Petra ez Zantur II: Ergebnisse der Schweizerisch-Liechtensteinischen Ausgrabungen.

• Author: Joukowsky, Martha Sharp
• Position: Book Review

Petra ez Zantur II: Ergebnisse der Schweizerisch-Liechtensteinischen Ausgrabungen. By STEPHAN G. SCHMID and BERNHARD KOLB. Pt. 1: Die Feinkeramik der Nabataer; Pt. 2: Die spatantiken Wohnbauten. Terra Archaeologica, vol. 4. Mainz: VERLAG PHILIPP VON ZABERN, 2000. Pp. xvii + 311, plates, plans. DM 180.

One of the most exciting aspects of Petra archaeology in the recent decade has been research into not only the Nabataean period, but also into Late Antique and Byzantine Petra, illustrating the growing significance of the site as an important resource for the analysis of several historical periods, with a number of major sites being excavated. This impressive volume presents the results of years of research at one of the most important Nabataean sites in Petra, ez Zantur, situated on the southwest rocky peak overlooking the central Petra city basin. Under the auspices of the Jordanian Department of Antiquities, in 1988 a Swiss-Liechtenstein team from the University of Basle began systematic and scientific excavations at this site of villas under the direction of R. A. Stucky and later of Bernhard Kolb. The information presented in this volume is part of a larger ongoing study of the site.

After a brief introduction that includes the research history and problem formulation, the volume is divided into two large sections: part 1 by Stephan G. Schmid is devoted to Nabataean ceramics (fine wares), their typology, chronology, and cultural historical background, while part 2 by Bernhard Kolb is a discussion of the Late Antique residential buildings from ez Zantur and domestic architecture in Palestine from the fourth to sixth centuries C.E. Both authors are to be congratulated for having brought so much material and expertise together in a single volume.

The main purpose and greatest contribution of part 1 is the presentation of an excursus on Nabataean ceramics. Schmid's typology is based on the stratigraphy of ez Zantur set against datable objects such as lamps, coins, and Eastern terra sigillata A wares. His ceramic chronological divisions are divided into phases: Phase 1 (100 B.C.E.-50 B.C.E.) is comprised of shallow bowls with incurving rims, plates and outturned rims, and carelessly painted bowls with paired thick lines in pale red color. Phase 2a-c (50 B.C.E.-C.E. 20) is represented by very thin fine ware shallow bowls/plates with incurving and carinated rims, and hemispherical bowls with red painted simple floral motifs including grouped...