the Phase IV fill (trench 1) (Fig. 24(Bedal et al, 2007)).![]()
Figure 24
Trench 1, deep sounding in pool, west baulk. Two destruction layers are clearly visible in the pool fill.
Bedal et al (2007)
In the south-west corner, stones falling from the South Wall and the Great Temple's East Perimeter Wall formed(Bedal et al, 2007)
a similar destruction layer (Fig. 23).![]()
Figure 23
Trench 12, from the south. Stones of the Phase V destruction, are clearly visible in the north baulk sandwiched between the Phase IV and Phase VI fills. The Phase VII destruction level is already excavated away at the time of this photo.
Bedal et al (2007)
further collapse of the walls surrounding the pool complex and the island-pavilion (Fig. 24(Bedal et al, 2007)).![]()
Figure 24
Trench 1, deep sounding in pool, west baulk. Two destruction layers are clearly visible in the pool fill.
Bedal et al (2007)
Elements of the pavilion's architectural decor (marble flower, volutes, capital fragments and painted stucco) and its construction (iron nails, a plaster nail anchor, and charred wood) mark further disintegration of this structure.(Bedal et al, 2007)
Effect | Description | Intensity |
---|---|---|
Displaced masonry blocks in drums in columns1
Footnotes
1 It should be noted that these building elements could have come from another structure - for example the nearby Great Temple where Joukowsky and Basile (2001:50) report an early 2nd century CE earthquake in Phase VI. |
![]() ![]() Elements of a column and capital used as fill in the Phase III renovations to the southern platform, trench 5 (drawn by C. Kanellopolous). Bedal et al (2007) |
VIII+ |
Effect | Description | Intensity |
---|---|---|
Collapsed Walls |
The upper courses of the pavilion walls collapsed into the pool, forming a dense layer of large stone rubble in a reddish-brown sandy matrix overlying the Phase IV fill (trench 1) (Fig. 24(Bedal et al, 2007) |
VIII+ |
Collapsed Walls |
In the south-west corner, stones falling from the South Wall and the Great Temple's East Perimeter Wall formed a similar destruction layer (Fig. 23(Bedal et al, 2007) |
VIII+ |
Effect | Description | Intensity |
---|---|---|
Collapsed Walls |
further collapse of the walls surrounding the pool complex and the island-pavilion (Fig. 24(Bedal et al, 2007) |
VIII+ |