Petra

About this place

On a panel in situ : "The mosaic is composed of 84 medallions arranged in three columns. Vines emerge from a vase at the western end and these form frames for the medallion. The central column contains mainly objects such as baskets, bowls, and vases. Animals and birds, including peacocks, boar, horses, and elephants as well as few human figures flank them.

The whole is surrounded by a braided border. The third row from the east shows two offerers, one black and one white, flanking a chest which perhaps contains jewelry. The fifth row from the east shows two giraffes with the characteristics of camels. In the fourteenth row, two men lead a camel laden with a tree-trunk. Artistically, the mosaic is related to mosaics in Madaba and in Gaza. In the apse to the east of this mosaic is a checkerboard mosaic. This is matched in the southern apse.

In 1993, a cache of 152 papyrus rolls was found in a room adjacent to the church. They had been carbonized in the fire and that is what preserved them. Written in Greek, the 6th century documents deal with real estate transactions, disputes, contracts, sales, divisions of property, marriages, dowries, and inheritances. They reveal the active and rich social and economic life of the city and its agricultural hinterland and confirm the continuing importance of Petra as a regional administrative center of the Byzantine Empire".

Brief description

Source : http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/326

Inhabited since prehistoric times, this Nabataean caravan-city, situated between the Red Sea and the Dead Sea, was an important crossroads between Arabia, Egypt and Syria-Phoenicia. Petra is half-built, half-carved into the rock, and is surrounded by mountains riddled with passages and gorges. It is one of the world's most famous archaeological sites, where ancient Eastern traditions blend with Hellenistic architecture.

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