Qasr Bint Qasr Bint

Wikipedia - CC BY-SA 3.0 - Dennis Jarvis


Names
Transliterated Name Source Name
Qasr al Bint Arabic قاسر ال بينت
Qasr al-Bint Fir’aun Arabic فرعون قاسر ال بينت
Introduction

Qasr al-Bint is one of the best preserved structures in Petra. It fronted the colonnaded street and was close to the monumental gate.

Chronology
3rd-4th century CE Earthquake

  • Figure 11 from Tholbecq et al (2019:36-37)
  • Figure 12 from Tholbecq et al (2019:36-37)
Tholbecq et al (2019:36-37) attributed a destruction layer (see Figures 11 and 12) to the southern Cyril Quake of 363 CE based on excavations of the western Temple Staircase (peribola) in Zone F of Qasr al Bint. The dating is approximate - to the 3rd or 4th century CE - apparently based on pottery fragments (North African Sigillata) and oil lamps. Colluvium atop the destruction layer suggests partial abandonment of the site after the destructive earthquake.

6th century CE Earthquake ?

Jones(2021) speculated that Qasr al-Bint may have been damaged due to a 6th century CE earthquake.

Renel (2013: 349) has proposed that the post-363 occupation at Qasr al-Bint was abandoned in the early 5th century, possibly as a result of a major flood (Paradise, 2011). Nonetheless, it is possible that Qasr al-Bint was abandoned due to the 5th century flood but also damaged during the late 6th century earthquake.

Seismic Effects
3rd-4th century CE Earthquake

The destruction layer can be observed in the photographs below:

  • Figure 11 from Tholbecq et al (2019:36-37)
  • Figure 12 from Tholbecq et al (2019:36-37)

Intensity Estimates
3rd-4th century CE Earthquake

Effect Description Intensity
Collapsed Walls Collapse/Destruction Layer suggests wall collapse 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). Korzhenkov et al (2016) found evidence for two earthquakes at Qasr Bint and estimated an Intensity of IX (9) for both earthquakes. In all likelihood, one of the two earthquakes of Korzhenkov et al (2016) would have been the Southern Cyril Quake of 363 CE.

Notes and Further Reading
References
Archaeoseismic Observations

Figure Image Description Source
4a Korzhenkov et al (2016)
4b rotated blocks Korzhenkov et al (2016)
8 wall bending Korzhenkov et al (2016)