BIBLE HISTORY DAILY

Re-dating Nabatean Farming at Petra

Bible and archaeology news

Researchers examining dam construction and terrace farming techniques at Petra suggest that the Nabateans began employing these techniques around the first century, rather than the earlier Iron Age chronology hypothesized by previous scholars. New examinations using optically stimulated luminescence soil dating tie Petra’s developing irrigation to the region’s annexation by Rome.

In a University of Cincinnati release, Brown University Petra Archaeological Project researcher Christian Cloke describes how “the explosion of agricultural activity in the first century and the increased wealth that resulted from the wine and oil production made Petra an exceptionally attractive prize for Rome. The region around Petra not only grew enough food to meet its own needs, but also would have been able to provide olives, olive oil, grapes and wine for trade. This robust agricultural production would have made the region a valuable asset for supplying Roman forces on the empire’s eastern frontier.” The Nabateans’ advanced understanding of water management–at first with dammed wadis and later with a complex plumbing network–transformed the arid region into a hospitable farming community that could support the urban population and its vast trade network.
 


 

Related reading in Bible History Daily

Site-Seeing: Petra’s Temple of the Winged Lions by Glenn J. Corbett

Solving the Enigma of Petra and the Nabataeans by Glenn J. Corbett

New Petra Monument Spotted Through Satellites

Casting New Light on Petra

Cyber-Archaeology at Petra

Exposing Petra’s North Ridge
 


 

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3 Responses

  1. Jim says:

    Some time ago I saw a program on PBS which covered this subject. Ive bee trying to obtain a copy of the video and so far been unsuccessful. Can you help

  2. tsi says:

    That was how the Anasazi in the Americas began, canyon farming with terraces that later led to cities, until the great drought broke them apart.

  3. Tim Upham says:

    The Nabateans were experts at flash-flood farming.

Write a Reply or Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


3 Responses

  1. Jim says:

    Some time ago I saw a program on PBS which covered this subject. Ive bee trying to obtain a copy of the video and so far been unsuccessful. Can you help

  2. tsi says:

    That was how the Anasazi in the Americas began, canyon farming with terraces that later led to cities, until the great drought broke them apart.

  3. Tim Upham says:

    The Nabateans were experts at flash-flood farming.

Write a Reply or Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


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