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00:02Petra, an ancient and mysterious city of stone, concealed by the desert.
00:09Petra suddenly appears almost out of nowhere, and then it disappears very quickly.
00:15Petra in Jordan is famous for its extraordinary beauty.
00:20But very little is known about this vast metropolis or the civilization that built it.
00:26The biggest challenge with Petra is its scale.
00:29It's a huge city, and we haven't even gotten to touch even 2% of it.
00:35But now, archaeologists are using the latest techniques to resurrect the lives of Petra's forgotten people.
00:42Who were they, and why did they disappear?
00:46Not very much has been known about the daily lives of the normal people who inhabited Petra.
00:51I think Petra represents a major challenge for archaeologists.
00:56The only way to discover why Petra was abandoned
01:01is to lift this mighty metropolis from the sands.
01:06We'll bring back to life the astonishing monuments of this forgotten civilization
01:12to reveal what happened to the greatest lost city of the ancient world.
01:30On the edge of the Arabian desert lie the ruins of a forgotten metropolis, Petra.
01:40One of the greatest cities of the ancient world.
01:462,000 years ago, Petra's kings were the contemporaries of famous rulers like Julius Caesar
01:52and lived at the time of Christ.
01:56But why do we know so little about this once great civilization?
02:02Petra was one of the great international cities of the ancient world.
02:05It's a city that's cut largely out of the living sandstone.
02:14This vast city lies hidden at the end of a winding passageway almost a mile long.
02:23This natural split in the rock is known as the Sikh,
02:27and it leads to Petra's most famous monument, the Treasury.
02:33This elaborate tomb is carved deep into the rock face,
02:37familiar to millions from the Indiana Jones movies.
02:41But it's just a glimpse of what's hiding here.
02:45Deeper towards the city's center,
02:47dozens more tombs line the cliff walls,
02:53along with a theater for over 8,000 people.
02:59How did a civilization grow so powerful
03:02that it could create so many extraordinary buildings
03:05and yet leave behind so little about itself?
03:14The first explorers to stumble across Petra
03:17discovered a city unlike anything they had ever seen.
03:23A labyrinth of strange caves and breathtaking architecture.
03:28It is the long-lost capital of an ancient nomadic people
03:32called the Nabataeans.
03:37Archaeologist Glenn Corbett investigates
03:40why they created this unique city.
03:44Very, very little of this ancient city
03:47has actually been discovered.
03:48And so for the archaeologist,
03:50it represents a real challenge.
03:53Glenn's on his way to Petra's famous treasury.
03:57He thinks a clue to the city's origins
04:00lies with its puzzling architecture.
04:06This monument is covered with features
04:08from different cultures
04:09that should have nothing in common with each other.
04:17Petra's treasury is a beautiful
04:19but bewildering structure.
04:22Griffins sit on top of Corinthian-style columns
04:25with axe-wielding warriors
04:28and eagles of the Greek god Zeus.
04:32But in the middle is a statue
04:34that resembles the Egyptian goddess Isis.
04:37And inside, this iconic monument is even stranger.
04:43Behind the facade is just an empty chamber.
04:46Perhaps a feasting hall for the dead.
04:53And beneath it all, archaeologists have discovered
04:56the simple burial chamber
04:58of a rich and powerful family.
05:02So could the strange design of these monuments
05:05reveal why such a city was built?
05:11Ancient writers described the Nabataeans
05:14as nomads from Arabia.
05:17But Petra looks more like a Greek or Roman city
05:20on the edge of the desert.
05:24We see all the basic elements
05:27of classical Greco-Roman architecture here.
05:29We see the columns, the floral capitals,
05:32the decorated friezes.
05:33We see the broken pediment, the central tholos.
05:36And amid all of these architectural elements,
05:39we see the gods and goddesses
05:40and mythological figures
05:41that honestly to the average Nabataean
05:44wouldn't have made that much sense.
05:47But Glenn believes there is a hidden meaning
05:50to Petra's monuments
05:51that reveals who the Nabataeans were
05:54and why they built this city.
05:58And he thinks the answers lie buried
06:01in the city's center.
06:05The secretive Nabataeans
06:07left almost no written records,
06:09but they did leave
06:10a vast archaeological treasure trove.
06:23Today, American and Jordanian archaeologists
06:27are sifting through the huge heaps of sand
06:30that cover the city.
06:33So many things that we have
06:35come out of this dump.
06:37Pottery like this reveals
06:39that the Nabataeans were rich
06:41and sophisticated.
06:42Very nice.
06:43This, for example,
06:44is a very, very nice piece
06:46of Nabataean-painted pottery.
06:48Very fine, very thin,
06:50almost eggshell-thin wares.
06:52Very characteristic of the Nabataeans
06:54during their heyday.
06:56The sheer volume of material in Petra
06:59reveals that nearly 2,000 years ago,
07:02Nabataean society changed dramatically.
07:05These nomads decided to build
07:08a new kind of city
07:09almost overnight.
07:11It's really unbelievable
07:13how much pottery we find
07:15at just any archaeological site,
07:16but especially large ancient cities
07:19like Petra.
07:20You can walk the surface of Petra
07:22and see thousands and thousands
07:23of sherds.
07:25So what drove Petra's nomads
07:27to become city slickers?
07:31Ancient writers say that the city
07:33lay on the world's greatest trade route,
07:35across the desert
07:37to the Mediterranean Sea.
07:40The Nabataeans settled here
07:42to control this trade
07:44in incense, spices, and textiles,
07:46becoming extremely wealthy.
07:50They decided to pour their new money
07:53into creating incredible masterpieces.
07:56But they used ideas
07:58from Greece and Rome
07:59that flowed back into Petra.
08:04So did the Nabataeans
08:06just abandon their old way of life?
08:11Glenn's pottery comes from a shrine
08:13called the Temple of the Winged Lions.
08:28This temple, as far as we know,
08:30was probably built
08:31when the city was really exploding
08:33with a massive building program.
08:35Glenn and his colleagues
08:37are still piecing together
08:38exactly what this sacred temple
08:40looked like.
08:43But they've discovered
08:44that it hides a secret.
08:48This temple may look Greek
08:50or Roman on the outside,
08:52like so many of Petra's buildings.
08:55But the layout of the central sanctuary
08:57is based on an ancient Arabian design.
09:01A lot of the decorative elements
09:04of the temple
09:04are actually much more common
09:07to Greek and Roman architecture.
09:09But at the same time,
09:10that's something of a veneer
09:11because the temple itself
09:12is very much
09:13a Nabataean spiritual house.
09:15It's very much worshipping
09:16the supreme Nabataean goddess,
09:18El Uzzin.
09:22The Nabataeans built
09:23a new kind of city
09:24that fused nomadic Arabian culture
09:27with new ideas
09:28coming in from Greece and Rome.
09:33Glenn thinks their kings
09:34were trying to announce
09:35their arrival on the world stage.
09:43Well, we have to remember
09:44that when the Nabataeans
09:45really constructed this city
09:47in the first century B.C.
09:49and first century A.D.,
09:50they were really major players
09:52in the economies
09:53and caravan trades of that time.
09:55And definitely to make themselves
09:57major players
09:58on that international stage
09:59that included Herod
10:01and the Caesars
10:02and Antony and Cleopatra,
10:04they really had to present themselves
10:07as equal partners.
10:13Petra emerged from the desert
10:15as the symbol
10:16of a new, powerful civilization.
10:22But there's a mystery.
10:26How could a thriving metropolis
10:28survive in such an inhospitable place?
10:33Archaeologists think the answer lies
10:35with the desert's
10:36most precious commodity,
10:38water.
10:41Now, can new discoveries reveal
10:44how Petra's citizens
10:45transformed this dry
10:47and dusty world
10:48into an astonishing
10:49Garden of Eden?
11:01Petra in Jordan
11:02is an ancient
11:03and beautiful city.
11:05In its heyday,
11:07it controlled
11:07one of the richest trade routes
11:09in the ancient world.
11:12But what allowed the city
11:13to survive
11:14on the edge of a desert?
11:20Archaeologist David Graff
11:21investigates
11:22how the Nabataeans
11:23were masters
11:24of their environment.
11:28There was a population
11:29of at least 10,000 to 20,000 people
11:32living in the Petra region.
11:34And they had to be supplied
11:35with the necessities of life.
11:37But that's a lot of people.
11:41David thinks the secret
11:43to Petra's success
11:44lay with the Nabataeans'
11:46unique ability
11:46to harness water
11:48from the world around them.
11:51Dotted around Petra
11:52are canyons like the Sikh
11:55that are natural water channels
11:57modified by the Nabataeans.
12:00A barely visible
12:01water pipeline
12:02runs along the length
12:04of this winding passage
12:06until it passes
12:07underneath a faded carving.
12:112,000 years ago,
12:13these giant sculptures
12:14represented camels
12:16led by a merchant
12:17on his way
12:17to do business.
12:22These pipelines
12:23fed fresh water
12:24to the center.
12:26But how did they get
12:28enough water?
12:29to sustain
12:29an entire city
12:30of tens of thousands
12:32of people.
12:37Six miles north of Petra
12:39is a rocky outcrop
12:42called Baja
12:42where David leads
12:44a team digging
12:45for answers.
12:49Today,
12:50the land beneath it
12:51is bone dry.
12:53But even so far
12:54from the city center,
12:56archaeologists
12:57like Zayad al-Salamin
12:58find hints
12:59of an extensive
13:00water network.
13:02Rainfall was very limited.
13:04It was about
13:04250 millimeters per year.
13:06And therefore,
13:06they were able
13:07to collect
13:08every drop of water
13:09during this limited
13:10rainy season
13:11to be used
13:11throughout the year.
13:13The mysterious remains
13:15of pipelines
13:16and forgotten dams
13:17cover the ground
13:18at Baja.
13:20What were they for?
13:25Zayad comes across a clue,
13:27a cavity cut into the rock.
13:30But he doesn't think
13:31this is for storing water.
13:33It's even more surprising,
13:34a wine press.
13:37This is an advanced one.
13:39It consists of
13:39three major basins.
13:41First of all,
13:42grapes are placed
13:44in the central part
13:45of the press.
13:45Then,
13:46it's pressed
13:47and squeezed
13:47by feet.
13:50The number of water pipes
13:52and wine presses
13:53suggest something remarkable
13:54was going on here.
13:57David's team investigates
13:59another strange feature
14:00that lies nearby.
14:05As they dig
14:06beside this rock,
14:07they uncover a wall.
14:12It looks like
14:13a storage depot,
14:14suggesting that Baja
14:16was producing
14:16a lot of wine.
14:19David thinks
14:20it's time to throw away
14:21our old notions
14:22about these resourceful people.
14:25The general assumption
14:26about the Nabataeans
14:27is that they were nomads,
14:29didn't drink wine,
14:30and were not involved
14:31in agriculture,
14:32but we know
14:33that's not the case now.
14:36The discoveries
14:37at Baja
14:38proved that the Nabataeans
14:39were able to harness
14:40so much water,
14:41they didn't just make wine.
14:44They had enough
14:45to plant and grow
14:46extensive vineyards here.
14:49What I find
14:50so ingenious
14:51about the Nabataeans
14:52is they could take
14:53a desolate landscape
14:55and find little niches
14:56to develop
14:57for agriculture.
15:01So how did this
15:02water system work?
15:05The Nabataeans
15:06created an impressive
15:07water network,
15:09channeling water
15:10to where it was needed
15:11from miles around.
15:16In the city center,
15:17they built a tunnel
15:18into the rock
15:19and dams
15:20to reroute
15:21the water flow.
15:25engineers lined the
15:26Sikh passageway
15:27with clay pipes.
15:29The ends
15:30of the pipes
15:30were tapered
15:31to create
15:31a high-pressure supply.
15:35But across the kingdom,
15:36they created cisterns
15:38lined with hydraulic concrete
15:39to store the precious water
15:41underground.
15:44David thinks
15:45that this same technology
15:47extended far beyond
15:48the city center.
15:50Most places
15:52have a spring.
15:53There's no spring here.
15:54The amazing thing
15:55is this is rainwater.
15:57And the rainwater
15:58is very minimal.
15:59So it took a lot
16:00of creativity,
16:02of engineering skill
16:03to channel that water
16:04into reservoirs
16:06and preserve it.
16:07And that's the amazing
16:08achievement of Baja.
16:12Nabataean ingenuity
16:13built a rich
16:14and powerful city,
16:16an artificial paradise
16:18in a dry
16:19and desolate region.
16:22But at its height,
16:23Petra fell victim
16:24to one of the most
16:25powerful empires
16:26in the ancient world,
16:28Rome.
16:30An arsenal
16:32of buried weapons
16:33hints at a forgotten
16:34battle in the city streets.
16:37So did the feared
16:39Roman legions
16:40destroy Petra?
16:53Nearly 2,000 years ago,
16:56the great superpower
16:57of the ancient world
16:58marched into Petra.
17:08Rome absorbed the Nabataeans
17:10into her vast empire,
17:13boasting that their city
17:14had been acquired,
17:15not captured.
17:17But did Petra's citizens
17:19really welcome Roman rule
17:21with open arms?
17:23Archaeologist Tom Parker
17:25thinks we need to rewrite
17:26this version of history.
17:28For years,
17:30the scholarly consensus
17:32was this was
17:33a relatively peaceful event.
17:35But there's been
17:36more and more evidence
17:37to suggest
17:38that this was a takeover
17:40that was accompanied
17:41by considerable violence.
17:43So did Petra resist
17:44Roman rule?
17:49Tom believes
17:50that a clue lies over
17:52in the city's
17:52great temple.
17:55Deep in the remains
17:57of this colossal structure,
17:59archaeologists have made
18:00a surprising discovery.
18:04hundreds of stone missiles,
18:06each one the size
18:07of a small soccer ball,
18:09were found right
18:11by the main entrance.
18:14Among them
18:15were 162 arrowheads
18:18made of iron.
18:21These weapons
18:22were hidden here
18:23thousands of years ago.
18:25What is military equipment
18:27doing inside
18:28one of Petra's
18:29greatest civic buildings?
18:30And to whom
18:32did it belong?
18:36Tom takes a closer look
18:37at the great stone balls.
18:40They're typical
18:41of the kind of weapons
18:42used by Roman soldiers.
18:45Behind me
18:46is a store
18:47of 100 rounded stone balls.
18:50They might have been
18:50hurled by catapults,
18:51or they might have
18:52been hurled by hand.
18:55There are no ancient records
18:57of a hostile Roman takeover,
18:59but Tom thinks
19:00they were certainly
19:01ready for war.
19:02We know that the Romans
19:03were prepared
19:04for very serious resistance
19:05because they had
19:06assembled massive forces
19:08from three different provinces.
19:10Even so,
19:11Tom's not so sure
19:12that these missiles
19:13really are Roman.
19:15We know a lot
19:16about the Roman army.
19:18It was very standardized,
19:19and we have a massive
19:20amount of evidence
19:21from all corners
19:22of the empire.
19:23For the Nabataean army,
19:24in contrast,
19:25we know virtually nothing.
19:28Archaeologists think
19:29that most Nabataean soldiers
19:31probably fought
19:32either on foot
19:33with spears
19:34or as a cavalry
19:36and were expert archers.
19:39They built simple watchtowers
19:41to guard their city,
19:43carefully positioned
19:44to detect invaders early.
19:46By contrast,
19:48we know the Romans
19:49had advanced siege weapons,
19:51giant crossbows
19:52and catapults
19:53that could launch
19:54stone missiles
19:55over 1,000 feet.
19:56But before the Romans
19:58seized Petra,
20:00they and the Nabataeans
20:02sometimes fought side-by-side
20:04against common enemies.
20:06So could the Nabataeans
20:07have copied
20:08or stolen these weapons
20:09from Rome?
20:14Tom thinks
20:14that the missiles
20:15are Nabataean.
20:19The most likely scenario
20:21is that the Nabataeans
20:22stockpiled weapons here.
20:25The balls were found
20:26in what appears
20:27to be a destruction layer.
20:29It looks like
20:29some of the doorways
20:30have been blocked off,
20:31and that's quite surprising
20:34to find in this context
20:35because this is not
20:35a military building
20:36of any kind.
20:37We're in the center
20:38of the city.
20:40The discovery
20:41of these stone balls
20:42hints at a desperate
20:43last stand
20:44at the entrance
20:45to the great temple.
20:47Tom imagines
20:49the Nabataeans
20:49hurling them down
20:50onto the advancing
20:51Roman legionaries.
20:53The Romans were probably
20:55trying to come up the stairs
20:56under fire, presumably.
20:58But they had
20:59a so-called formation
21:01called a testudo,
21:02a tortoise,
21:02where they could interlock
21:03their oblong shields
21:04over their heads.
21:05That might have well
21:07deflected some of these
21:08balls that were hurled
21:09at them, or arrows as well.
21:14But the fighting
21:15seems to have spread
21:16beyond the great temple.
21:19More buildings
21:20along the main street
21:21also show scars
21:23of a violent takeover.
21:26The areas that are
21:28most defensible
21:28are the elevated structures
21:30above the streets.
21:31The Nabataeans
21:32might have fortified
21:33individual buildings
21:34within the city
21:35to try to hold out.
21:37And I think that
21:38the great temple
21:39is our best example
21:40of that so far.
21:43If there was
21:44such a savage fight
21:46in the streets of Petra,
21:47why did Roman writers
21:49ignore it?
21:50This was probably
21:51a fairly minor military affair
21:53from a Roman perspective.
21:55But from the Nabataean
21:57perspective, of course,
21:58this was a devastating blow.
22:01But in the end, of course,
22:02the eyes were just
22:03too great against them.
22:07Rome's military machine
22:08toppled Petra's rulers.
22:10But did the arrival
22:11of the empire
22:12also spell disaster
22:14for the Nabataean
22:15way of life?
22:18Archaeologists
22:19search for clues
22:20beneath a mysterious ruin
22:21at the top
22:22of a remote ridge.
22:26And can a crumbling
22:28ancient text
22:29at last reveal
22:31what happened
22:32to the people of Petra?
22:42Nearly 2,000 years ago,
22:44the Roman Empire
22:45took over Petra.
22:47What did Roman rule
22:49mean for the empire's
22:50newest citizens?
22:54Archaeologist Megan Perry
22:56investigates how
22:57the Nabataeans
22:58adjusted to life
22:59under foreign occupation.
23:02One of the big things
23:03we're trying to figure out
23:04is how much did Petra
23:05really change
23:06when Rome took it over?
23:07We really have no idea.
23:12Megan hunts for clues
23:14beneath a mysterious wall
23:16that runs along
23:17the city's north ridge.
23:23The wall is made
23:24from thousands
23:25of rough-hewn
23:25sandstone blocks
23:30and filled with rubble.
23:36Archaeologists
23:36have discovered
23:37the foundations
23:38were built
23:38when the Romans arrived.
23:41And it appears
23:42to run straight through
23:43a residential neighborhood.
23:47carving up
23:47ordinary Nabataean houses.
23:55So what does the wall's
23:57strange construction
24:00tell us about life
24:01in Roman Petra?
24:06Megan's first job
24:07is to try and work out
24:08who built this wall.
24:10She uses innovative
24:12laser scanning technology.
24:14The laser scanning
24:15shoots out a laser
24:17and it bounces back
24:19almost like a reflection.
24:21Her team has scanned
24:23this entire wall
24:24with extreme precision.
24:26One of the things
24:27that we can see
24:28is that the wall,
24:30it's kind of a hodgepodge
24:31of different types of stones
24:33that have been
24:34obviously borrowed
24:35from different locations
24:36on the site
24:36from other structures.
24:38So right here
24:38you can see
24:39how poorly built it is
24:40with this earlier
24:42house wall
24:43being incorporated
24:44into the city wall.
24:45And you can see here
24:47rather than cutting
24:48through this structure,
24:49it actually kind of
24:50incorporates this wall
24:52within the construction
24:53of the city wall itself.
24:55So it's sort of
24:55rather slothily built.
25:01Megan's intrigued
25:02by the way
25:03the wall is built.
25:07She takes a closer look
25:08at the ruins
25:09with her colleague
25:10Tom Parker.
25:13This thing butts up.
25:15It's possible
25:16that this is
25:17a ballista platform.
25:19Tom thinks
25:20the wall hides traces
25:21of Roman military technology.
25:24This could be the base
25:26for a fearsome weapon
25:27called a ballista.
25:29These were catapults
25:31that shot these bolts
25:32that the Roman army
25:33employed
25:34and they could be
25:35mounted on a platform
25:36here up against the wall
25:37to be aimed down
25:39into the wadi.
25:41Every legion,
25:42we're told,
25:42had 60 of these
25:43assigned to it
25:44and it was manned
25:45by a crew of three
25:46and it was essentially
25:47a large crossbow.
25:50Did the Roman army
25:51hastily build this wall
25:53to hold down
25:53a hostile population?
25:56This ridge really commands
25:57the whole center of Petra
25:59and so if you're going
26:00to install a military
26:01garrison here,
26:02this is the ideal spot.
26:05But once the garrison
26:07had settled in,
26:08how did it change
26:09this city?
26:12Megan suspects
26:13that most aspects
26:15of day-to-day life
26:16carried on as normal.
26:18This is a typical
26:19Roman cooking pot,
26:21very typical
26:22for anywhere
26:23around this region.
26:24And most of what
26:26we have here
26:26is the debris
26:27of just everyday
26:28domestic life.
26:30You know,
26:31people's broken
26:32cooking pots
26:33getting thrown
26:34into the dump.
26:36But the top of the ridge
26:38hides a shocking secret.
26:42It's dotted
26:43with simple tombs.
26:47In Petra,
26:48the living and the dead
26:49were side by side.
26:51These are the tombs
26:52of the ordinary
26:53Nabatean folks.
26:54The ones that would not
26:55have the money
26:56or the prestige
26:57to be buried
26:58in some of the facade
26:59chamber tombs
27:00that surround the city.
27:02Several generations
27:03could be buried
27:04in chambers like this.
27:06But Megan's discovered
27:07that the Nabateans
27:08suddenly stopped
27:09burying their dead here
27:11at around the same time
27:12that the wall was built
27:14and the Romans arrived.
27:16This is one of the
27:17clear pieces of evidence
27:19that we have
27:19of how the Roman
27:20annexation of Nabatea
27:22really affected
27:22the daily lives
27:23of its citizens.
27:25So why did Petra's
27:27new rulers
27:27stop the Nabateans
27:28living amongst the dead?
27:31Ending a practice
27:32that had existed
27:33for hundreds of years?
27:36The Romans have
27:38very strict rules
27:40about where the dead
27:41can be buried.
27:43They would have
27:44considered it
27:44very polluting
27:46and very odd.
27:47So they would
27:49definitely prohibit
27:50any kind of burial
27:52within the city wall.
27:56The Romans changed
27:58Nabatean civilization.
28:01But they also invested
28:02a huge amount of cash
28:04into the city.
28:07As the Roman Empire
28:09expanded across
28:10the Middle East,
28:11cities like Petra
28:13continued to flourish.
28:15But they started
28:16to look very different.
28:19At Petra,
28:20the Romans may have
28:21built the impressive
28:22street that runs
28:23through the center
28:24of the city,
28:25lined with massive columns.
28:30Next to the Great Temple,
28:31the Romans built
28:32public baths,
28:34the trademark
28:34of their civilization.
28:39Finally,
28:40the Romans built
28:40a triumphal arch
28:42over the entrance
28:42to the Sikh.
28:44The message to visitors
28:45was clear.
28:47Petra was still open
28:48for business,
28:48but Rome was here
28:50to stay.
28:53Petra and her people
28:54managed to adapt
28:55to life under Roman rule,
28:58and they continued
28:59to prosper
29:00as part of the empire.
29:01But for how long?
29:06Now,
29:07can new discoveries
29:08reveal the true glory
29:10of Petra's astonishing
29:11city center
29:12and the killer blow
29:14that brought it
29:15crashing down?
29:25Almost 2,000 years ago,
29:28Petra joined
29:28the Roman Empire,
29:30one of the richest
29:31and largest realms
29:32of the ancient world.
29:34But today,
29:36its tombs
29:36and temples
29:37are haunting ruins.
29:40So what happened
29:41to the mysterious
29:42Nabataeans
29:43who built this city?
29:46Archaeologist
29:46Leanne Badal
29:47thinks a clue
29:48lies beneath
29:49an artificial oasis
29:50that the Nabataeans
29:51created next
29:52to the Great Temple.
29:55We are looking
29:56across to the
29:57garden and pool complex.
29:59So imagine
29:59a grove
30:00of palm trees,
30:01a very shaded area
30:03with water
30:04in the background.
30:05After a journey
30:07through the desert,
30:08this kind of
30:08artificial oasis
30:10would be quite impressive
30:11to anybody
30:12visiting Petra.
30:16The Great Temple
30:18once stood proud
30:19in the center
30:20of the city.
30:24A glorious facade,
30:26five stories high,
30:27the largest freestanding
30:30building in Petra.
30:34It towered
30:36high above the city
30:37with an elaborate
30:38entrance of triple
30:39colonnades
30:40containing over
30:41100 columns.
30:43But the garden
30:44next to it
30:45was even more impressive.
30:48Excavations reveal
30:49the remains
30:50of a magnificent
30:51Olympic-sized pool.
30:53So what happened
30:54to it?
30:54And could it reveal
30:56why Petra
30:57came to an end?
31:00Leanne discovers
31:01how the technology
31:02that maintained
31:03this garden
31:04broke down.
31:08She thinks
31:09that this groove
31:09in the rock
31:10was once a chute
31:11or even a waterfall
31:12that supplied the pool
31:14with fresh water.
31:17But today,
31:18even her excavations
31:19are full of sand
31:20and silt
31:20that continues
31:21to build up.
31:24Everything here,
31:25all of this soil,
31:26is just filled
31:27this trench
31:28just since that,
31:29in the last couple
31:30of years.
31:31When we first
31:31started excavating
31:33in 2013,
31:33the silt
31:34was all the way up,
31:36about halfway up
31:37this cliff.
31:38You can see
31:38the white coloring,
31:40the change of the color
31:41of the sandstone.
31:42So all of this
31:43was a big slope
31:43of soil.
31:44And when we excavated,
31:46the trench went down
31:47another two or three meters.
31:51At some point,
31:52this pool was abandoned
31:53and left to fill
31:54with silt.
31:56Why?
31:59On the other side
32:00of the garden,
32:01Leanne spots the footprint
32:02of a devastating event.
32:06What we have here
32:07is the bedrock shelf
32:09for the promenade
32:10that went all the way
32:11around the pool.
32:12There must have been
32:13columns here.
32:14There must have been
32:14a nice colonnade.
32:15But there's nothing
32:16left of it.
32:17But we did find
32:18some fragments
32:19in the pool.
32:23Leanne thinks
32:24she knows
32:25what caused
32:25this damage.
32:28A massive earthquake
32:30that destroyed
32:31many grand buildings
32:32beyond repair
32:33in the year 363.
32:37These are some
32:38of the marble fragments
32:40that came out
32:40of the trench
32:41in the pool.
32:42And you can see
32:43they're just fragments.
32:44But some of them
32:45have a nice curved face
32:47which tell us
32:48that they were
32:49from a circular feature
32:50like a column.
32:52And you can see
32:53if you look at it wet
32:54the great color of it.
32:57And you can't really
32:59reuse pieces like this
33:00and make another column.
33:04So did this disaster
33:06send Petra
33:07into decline?
33:09Leanne has discovered
33:10something strange.
33:13The pool started
33:15to dry up
33:15almost 150 years
33:17before the earthquake hit.
33:20We know that it began
33:22that early
33:22because there is
33:24more than a half meter
33:25of soil
33:26with many animal bones
33:28and pottery sheards
33:29that covered
33:30the bottom of the pool
33:31before the earthquake.
33:35The debris tells Leanne
33:37that Petra's citizens
33:38were either unwilling
33:40or unable
33:40to look after this garden.
33:43They stopped
33:44maintaining the pool
33:45which tells us
33:47that even well before
33:49this earthquake
33:50that there was
33:51a decline in
33:52the status
33:54of this site
33:55the use of this site
33:56if they were
33:57no longer bothering
33:58to even clean out
33:59all of the dirt
34:01and the trash.
34:03So why was no one
34:05bothering to maintain
34:06this pool?
34:09Although the earthquake
34:10destroyed much
34:11of the city center
34:14Petra's troubles
34:15began 150 years earlier
34:17soon after the Romans
34:18arrived.
34:22New roads
34:23shifted the trade
34:24routes towards
34:25other cities
34:25in the empire
34:27meaning Petra
34:28was no longer
34:29the hub of commerce
34:30across the desert.
34:32The city started
34:33to dwindle.
34:36People continued
34:37to live here
34:38but many of its
34:39ancient palaces
34:40and temples
34:41were never rebuilt
34:44and the beautiful
34:45garden next
34:46to the great temple
34:47became a field
34:48used for growing crops.
34:54If the city itself
34:57is losing its status
34:59at the end
35:00of this Roman period
35:01and it's losing
35:02its kind of status
35:03and wealth
35:03that something like
35:04maintaining this
35:05big pool
35:06would have been
35:06a diversion
35:08of resources
35:09that perhaps
35:10just eventually
35:10became unnecessary
35:12or impossible.
35:15The loss of its
35:16trade routes
35:17hit Petra hard
35:18but was this
35:19the end
35:20for the Nabataeans
35:21and their great city?
35:24Now can an
35:25extraordinary
35:26ancient text
35:27discovered
35:28in a lost church
35:29reveal what happened
35:31to the people
35:31of Petra?
35:41500 years
35:42after Petra
35:44burst into life
35:45many of this
35:46city's ancient
35:47Nabataean tombs
35:48and temples
35:48lay in ruins.
35:51Falling trade
35:52had reduced parts
35:53of it to a ghost town.
35:56Shattered columns
35:57still lie
35:58exactly where they fell
35:59during a great earthquake.
36:04This should have been
36:05the beginning
36:06of the end
36:07for Petra
36:08but archaeologist
36:10Barbara Porter
36:11discovers how
36:12its citizens
36:12were more resilient
36:13than anyone
36:14ever imagined.
36:17She investigates
36:19an extraordinary
36:20archaeological treasure
36:21trove
36:21that reveals
36:23the rise
36:23of a new
36:24smaller city.
36:26In my mind
36:27these really
36:28have rewritten
36:28history of the
36:296th century Petra.
36:30These charred
36:32scrolls are called
36:33the Petra papyri.
36:35The faded writing
36:36on them
36:37is still visible
36:39thanks to a
36:40slow burning fire
36:41that preserved
36:42them as charcoal.
36:44This fire
36:45hadn't happened
36:46they would have
36:47been essentially
36:48as organic material
36:49rotted in the
36:50grounds of Petra.
36:52The papyri
36:53were discovered
36:54in one of Petra's
36:55churches.
36:57They're the archive
36:58of a local man
36:59called Theodorus.
37:02They give us
37:03a unique insight
37:04into how
37:04he and his friends
37:05had bounced back
37:06nearly 200 years
37:08after the earthquake.
37:11This first document
37:13has to do with
37:14actually Theodorus
37:14and his
37:15arrangements
37:17for family property
37:18and basically
37:19leading up to the fact
37:20that he will marry
37:20his first cousin
37:21Stephanus.
37:22These papyri
37:24reveal a new
37:25Christian city.
37:26Its people
37:27were still
37:28marrying
37:29and haggling
37:29over property
37:30and they kept
37:31alive
37:32Nabataean
37:32traditions.
37:33We know
37:34for example
37:35that Theodorus
37:36means lover of God
37:37in Greek
37:38but his father
37:39and grandfather
37:40were Obedianos
37:41which is Obedot
37:42a great Nabataean
37:44name
37:44great king.
37:45These people
37:46were still honoring
37:48their Nabataean
37:48forefathers.
37:50These records
37:52reveal that Petra
37:53was still far
37:54from poor
37:54so why did
37:56Theodorus
37:56and his fellow
37:57citizens
37:57leave their
37:58ancestral temples
37:59in ruins?
38:03Barbara visits
38:04where the papyri
38:05were found.
38:07I feel that this
38:08Petra church
38:09is very much
38:09a hidden treasure.
38:11She thinks
38:12that Petra's
38:13now Christian
38:13citizens
38:14chose not to
38:15rebuild temples
38:16that were dedicated
38:16to the old gods.
38:19What's interesting
38:20of course
38:20is that with
38:21the Temple of the
38:21Lions being so close
38:23and mostly being
38:24destroyed in the
38:24363 earthquake
38:25of course by the
38:26time they're building
38:27right nearby
38:27they've got the
38:28perfect source
38:29to rob out
38:30and reuse
38:31that ancient
38:32material from
38:32that Nabataean
38:33structure.
38:34All of the
38:35capital elements
38:36and even
38:36probably these
38:37columns
38:37probably came
38:38from there.
38:42Petra's citizens
38:43were still rich
38:44enough to cover
38:45the floor
38:45of their new
38:46church with
38:46exquisite
38:47mosaics.
38:49Some of these
38:50creatures they
38:51show are exotic
38:52others more
38:53down to earth.
38:55What we're
38:56looking at
38:56is a camel
38:57who's laying
38:58down with
38:59these huge
39:00big logs
39:01doesn't look
39:01very happy
39:02and you've
39:03got on either
39:03side
39:03although their
39:04heads are
39:05missing
39:05two camel
39:06herders
39:06who are
39:07obviously
39:07trying to
39:07drag him
39:08along.
39:09But Petra's
39:10Christian citizens
39:11didn't abandon
39:12their entire
39:13past.
39:14This mosaic
39:16portrays the
39:16four seasons
39:17as Roman
39:18gods and
39:18goddesses.
39:20The same
39:21ones who
39:21captured the
39:22imagination
39:22of the very
39:23first Nabataeans.
39:26Their actual
39:27faces may even
39:29be modeled
39:29on real
39:30people.
39:30Each one
39:32of these
39:32tells some
39:33story whether
39:34it's a pretty
39:34wonky looking
39:35fish to
39:36details of
39:37spring herself
39:38where here
39:39she is.
39:40She's identified
39:40by the Greek
39:41inscription above
39:42her head
39:42called
39:42Irene and
39:44she is in
39:45my mind
39:46simply gorgeous.
39:47She's got an
39:47emerald necklace.
39:48She's got
39:49bracelets.
39:50That's an
39:51elegant lady
39:52who's dressed
39:52to the lines
39:53wearing her
39:54jewelry and
39:55offering you
39:56a bowl of
39:57roses.
40:02archaeologists
40:03will continue
40:03to investigate
40:04the lives
40:05of Petra's
40:05ordinary citizens
40:06to discover
40:08exactly when
40:09they abandoned
40:09this smaller
40:10city.
40:11But what
40:12they have
40:12discovered so
40:13far is a
40:14remarkable people
40:15who adapted
40:16and survived
40:17for far longer
40:18than anyone
40:18thought.
40:20Even though
40:21that we've
40:21excavated a number
40:23of the most
40:23important monuments
40:24of Petra,
40:25there's actually
40:25still tons and
40:26tons to discover.
40:27it's really
40:28only through
40:29archaeology that
40:29we're beginning
40:30to get some
40:31insight into
40:32the daily lives
40:33of the actual
40:34Nabataeans,
40:35the real people
40:35who built
40:36the city.
40:37The Nabataeans
40:38had their own
40:38kings,
40:39their own
40:39coinage,
40:40their own
40:40laws,
40:40their own
40:41administration,
40:42and their own
40:43culture,
40:43and a quite
40:44brilliant one
40:45at that.
40:48The true
40:49history of Petra's
40:50extraordinary people
40:51is only now
40:52starting to be
40:53uncovered.
40:54The first
40:55Nabataeans
40:55transformed this
40:56rocky terrain
40:58into a
40:59magnificent city
41:00that still
41:02inspires awe
41:03in visitors
41:04today.
41:06Their ingenuity
41:07allowed them
41:08to build a
41:09man-made oasis
41:10on the edge
41:11of the desert.
41:13Petra's citizens
41:14had a remarkable
41:15ability to cope
41:16with whatever life
41:17threw at them
41:18while retaining
41:19their own
41:20unique heritage.
41:24Petra,
41:24the hidden city
41:26is at last
41:27giving up
41:28its secrets.
41:28its secrets.
41:29the hidden city
41:57is at last
41:58You
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