Petra Tour: Bab as-Siq
In the necropolis along the path from the Visitor Centre to the deep gorge of the Siq, one can see remarkably unusual burial sites, including some of Petra's oldest.
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There are 18 votive niches and a basin (Dalman catalogued them as D. 15a - t) in the south-western wall and at the southern tip of the elongated rocky crest in which the Aslah Triclinium is located. Most are empty, as the Nabataeans brought transportable betyls on special occasions and placed them in the niches. Only in three of them were betyls carved out of the rocks (D 15l, 15i and 15m).
The most important votive niche was the third from the left (D 15c). It is framed by two pilasters and an arch over it. Below you can see a Nabataean mtwb, a plinth as the seat of the deity.
(Information from: International Aslah Project; und Gorgerat & Wenning)
© Photos, summary: Haupt & Binder
In the necropolis along the path from the Visitor Centre to the deep gorge of the Siq, one can see remarkably unusual burial sites, including some of Petra's oldest.
A betyl (Semitic: bait-el = house of God; Greek: baitylos) is an aniconical God symbol, usually in the form of a vertical rectangular plate or stele. It can also be a negative form in a niche. Often there are several betyls in a niche next to each other, on top of each other or grouped together. "The betyl is not a representation of the God, neither an image of the God, nor an idol. As a medium of the presence of the God, however, it can also experience cultic veneration. This in turn means that in the act of worship, one could offer sacrifices and gifts to the betyl." (R. Wenning, 2007. Transl. UiU)
A project study by Prof. Dr. Robert Wenning (Münster University) and Laurent Gorgerat (Antikenmuseum Basel und Sammlung Ludwig) in collaboration with the Association for the Understanding of Ancient Cultures (AUAC) and the Department of Antiquities of Jordan (DoA).
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Initiated and organized by Prof. Dr Stephan G. Schmid, Co-director of the French-German research project "Early Petra", sponsored by the German Research Association (DFG), the Excellence Cluster TOPOI at the Humboldt University Berlin, the Freiwillige Akademische Gesellschaft Basel (FAG), the Association for the Understanding of Ancient Cultures (AUAC) and the Stiftung für das Antikenmuseum Basel und Sammlung Ludwig.
The International Aslah Project (2010-2012): its contribution to "Early Petra"
In: Men on the Rocks. The Formation of Nabataean Petra
Proceedings of a conference held in Berlin, 2-4 December 2011
Michel Mouton, Stephan G. Schmid (ed.)
Logos Verlag Berlin, 2013
ISBN 978-3-8325-3313-7
pp. 223-236
The International Aslah Project, Petra: new research and new questions
R. Wenning in cooperation with L. Gorgerat
In: Supplement to Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 42 (2012), pp. 127-145