The Petra Garden Feasibility Study

Because the Petra Garden represents the only known example of a Nabataean garden in the archaeological record, and because the site is unobstructed by later (post-Classical) construction, it offers an unprecedented opportunity to conduct an intensive investigation of an ancient garden site, one of the very few to be studied archaeologically in the region.

In July 2001 a feasibility study was carried out in the Petra Garden. The goal of the two-week field season was to identify the major components and layout of the garden and to determine the degree of preservation of its earthen terrace.
Objectives:
  • To test the hypothesis that the earthen terrace is a garden site.
  • To use a multi-disciplinary approach to test methodologies and their applications to garden archaeology:
    • Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR)
    • Soil cores
    • Strategically placed excavations
  • To determine the degree of preservation of the earthen terrace.
  • To identify the site's major components and layout.
  • To obtain optimal exposure with limited expense and labor.

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