Nabataean Clay Lamps: An Analytical Study of Art and Myths 9781407314662, 9781407344102

Table of contents :
Front Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Contents
Dedication
Foreword
Introduction
I. Classification and Characteristics of the Nabataean Lamps
II. Every Day Life and Religious Beliefs
III. Stratigraphical Outlines
IV. Index of Provenances of The Studied Lamps
V. Bibliography and Abbreviations
VI. Index

Citation preview

________ Nabil I. Khairy received his PhD from London University in 1975. He is currently a Professor of Graeco-Roman Archaeology at the University of Jordan, Amman, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. He has established himself as one of the leading Classical archaeologists of the country in his time. He has received many international awards and is reputed as an excavator of the Nabataean metropole of Petra.

BAR S2788 2016  KHAIRY  NABATAEAN CLAY LAMPS

A new chapter on the material heritage of the Nabataean culture is opened in this book. The clay lamps are devices for artificial lighting which prove that vital life in this renowned proto-Arabic kingdom did not cease after sunset or in dark environments. The studied items shed light on the different cultural aspects of the Nabataean society, which had been in close contact with the contemporaneous world of the Mediterranean Sea and the Arabian Peninsula.

Nabataean Clay Lamps An Analytical Study of Art and Myths

Nabil Ibrahim Khairy

BAR International Series 2788 B A R

2016

Nabataean Clay Lamps An Analytical Study of Art and Myths

Nabil Ibrahim Khairy

BAR International Series 2788 2016

First Published in 2016 by British Archaeological Reports Ltd United Kingdom BAR International Series 2788 Nabataean Clay Lamps

© Nabil Ibrahim Khairy 2016 The Author’s moral rights under the 1988 UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, are hereby expressly asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be copied, reproduced, stored, sold, distributed, scanned, saved in any form of digital format or transmitted in any form digitally, without the written permission of the Publisher.

ISBN 9781407314662 paperback ISBN 9781407344102 e-format DOI https://doi.org/10.30861/9781407314662 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

All BAR titles are available from: British Archaeological Reports Ltd Oxford United Kingdom Phone +44 (0)1865 310431 Fax +44 (0)1865 316916 Email: [email protected] www.barpublishing.com

Contents Foreword Introduction

VII 1

I. Classification and Characteristics of the Nabataean Lamps Group I: The Well-Produced Lamps with Figurative Ornamentation Group I. A: Nabataean Lamps with Tight Sun-Rays on Broad Rim Group I. B: Lamps Decorated with Miscellaneous Deities and Other Figurative Subjects Group I. C: Lamps Decorated with Birds, Beasts, and Insects Group I. D: Pottery Lamps with Metal Prototypes Group I. E: Lamps Decorated with Floral Elements, Shells, and Torches Group I. F: Elaborated Lamps with Handles in the Form of “Human Heads” Group I. G: Lamps in the Form of a Sandaled Right Foot Group I. H: Miscellaneous Group II: Crude and Coarse Lamps Variant II. A: Crude Molded Lamps with Decorative Discus Variant II. B: Crude Hand-made Lamps with Plain Discus Group III: Lamps of the Late Roman Period Candlesticks

3 3 4 10 20 25 29 37 39 40 45 46 46 53 61

II. Every Day Life and Religious Beliefs: An Antiquarian and Art Historic Commentary on the Nabataean Lamps II. 1. Themes of Nabataean Every Day Life II. 1. 1. The Sandal Lamps II. 1. 2. Fisherman Catching a Fish II. 1. 3. Symplegmata II. 1. 4. The Cluster of Grapes II. 1. 5. The Olive Branches II. 1. 6. The Dove II. 1. 7. The Dolphin II. 1. 8. The Locust on the Grapes II. 1. 9. The Crescent II. 1. 10. The Scallop–Shell II. 1. 11. The Lion II. 1. 12. The Torches II. 1. 13. The Rosette II. 1. 14. Sun-Rays II. 1. 15. Masks II. 1. 16. Satyr-like or Mimic Dancer II. 1. 17. Sacrifice II. 1. 18. Peacock II. 2. Mythological Subjects II. 2. 1. Aphrodite Anadyomene II. 2. 2. Eros II. 2. 3. Tyche / Fortuna II. 2. 4. Heracles II. 2. 5. The Centaurs

63 63 63 65 66 69 69 70 74 76 77 78 79 82 82 84 84 86 88 90 92 92 93 95 96 99

III. Stratigraphical Outlines III. 1. The Chronological Phases III. 2. Table of Concordance

102 102 102

IV. Index of Provenances of The Studied Lamps

104

V. Bibliography and Abbreviations

105

VI. Index

115

To The People of Wadi Musa, the Direct Descendants of the Nabataean Heritage, with Admiration

Foreword The present book is the result of more than 10 years research by the author on the art and culture of the Nabataeans and Classical studies. This particular sphere of the ancient Arab world deserves augmented attention since it is not only strongly performed by influences from the Graeco-Roman realm, but it also proves to be a custody of local semitic traditions. For each citizen of the present Hashemite Kingdom Nabataean culture means a piece of patrimonial heritage, hence it is a vital element of his national and tribal identity. To dedicate an entire monograph to humble objects of artificial lightening does not merely pay tribute to the banal fact that public and private life at the Nabataean centre of Petra did not cease after sunset, but it focuses as well on an important medium of popular art. The sunken discs of the lamps, designed to funnel the oil through a small hole into the interior of the body, were an essential part for figural decoration. It is an aim of the present book to investigate, in how far the lamp pictures reflect temporarily fashions according to the Graeco-Roman blend and their significance for the Nabataeans. In many instances, the motifs have to be “translated” into the figural language of the Nabataeans in order to understand the purpose of a lamp. This, of course, anticipates that pictures were not choosen arbitrarily, but according to a specific desire by the user. A large number of the corpus was produced by excavations conducted by the author in the very center of Petra in 1981 as a part of the educational program of the University of Jordan, Amman. These lamps are mainly from the Jordanian Archaeological Museum, the Petra Museum and the University of Jordan Archaeological Museum. For this reason, the present book is not only a piece of scholarly research, but it is at the same time a vademecum for the interested scholar and student which allows to get in immediate contact to art. To publish the book in its present layout and content would have been impossible without the steady support, help and advice by various institutions and individuals. The Department of Antiquities of Jordan endorsed work in the field and on the objects. My deep gratitude is further addressed to the presidentship of the University of Jordan for granting a sabbatical leave in the academic year 2009–2010 which enabled me to successfully undertake research on the “Nabataean Clay Lamps: An Analytical Study of Art and Myth”. I have to express my indeptedness also to the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)

which financially supported my visits to the different academic institutions at Berlin. It is my aim to express my gratitude to R ICARDO EICHMANN, Director of the Oriental Department at the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) for affiliating me to benefits from the DAI rich libraries. Besides, I greatly appreciate the support by LAWRENCE T. GERATY, President of La Sierra University and Academic Advisor for the Governerate of California State, USA, who invited me to spend the 2003– 2004 academic year as a Visiting Professor at the Department of Religion, La Sierra University, to both run research and to teach some under and postgraduate courses. Further, I express my special thanks to ALAIN MCNAMARA, Executive Director of the FULBRIGHT Foundation in Amman for granting me the J. WILLIAM FULBRIGHT Award for the 2003–2004 term which was of substantial help to promote the present research and to visit well known academic institutions and universities in the USA. Thanks are due to PETER J. PARR, former head of the Department of Western Asiatic Archaeology at the London Institute of Archaeology, who frequently invited me to use all facilities available at his institute. He granted me the possibility to examine objects kept in the institute’s collection, especially those of Nabataean lamps from his excavations at Petra. THOMAS MARIA WEBER, a Visiting Professor and the Representative of the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD) at the University of Jordan, assisted me by providing constant moral and scientific support. I owe to him many hints to German, French and Greek bibliographical references, pictures for reproduction. I enclude into my thanks all colleagues and cooperators of the institute, especially to Mrs. NAWAL SA’ADEH, Secretary of the Dean’s office, Institute of Archaeology, Mrs. BASMA HAMOUDEH, Head of the Secretary Office of the Institute, and Mrs. MUNA SELAIHAT, Research Assistant of the Department of Tourism Guidance and Development, Institute of Archaeology, for all the administrative and technical support. Special gratitude is extended to Mr. MUNJED GHASIM, the draftsman of the Institute of Archaeology, and to Mr. MOHAMMAD ADI, the photographer of the Archaeological Museum of the University of Jordan. Both of them greatly contributed with ideas and practical work to the present volume. All my scholarly endeavors would have failed without the permanent loveful support on behalf of

VIII

Foreword

my family, especially by my wife Najwa, who was behind encouraging me to accomplish this research despite much of my time for my family life had to be spent behind the books. DR. NABIL I. KHAIRY Dean, Institute of Archaeology Professor of Classical Archaeology, University of Jordan, Amman, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Amman, in March 2015

T

Introduction

he geographical location of the Nabataean Kingdom represents the bridge which connects three ancient continents; Asia, Africa, and Europe. Hence, the Nabataeans never lived in cultural isolation. To the contrary, they absorbed many influences from the contemporaneous Graeco-Hellenistic-Roman cultures. Accordingly, they were culturally an open society in adopting foreign influences, these are directly reflected in the different aspects of their cultural performances, especially in the fields of rock-cut tombs, architecture, coinage, and other minor arts. Besides, they were inspired by the surrounding religions and adopted a lot from Mesopotamia, Egypt, Phoenicia, North-West Arabian Peninsula, and especially from the Graeco-Roman world (KHAIRY 1980a: pp. 85–92; 1983: p. 86). Depending on the intensive occurrence of the Nabataean inscriptions in almost every region of the Nabataean Kingdom, and specially their short inscribed formulae which are heavily attested in the Negev, Sinai, North-West Arabian Peninsula, and along the trade-routes which connect the Red Sea and

Geographical map of the Nabataean Empire in its largest extention, (after NEHMÉ – TALHI – VILLENEUVE 2010: p. 12 Fig. 1).

the Nile in Egypt, one could deduce very active trading activities during the actual duration of their monarchy, and even after the second decade of the 2nd century A.D. (KHAIRY 1980b: pp. 163–168). Furthermore, Nabataean inscriptions have been found also on the shores of Italy, at the important harbor of Puteoli, which may indicate that Nabataean merchants established a sanctuary at Puteoli to worship their native deities, thus shedding some light on the extent of the Nabataean commercial enterprise during the prosperous days of the Nabataean king Aretas IV (9 B.C.–40 A.D.) (CIS II, Nos. 157–158.; COOKE 1903: pp. 256–258). On the other hand, the Nabataean “egg-shell” painted pottery is heavily attested all over the Nabataean Kingdom during its zenith as well as long after. The decorated Nabataean pottery was also attested and frequently occurred as far as Qaryat al-Faw in the center of the Arabian Peninsula (AL-ANSARY 1982: 63, Nos. 2–6), and Failaka in the Arabian Gulf (HANNESTAD 1983: pp. 51–53) — all of which provides more information about the existence and extent of Nabataean commerce.

2

Introduction

Hence, it would be strange if the sophisticated Nabataean culture with its coinage, egg-shell painted ware, architectural and hydrological performances had not also mastered the skill to produce their own corpora of pottery lamps. Accordingly, it is essential to clearly place the border line between the typical Nabataean lamps and their cotemporaneous Roman counterparts, especially in view of the fact that the knowledge of the Nabataean lamps is particularly important; it provides us with information relevant to contemporary Nabataean daily life and religion. For dating purposes, we might even consider them as an essential cultural element for classical archaeologists who run excavations in the Nabataean sites. The rich variety and the differing forms of the Nabataean lamps in general do not always reflect a chronological development but rather demonstrate the craftsmanship of Nabataean potters. In producing these different forms they show their individual tastes and cultural backgrounds, not restricting themselves to a single shape or merely imitating the previous Graeco-Hellenistic lamps without introducing something new. Although they absorbed classical influences (C HARLESTON 1955: p. 38; HAMMOND 1973a: p. 89) they produced unexpected masterpieces, representing their own typical lamps which are not difficult to distinguish from the production of other lamps. Nabataean originality and, to some extent, the avoidance of imitation of the surrounding Hellenistic-Roman culture applies to some of the lamps studied, though it is very obvious that quite a good number of the Roman lamps discussed are orna-

mented with mythological scenes and other figurative ornamentations that have been frequently attested at Petra and other Nabataean sites (WALTERS 1914: p. XVII). Presumably, some of these scenes might be copied from Roman lamps by means of mould impressions, while adding at the same time some local oriental modifications (HAMMOND 1973a: p. 90). Four factures have been taken into consideration in classifying the different types of lamps studied: the form, ware, surface treatment, and technique of production. The form of the lamps studied tends to reflect the traditional ideas of the potters which usually changes gradually and is a better criterion than ware for chronological study. On the other hand, the colour of the ware does not depend solely on type of clay but also on firing. Therefore, this author concentrates mainly on form rather than in ware. However, if ware shows a possible relationship, special attention has been drawn to this factor. Every lamp has been drawn and photographed in scale 1:1. The illustrations in the figures and plates follow the sequence set out in the text. A thorough comparative study for each lamp has been carried out. The parallels come mainly from Nabataean sites but occasionally from other places in the Mediterranean and Graeco-Roman world. Such a study helps to shed light on the history of the Nabataean lamps, to figure out their geographical distribution, to draw the borderline between the typically Nabataean lamps and their non-Nabataean counterparts, and to deduce, if possible, the dating of the lamps studied.

The central city territory of Petra with the area of the Nabataean villa of ez-Zantur, the area excavated by the author,, the colonnaded street and the temple areas, in the background Umm al-Biyara and Djebel Haroun (Photo TH. M. WEBER).

I. Classification and Characteristics of the Nabataean Lamps Two main groups of Nabataean lamps occurred in Petra and the other Nabataean sites. They are the following: Group I: The Well-Produced Lamps with Figurative Ornamentation (Figs. 1–47)

General Characteristics :Mainly, the lamps of this group are considerably thin and of delicate ware. Both the upper and lower halves of each lamp are made by moulds. The two halves of each lamp were joined together while the clay was still moist. The surplus attachments around the joint of each lamp were pared-off with the help of a sharp tool and the orifice-filling was then pierced. The ware of this group of lamps is well-levigated and evenly fired. It usually includes some fine grits of different colours, and also has the mica that is the striking feature of the geology of the Petra district. They are comparatively less gritty than in the contemporary non-Nabataean kitchen ware, which suits the utilitarian nature of this product. The ware is also characterized by a considerable variety of colours. Though usually pinkish, they vary to brick red shades (C HARLESTON 1955: 37; CROWFOOT 1936: 17; KAHANE 1952: 177). Actually, the Nabataeans were very advanced in preparing the clay and in controlling the firing temperature according to the nature of the ware they wished to produce (HAMMOND 1973a: 68). The slip is usually similar in colour to the clay of the lamp. The majority of the slips vary from light red to pinkish-red and in a few cases of creamy colour. Two different types of slip can be noticed on the lamps of Group I; the “sinter engobe”(*) which is frequently attested on these lamps, and the applied slip which is less represented. The latter slip occasionally peeled off in places. Both types of slip are covering the entire external surfaces of the lamps in order to seal the porosity of the clay, and to beautify the general appearance of the lamps, while in a few cases such slip is restricted to the upper half of the lamp where some irregular streaks are still visible on the lower half. The shape of this group of lamps is mainly rounded with narrow rim and of comparatively biconical cross-section, with sunken discus, furnished with a broad medium-sized nozzle which is usually decorated with a spiral concave volute on each side.

Two incised concentric circles are separating the narrow rim of the lamp from its sunken discus, which mainly functions as a funnel to ease filling the lamp’s reservoir with oil. The majority of the lamps of this group are furnished with flattened bases marked-out with two incised concentric circles forming a degenerated ring base, to enable a proper standing balance. Such lamps are mainly handleless but in a few cases are furnished with bending-up modeled loop handles, surmounted by elaborate shapes, such as crescents and human heads. One or more tiny filling-holes are pierced in and around the center of the sunken discus, and sometimes, are carefully placed apart from the center in order not to disturb the artistic scenes presented on the discus. Concerning the decorative scenes occurring on the sunken discusses of the lamps of Group I, a thorough study has been made in order to compare them with their non-Nabataean comparable examples. Some decorative and figurative ornamentations which occur on the lamps studied are restricted to the Nabataean sites and consequently are not paralleled elsewhere. Such lamps occasionally carry some impressed Nabataean characters beneath their bases such as SLM, RAYT, and HNY (Figs. 3– 6), or an acclamation formula inscribed in Nabataean characters (Fig. 11.18) addressed by the potters to the public (K HAIRY 1984: 115–120). On the other hand, Nabataean artists who transferred some decorative scenes from the contemporaneous Roman lamps copied and cast their moulds from the Roman lamps and added at the same time some minor local artistic elements. Hence, such scenes do not directly reflect typical Roman artistic performances but are rather closely similar, and at the same time did not contradict the Nabataean cultural background and traditions. However, the artistic and figurative scenes occurring on the lamps studied includes miscellaneous deities; heroic legends; lions, eagles, doves, peacocks,

*“Sinter” refers to a state of clay fired above 600 c. but below the melting temperature of the clay “Engobe” is often half-way between a clay and a glaze in composition. Containing materials that are normally considered glaze materials. It fires, therefore, to a more vitreous state than the body it covers. However, since it does not fuse to a glassy state it cannot be called a glaze. Since it is composted of nonclay materials entirely, it cannot be called a slip. Therefore, “engobe” is the only suitable term that one can apply to such material.

4

I. Classifications and Characteristics

fishes, grasshoppers eating from clusters of grapes, fruit, rosettes, torches, shells, and wreaths of floral elements. Group I. A Nabataean Lamps with Tight Sun-Rays on Broad Rim (Nos. 1–6)

This group of lamps is restricted to the Nabataean sites and are never paralleled elsewhere. They consist of two main variants; the first one does not carry Nabataean characters on their bases (Nos. 1–2), while the other variant is furnished with such characters (Nos. 3–6). Besides, although both variants have the rounded reservoir and are very closely similar to each others, the lamps of the second variant are characterized by the following: (a) The upper half is more bulging and decorated with a tight ladder-like panel separating the broad rim from the sunken discus, (b) The two volutes are connected at the back of the nozzle, (c) There are two rosettes, each consisting of four circular petals placed on each side of the rim and a third rosette located at the rear of the rim and at the

same alignment as the nozzle, (d) The nozzle is carrying a decorative symbol which most probably represents a chalice-like with a hemispherical body and pedestal base. Description 1 Almost complete lamp except for a missing chip at the nozzle, from D.2.5 (Fig. 1). L. 7.9 cm.; W.5.4 cm.; H. 3.1 cm. Grey ware, evenly fired, very fine white calcite grits included, darker greyish slip on top and dripped irregularly on lower part of the body with some calcite encrustations in places. Rounded reservoir with flattened base which provides a proper standing balance. Top decorated with tight sun-rays like pronounced strokes which indicate the function of the lamp. Four small rosettes on rim, parted equally, and each consists of seven petals. Two incised concentric grooves separating the broad rim from the sunken discus. Internal one extends onto nozzle and around wick-hole (1.3 cm. diam.) forming sort of a trough, small filling-hole (0.8 cm. diam.) pierced in the center of the sunken discus . The upper

Fig. 1

Group I. A: Nos. 1-2

5

Fig. 2

and lower halves of the lamp are molded. Traces of paring-off the surplus attachments around the joint are visible.

2 Intact lamp from, D. 2–5, (Fig. 2) L. 8.3 cm. ; W. 5.7 cm. ; H. 3.3 cm. For description cf. lamp No. 1 except for the red– creamy ware, evenly fired, fine grits included, well-levigated. Traces of dark red slip on upper half with some streaks below in places; body fine to touch and comparatively affected by fire. Flat base marked by two shallow incised concentric grooves representing vestigial ring base, lamp made by well-defined and clean mould and consequently the decorative details on top of lamp is more pronounced than in lamp No. 1. 3 Incomplete lamp, broken and mended, small fragment of nozzle missing, from D. 2.6 (Fig. 3): L. 8.0 cm.; W. 5.6 cm.; H. 4.4 cm Light grey-greenish ware, well levigated and

evenly fired, affected by fire in places. Traces of dark pinkish slip on top with irregular streaks on lower half, partially peeled off. Rounded reservoir with broad rim and sunken discus, small filling-hole (0.8 cm. diam.) pierced in the center of discus, wick-hole (1.2 cm. diam.) affected by fire, two slightly concave sides around nozzle, marked-out with spiral volute, flat base furnished with two incised concentric grooves forming degenerated ring-like base. Upper half decorated in high relief with tight sun-like rays, and with two rosettes, each consists of four circular petals, and a third larger one of twelve petals located at the rear of the lamp. A ladder-like pattern is separating the broad rim from the sunken discus. Top of nozzle decorated with chalice-like of hemispherical body, and pedestal base. Four incised Nabataean characters located beneath base within the two incised concentric grooves. The transliteration is as follows: “RAYT”: which means: “I saw”.

4 Intact lamp, from D. 1.5 (Fig. 4): L. 8. 6 cm.; W. 6.1 cm.; H. 3.2 cm.

6

I. Classifications and Characteristics

Fig. 3

For description, cf. lamp No. 3 except for the creamy-buff ware, well-levigated and evenly fired, a few fine grits included, traces of brownish slip visible on top of lamp with some streaks dripped irregularly on the lower part of the lamp. Body encrusted in places, three similar rosettes as in lamp No. 3, and with fourth one of seven petals occurring between nozzle

and sunken discus. The Nabataean four characters: RAYT are also inscribed within the two concentric grooves below base. 5 Complete lamp except for chip at rim, from D. 2.9 (Fig. 5). L. 8.7 cm.; W. 6.8 cm.; H. 3.2 cm.

Group I. A: Nos. 3-4

Fig. 4

7

8

I. Classifications and Characteristics

Fig. 5

For description, cf. lamps Nos. 3–4 except for the creamy ware, well-levigated and evenly fired. Brownish slip on upper half and dripped irregularly below. Body encrusted and stained. The same four Nabataean characters as on lamps Nos. 3–4 are in-

scribed below base. 6 Intact lamp, from D. 1.5 (Fig. 6): L. 8.7 cm.; W. 6. 1 cm.; H. 3.2 cm. For description, cf. lamps Nos. 3–5, except for the creamy-buff ware, very fine grits included, evenly

9

Group I. A: Nos. 5-6

fired. Traces of brownish slip on top, dripped irregularly below. Upper half closely similar in decorations to those of lamps Nos. 3–5 except for the occurrence of three similar rosettes, each consisting of four circular petals. Base inscribed with the following three Nabataean characters: “HNY” which means

“pleasure”.

Parallel Examples:

The Nabataean sites provide us with the typical parallels to the lamps of the first variant of Group I.A (Nos. 1–2) such as the lamps which were

Fig. 6

10

I. Classifications and Characteristics

published by HAMMOND 1973b: p. 33, Nos. 93–95, illustrated on page 47 and dated “before the middle of the first century A.D.”; HERES 1969 : p. 175, Pl. 18. 175 which is very similar in shape and decoration but more crude “Roman period”; NEGEV 1974: p. 28, Pl. 17.87 from the potter’s workshop at Oboda, dated “before A.D. 50”; ROSENTHAL – SIVAN 1978: p. 97, No. 394 which is identified as Nabataean and dated “first century A.D.”; and BAILEY 1988: pp. 276–278, Q2280, “a very common Nabataean type, first century A.D.” For No. 3 see also a lamp in Paris, private property: J. STARCKY,in: Königsweg:p.249 no. 247. An intensive study has been made to figure-out dated and undated typical parallels to the second variant of the lamps of Group I.A (Nos. 3–6). As a result of this survey parallels have been found in the following works: DALMAN 1912: pp. 26–27, Fig. 15b (No. 871 a) which was found in Petra “undated” ; MURRAY – ELLIS 1940: p. 26, pl. xxxvi. 15, identified as “Nabataean”.; HORSFIELD – CONWAY 1942: pp.. 122, 195, pls. Xl. 42–43 and XLIV. 415–18 respectively, from al-Katuteh dump in Petra, identified as “Nabataean, first century A.D.”; CLEVELAND 1960: pp. 71–72, Pl. 18A which was found in the “CONWAY High Place” in Petra and classified as “Nabataean” ; SCHMITT-KORTE 1968: p. 514, Abb. 11. 42, “Nabataean”; 1970: p. 100, Abb. 32. 3, “Nabataean”; KURDI 1972: pp. 85–87, Pl. II. 2–4, Fig. 1, from the Nabataean tomb at Sadagah and dated to “the first century A.D.”; HAMMOND 1973b: pp. 33–34, 36, Nos. 94–96, pp. 129–132, bought by HAMMOND in Petra and idenified as “purely Nabataean”; NEGEV 1974: pp. 28–29, Pl. 17. 87–89, from the Nabataean Potter’s Workshop at Oboda, and classified as “Nabataean, first century A.D.” ROSENTHAL – SIVAN 1978: p. 97, No. 394, “Nabataean”; ZAYADINE 1982: p. 369, Fig. 4.10, “Nabataean, first half of first century A.D.”; HÜBINGER 1993: p. 55, Taf. 11. 93, “Nabataean, first century A.D.”; and GRAWEHR 2006: pp. 298–303, from ez-Zantur excavation in Petra, “early Roman period”.

Conclusion:

According to the stratigraphy of the 1981 Petra Excavations, a date from the twenty-seventh year of Aretas IV’s reign to the end of the reign of Malichus II (40–70 A.D.) is attributed to lamps Nos. 1–6. Besides, the references quoted above make it sufficiently clear that the lamps of Group I (Nos. 1– 6) are restricted to the Nabataean sites and never paralleled elsewhere during the first century A.D. Hence, one might add this group of lamps to the list of the uniquely Nabataean pottery production.

Group I. B: Lamps Decorated with Miscellaneous Deities and Other Figurative Subjects (Nos. 7–17).

The general characteristics of the lamps of group I.B (Nos. 7–17) are the following: Rounded reservoir with flattened base, narrow and tight rim which is incised by two or three concentric circles, sunken discus which is furnished with elaborate figurative scenes in high relief. This group of lamps has either a broad triangular nozzle (Nos. 7–14), or rounded nozzle (Nos. 15–16). Each nozzle is surrounded on each side by spiral volute. No handles are furnished with this group of lamps. Actually, lamps of Group I.B with their decorative scenes were mainly copied and casted by the Nabataeans from the contemporary Roman lamps without any cultural contradiction. Presumably, there was no objection among the Nabataeans to use and deal with such groups of lamps which carry a lot of the Graeco-Roman cultural aspects and which were directly reflected in the sunken discus of this group of lamps. Besides, the Nabataeans absorbed and adjusted such foreign cultural elements to nicely match and fit with their environment, society, and religion. On the other hand, it is obvious that the lamps of Group I.B were made in Petra and nearby Nabataean sites, since the ware of these lamps is local and has some mica which is a well-known geological feature of the Petra region. Only three lamps from Group I.B were discovered in the well-dated stratigraphy of the 1981 Petra Excavations (K HAIRY 1990). They are lamps Nos. 7, 12–13 from Phases I.a and I.b which are dated by Nabataean coins to the reign of Aretas IV (9 B.C.–40 A.D.). This group of lamps (Nos. 7–17) can be chronologically classified into two main types. The first type is furnished with a broad triangular nozzle (Nos. 7– 14). These lamps correspond to BRONEER’S Type XXII (BRONEER 1930: pp. 76–78) which is dated to the “first century A.D.”; and to LOESCHCKE’S Type I (LOESCHCKE 1919: 212–220) which is dated to the reign of Augustus (23 B.C.–14 A.D.), and Tiberius (14–37 A.D.). The second type of the lamps of Group I.B (Nos. 15–16) has the same shape as the lamps of the first type except that they have rounded nozzles. The latter type is attributed to BRONEER’S Type XXIII (BRONEER 1930: 78–79) and to LOESCHCKE’S Type IV (LOESCHCKE 1919: 225–228) which are dated to the late first–early second centuries A.D.

11

Group I. B: Nos. 7-9

Description:

7 Almost one-third of lamp only, from D.2.9 (Fig. 7). Ex. L. 9.6 cm.; Exp. W. 6.8 cm.; H. 2.8 cm. Light grey ware, evenly fired, fine limestone grits included, with encrustation in places. Dark brownish slip on top and dripped irregularly on lower half, partially peeled off. Rounded body with sunken discus and narrow rim incised by two concentric circular grooves, flattened base. The name FAVSTI is impressed beneath the base. Depending on the typical intact lamp which carries No. 1927. 7–12.1 of the British Museum, we

are able to reconstruct the figurative scene shown on such lamps and to describe it as follows: Two men sacrificing a goat-like figure on an altar. The man on the right is holding the right hind leg of the goat which is in an upside down position, while the man on the left side extends his right hand and bends over the goat. Each is wearing a short chiton. This scene could represent a ‘Divination’ from the entrails of a goat or merely slaying a goat as an offering or some kind of dedication. The inscribed name FAVSTVS is a well-known lamp producer in almost every European province of the Roman Empire; such a name is attested frequently on many lamps uncovered in different sites in Europe. (ALICU and NEMES 1977:

Fig. 7

p. 15, Pls. XXII. 4 and LIII. 4 and dated to “the beginning of the second century A.D.”) 8 Complete lamp, broken and mended (Fig. 8) : L. 10.3 cm.; W. 7.3 cm.; H. 3.0 cm. Light pinkish ware, evenly fired, fine calcite grits included, darker pinkish slip on top with some streaks below, traces of removing the coarse attachments at joint are visible. Rounded body, narrow rim with sunken discus, two incised concentric circles on rim, broad patulated nozzle with spiral concave volute on each side, flattened base. Sooted wick–hole (0.3 cm. diam.) pierced without disturbing the figurative scene on the discus. Discus decorated in high relief with naked

male dancer; Satyr-like or mimic dancer in a rightward position, raising his two hands over his head with two small castanets or symbols of shells, hard wood, or metal fastened to the thumb and forefinger to click them in time to match his body movement. A nebris is hanging over his shoulder and around his neck. 9 Intact lamp (Fig. 9): L. 9.0 cm.; W. 6.3 cm. ; H. 3.2 cm. Red-pinkish ware, evenly fired, well levigated except for few fine grits included, thin light brownish slip on upper half and some irregular patches of same slip visible on lower half, coarse attachments at joints

12

I. Classifications and Characteristics

Fig. 8

pared-off, some calcite encrustations in places. Rounded reservoir with sunken discus and narrow rim, three concentric grooves on top of rim, flattened base, triangular broad nozzle with concave sides decorated with degenerated volute on each side, large wick-hole (1.6 cm. diam.) with small filling-hole (0.4 cm. diam.) pierced below the decorative scene. Discus carries in high relief, Eros or Harpocrates, seated to the right on a lion–skin under a fruitful and leafy palm tree arched over his head, and bending as a result of the heavy load of the bunches of dates, bamboo basket in front on a bench-like table, his left hand at mouth while the right hand rests on the bench in

front of him. Eros has no visible wing-arms.

10 Incomplete lamp, some fragments missing (Fig. 10): L. 8.9 cm; W. 6.5 cm.; H. 3.1 cm. Red-pinkish ware, well-levigated, few fine calcite grits included, light grey core, body comparatively smooth to touch , light brownish slip applied on top with some streaks below, slip peeled off in places, knife-paring visible around nozzle. Rounded body with sunken discus and tiny rim, two concentric incised grooves on top of rim,

Group I. B: Nos. 8-9

flattened base, broad patulate and triangular nozzle with large wick-hole (1.4 cm. diam.) and small pierced filling-hole (0.6 cm. diam.). Winged Fortuna in high relief appears on the sunken discus, standing leftward wearing a cone–like cap and long chiton, with her left

13

arm holding two cornucopiae and her right arm in gesture of benediction with fingers apart. The raised right hand with an open palm symbolizes the bestowal of blessings, happiness, prosperity of success upon her worshippers and believers, which reminds

Fig. 9

one of the terracotta figurines of Atargatis uncovered in Petra and other Nabataean sites. 11 Almost two-thirds of a lamp (Fig. 11): Ex. L. 5.3 cm.; W. 7.1 cm.; H. 3.0 cm. Pinkish-red ware, well-levigated and smooth to touch, evenly fired, traces of thin brownish slip on top. Rounded body with small rounded nozzle, narrow rim with sunken discus, two incised concentric grooves on top of rim, flattened base. Aphrodite Anadyomene in relief is shown on the sunken discus of this lamp representing three naked figures in a frontal position; Aphrodite in the middle with Eros standing on each side of her. She is raising her two arms, holding her hair as to show her real beauty, while each of the winged Erotes is holding aside a floral wreath as the symbol of love and dedication for the lovers’ firm and everlasting unity. Such representation was a popular legend among the Nabata-

eans since this subject is frequently attested specially on some of the lamps discovered in Petra, cf. lamp No. 12 which is dated to the first and early second centuries A.D. Such a subject indicates that the Nabataeans were directly linked with the main current of the Roman Imperial artistic activity, before and during the Trajanic period. Many copies and adaptations of the above-mentioned of mythological subject were made throughout the Hellenistic and Roman periods with varying degrees of merit. 12 Almost one-third of lamp only, from D. 2.9 (Fig. 12) Approx. L 9.1 cm; W 6.9 cm; H 2.9 cm. Grey ware, well levigated and evenly fired, top affected by fire, Rounded body with sunken discus and narrow rim, incised by two concentric grooves, flattened base.

14

I. Classifications and Characteristics

Fig. 10

Fig. 11

Group I. B: Nos. 10-14

15

Fig. 12

Depending on BAILEY (1965: pp. 66–67, Pl. 11, nos. 228–229), one can have a clear idea about a complete reconstruction of such a pictorial scene. Eros is serving his sentence in a Nabataean copper-mine, probably at “Wadi Arabah.” The Nabataeans adopted Hellenistic-Roman representations of the winged Eros but with stiffness in the feathers. According to Greek mythology Eros is the god of love and the youngest among the Greek gods. His father Zeus armed him with gold wings (AMES 1963:p. 68–69). Eros appears in captivity, wearing leg-shackles, working with a pickaxe and basket. This subject is confirmed by Greek mythology which relates that Eros was a beautiful boy, thoughtless, rebellious, and capricious, whom Aphrodite sometimes had to punish by taking away his wings (Khairy 1986a: 106– 107). 13 Incomplete lamp, broken and mended, from D.2.11 (Fig. 13):

L. 9.4 cm.; W. 6.3cm.; H. 3.1 cm. Light red ware, with dark grey core, comparatively gritty with thin red-pinkish slip on top, dripped in irregular streaks on the lower half, joints of the lamp pared off with the help of sharp tool-like knife. Rounded body with sunken discus, two incised concentric circles on narrow rim, flat base surrounded by groove with impressed planta pedis in center, triangular broad nozzle with spiral volute on each side, wick-hole affected by fire (1.2 cm. diam.) and pierced filling-hole (0.7 cm. diam.) placed far from center of discus in order to avoid damaging the erotic scene which is presented on the discus. 14 Incomplete lamp, nozzle missing (Fig. 14) L. 8.9 cm.; W. 7.0 cm.; H. 2.9 cm. Light brownish ware, well-levigated with few fine grits included, evenly fired, thin dark brownish slip on top with some streaks below, slip partially peeled off, knife-paring at joints of lamp. For body description

16

I. Classifications and Characteristics

Fig. 13

Fig. 14

Group I. B: Nos. 13-15

17

Fig. 14 cf. lamps Nos. 9–10. Erotic scene is in a higher relief than in lamp No. 13. 15 Incomplete lamp, the lower part of the nozzle is missing (Fig. 15): L. 9.3 cm.; W. 6.5 cm.; H. 2.6 cm. Creamy ware, well levigated and smooth to touch, evenly fired, Red-pinkish slip on top with some streaks below. Rounded body with elongated nozzle

and rounded frontal edge, each side of nozzle is decorated with a spiral semi-volute, sunken discus surrounded with narrow rim, two incised concentric grooves on top of rim. Wick-hole (1.5 cm. diam.) and filling-hole (0.6 cm. diam.). Discus decorated with the winged Eros moving to the left with a nude body holding wreath, and with nebris around shoulder and falling in front of his body.

Fig. 15

18

I. Classifications and Characteristics

Eros is standing in a boat-like object with a bow and two arrows behind. 16 Intact lamp (Fig. 16): L. 10. 2 cm.; W. 7.1 cm.; H. 2.6 cm. Red–pinkish ware, well-levigated and smooth to touch, evenly fired, light brownish slip on top and with some streaks below. For body description, cf. lamp No.15. Discus decorated in high relief with Heracles’ naked body looking to right, nearly in back view with his right

hand outstretched, holding lantern with nebris hanging over his left shoulder. 17 One-third of lamp only (Fig. 17): Approx. L 8.9 cm; W 6.8 cm; H 2.8 cm. Light grey ware, slightly gritty, evenly fired, body comparatively warped and stained, darker grayish slip on top, dripped irregularly below, streaks and patches of slip can also be noticed on internal surfaces. Discus decorated in high relief with draped male-

Fig. 16

figure facing rightward and holding a net-like object for fishing. Parallel Examples:

Lamp No. 7 can be compared to WALTERS 1914: p.78 –79, Fig. 98, Nos. 522–523, “undated.” A similar example was bought at Petra in 1929 and published by HORSFIELD – CONWAY (1942: pp. 195–196, Pl. XLIV. 421). The latter parallel is furnished with an impressed potter’s name on bottom: FAVSTI whereupon HORSFIELD deduces that this lamp was imported from Egypt because of the occurrence of the same name on the base of a lamp from

Damanhur. The same name also appears on a lamp from Samaria (CROWFOOT et.al., 1957: p. 371, Fig. 88.1). CROWFOOT states that “Faustus known to have worked at Cincelli with the name FAVSTI which are exhibited in the Victoria and Albert Museum, and published by BAILEY (1965: pp. 66–67, Pl. 11. 228– 229). The Nabataean potters workshop at Oboda provides us with two other lamps carrying the same potter’s name; they are published by NEGEV (1974: p. 25, Pl. 15. 64). A similar example came from Cyprus (ÖZIOL 1977: p. 99, Pl. 13. 230, “first century A.D.”) An intact typical parallel was found at Petra and exhibited in the British Museum with the registration number 1927.

Group I. B: Nos. 16-17

19

Fig. 17 7–12.1. This lamp is dated “to the first half of the first century A.D.” ZAYADINE (1982: p. 392, Fig. 15. 134) published a similar example from Petra dated “to the end of the first century A.D.” Lamp No. 8 finds similar parallels in ROSENTHAL – SIVAN (1978: p. 33, No. 117) from the SCHLOESSINGER collection, and has a typical decorative scene which is identified as a “dancing Satyr” but with minor shape differences. The authors conclude that this type of lamp “appears to have been produced of Eastern workshops”; BRANTS (1913: p. 30, Pl. IV. 269) provides us with a similar parallel, dated to the “first century A.D.” and LEIBUNDGUT offers another parallel (LEIBUNDGUT 1977:p. 138, Taf. 24. 19), “undated.” Lamp No. 9 with its body characteristics and with its decorative scene, is of a type well-documented at different sites and is exemplified by similar types in GAYET 1904: p. 47 “undated”; PETRIE (1905, Pl. LIII. C22) provides us with a similar parallel which occurred in the University College, London, Ivn. No. UC 8751 “undated”; WALTERS 1914: p. 81, Fig. 102, No. 533 “undated”; LOESCHCKE 1919, Type VIII “early Roman”; ÖZIOL 1977: pp. 237–238, Pl. 39. 361 “middle of the second century A.D.”; BAILEY 1980: p. 115, 221, Pl. 54. 463. The latter parallel is different in shape, but with a similar decorative scene; HELLMANN 1987: 22, Pl. VII. 69, “Nabataean”; and BAILEY 1988: p. 877, Pl. 57. Q. 2281, “first half of the first century A.D.” Comparable examples for lamp No. 10 would seem to be WALTERS 1914: p. 72, Fig. 89, No. 486 “Roman”; and HORSFIELD – CONWAY 1942: pp. 150– 151, Pl. XXV. 186. They attributed their example to BRONEER Type XXII, and classify it as “Nabataean, first century B.C.–A.D.” Lamp No. 11 has fairly closely related parallels in WALTERS 1914: 167, Fig. 234, No. 1110 representing the three capitoline deities, Athena, Zeus, and Hera; STILLWELL 1941: p. 80, fig . 87. No. 32 from Antioch “early Roman”; HERES 1972: p. 250, Pl. 30. Nos. 250– 251, “undated”; BESTERMAN 1972: pp. 1–12, Pl. 42, “Roman”; SHIER 1978: p. 117, Pl. 36. 315, “mid. 1st to mid 2nd A.D.”; ROSENTHAL – SIVAN 1978: p. 89, No.

367 which represents three gods; ROSENTHAL– HE1981: p. 89, Taf. II “undated”; BAILEY 1988: pp. 9–10, Fig. 13. Q 2301 which represents the three gods Dionysos, Pan, and Satyr; ÖZIOL 1977, No. 562 from Cyprus, “first century A.D.’; HÜBINGER 1993: p. 141, 227, Taf. 29. 277 from Egypt; and BAILEY 1996: p. 130, PL. 170. Q. 1918, “first century A.D.” Lamp No. 12, which is decorated with Eros in captivity has typical parallels in HORSFIELD – CONWAY 1942: p. 123, Pl. XI. 49, “first century A.D.”; ROSENTHAL – SIVAN 1978: p. 34, No. 124, “possibly Nabataean”; GRAWEHR 2006: p. 288, No. 79 which represents a small fragment showing the lower part of Eros, from ez-Zantur excavations; and BARRETT 2008: pp. 82–83, Fig. 4. 20, from Petra, “undated”. Lamps Nos. 13–14 are frequently attested in the literature and are exemplified in HORSFIELD – CONWAY 1942: p. 196, Pl. XLV. 424a and b; LOESCHCKE 1919: p. 395, Pl. VIII.406. 412, “Roman”; DENEAUVE 1969: p. 116, Pl. XXXIX. 336–337, L. 483, “early first century A.D.”; MENZEL 1969: p. 42, Fig.33.14, “early Roman”; SZENTLELEKY 1969: p. 54, 67–68, 81, Nos. 49, 70, 75–76, 109, respectively. The latter examples are classified as “Roman Imperial Lamps.” See also ÖZIOL 1977: p. 100, Pl. 14. 231–235, “middle of the first century A.D.”; HAMMOND 1973b: p. 37, Nos. 149 –152, “Probably first century A.D.”; ZAYADINE 1982: p. 392, Fig. 15. 169, “Probably the end of the first century A.D.”; BAILEY 1980: p. 142, Pl. 4. Q 800, “40– 80 A.D.”; ibid, p. 148, Pl. 7. Q 828, “first third of the first century A.D.”; ibid., p. 165, Pl. 13. Q 880, “40–75 A.D.”; Ibid., p. 174, Pl. 16 Q 922, “30–70 A.D.”; GRAWEHR 2006: p. 287, No. 70 from Ez-Zantur excavations in Petra, “1st century .D.”; and BARRETT 2008: pp. 83–84, Fig. 4. 21, “Roman sym-plegma lamps were common in the first century A.D.” ibid., p. 83, The form of lamp No. 15 with its rounded nozzle is very common during the second half of first century and continued in the second century A.D. (ROSENTHAL – SIVAN 1978: p. 28, Nos. 85–88, 77). The latter five parallels are furnished with different figurative scenes. Lamp No. 16 has fairly close related parallels in GINBOTTOM

20

I. Classifications and Characteristics

BRANTS 1913: p. 20, Pl. III. 269, “early Roman”; FARKA 1977: p. 137, P. 11. 119, “undated”. Petra offers typical parallels in HORSFIELD – CONWAY 1942: p.196, Pl. XLV. 425, “early 1st cent. A.D.”; and HAMMOND 1973b: p. 37, No. 150, “first century A.D.” Petra provides us with typical parallels for lamp No. 17 in HORSFIELD – CONWAY 1942: p. 122, Pl. XL. 47, “import (?) from Alexandria”; and GRAWEHR 2006: p. 220, No. 104 from ez-Zantur excavations in Petra, “Nabataean”. Conclusion

The lamps of Group I.B with its two variants (Nos. 7–17) are generally of the same characteristic shape: a rounded body, handleless, narrow rim incised with concentric circles, and decorated sunken discus in a high relief. The only difference is the nozzle since the lamps of the first variant (Nos. 7–14) have a broad triangular nozzle with double spiral volutes which could be attributed to BRONEER’S Type XXLL, “first century A.D.”, while the lamps of the second variant (Nos. 15–16) have comparatively an elongated nozzle with rounded ending and a pseudo-volute on each side. Such volutes are mainly placed from the middle of the nozzle to the lamp’s rim. The latter variant corresponds to BRONEER Type XXIII, “around the turn of the late first – early second centuries A.D.”. Generally, such a date does not contradict the quoted dates of the above-mentioned parallels. Besides, the lamps of Group I.B were made in Petra since their ware came from the Petra region. One could also deduce from the abovementioned parallels that the decorative scenes of lamps Nos. 13–14, 16 are not restricted to the Nabataean sites but are frequently attested in many sites of the Roman world; the Nabataeans’ local traditions had no objection to absorbing and using them, while the other popular pictorial scenes appear on lamps Nos. 7, 9–12, 17 are mainly restricted to the Nabataean sites and carry direct oriental scenic environmental and cultural features – such as Eros and the fruitful palm tree on lamp No. 9. The female with raised arm on lamp No. 10 represents a well-known and very common subject which is heavily attested in both the Nabataean coins of Aretas IV and in the terracotta figurines (KHAIRY 1990: 146–147, Pl. 12. 1–2 a and b; Pl. 13.6). The decorative scenes shown on lamps Nos. 11–12 have a direct connection with Aphrodite, and the punishment of Eros who is serving his sentence in a Nabataean copper-mine like Wadi Arabah.

Group I. C: Lamps Decorated with Birds, Beasts, and Insects (Nos. 18–22)

This group of lamps are of the same ware, shape, surface treatment, and production technique of the lamps of Group I.B, except that they have miscellaneous different artistic scenes appearing on their sunken discuses. Actually, such lamps were locally made in Petra and the other Nabataean sites. On the other hand, the pictorial scenes and ornamentation which are presented on the discuses of the lamps of Group I.C directly reflect their local regions, wilderness, scenic features, and environment. Hence, the Nabataean artists either absorbed such artistic elements and subjects from the contemporaneous Roman Imperial lamps, or indirectly reflected the surrounding nature and environment on such artistic productions. Besides, lamp No. 18 is furnished with an acclamation formula incised in formal Nabataean characters of the early first century A.D. on its lower half, addressed by the potter to the lamp’s users. The transliteration is “slm qwak” which means: “May God provide you with strength/power.” This is a solid indication of support for the pure Nabataean identity of such lamp production. Description

18. Intact lamp (Fig. 18) L. 9.3 cm.; W. 6.3 cm.; H. 2.7 cm. Grey ware, well-levigated, no visible porosity, thin dark grey slip on top with some streaks below, body shiny and smooth to the touch. Rounded body with narrow rim and sunken discus. Three incised concentric circles on top of rim, rounded nozzle with spiral volute on each side, flattened base. Diameter of wick-hole is 1.2 cm. diam.,and the filling-hole is 0.3 cm. diam. Discus decorated with a dove to the right with spread wings. Traces of nearly defaced incised Nabataean characters at center of base. Right side of the lower half of the lamp is also furnished with incised Nabataean characters with the following transliteration “slm qwak”. The word “slm” is inscribed in monogram style. 19. Incomplete lamp, some body sherds missing (Fig. 19). L. 9.0 cm.; W. 6.3 cm.; H. 2.6 cm.

Group I. C: Nos. 18-22

21

Fig. 18

Creamy ware, almost well-levigated, smooth to the touch, evenly fired, traces of pinkish slip, partially peeled-off. Rounded body with plain rounded nozzle, rim is broader than in the lamps of Groups I. B, two incised concentric grooves around a sunken discus, flattened base. Discus decorated with male peacock displayed on thunderbolt, has erect tail-covering enormously elongated; such a bird was especially sacred to Mercury, the God of merchants. Head turned to the left, while the rest of the body is in frontal position. 20. Intact lamp (Fig. 20) L. 9.4 cm.; W. 7.0 cm.; H. 2.5 cm. Pinkish-red ware, fine white limestone grits included, body comparatively smooth to the touch, traces of brownish slip in places, evenly fired. Rounded body with sunken discus, two incised concentric circles on narrow rim, rounded nozzle with semi-volute on each side, flattened base. On sunken

discus a lion jumping to the right, while hind right leg still pressed upon straight floor, in attacking position. 21. Complete lamp except for chip at nozzle (Fig. 21): L. 10.6 cm.; W. 7.6 cm.; H. 2.8 cm. Pinkish ware, comparatively gritty and coarse with light brownish slip on top, dripped irregularly in streaks below. For body description cf. lamps Nos. 8–10. The lion representation is also as in lamp No. 20 except for both head and body are in profile position, along with the lack of a solid floor beneath the lion. 22. Complete body except for chip at rim (Fig. 22) L. 9.3 cm.; W. 6.8 cm.; H. 2.8 cm. Red-pinkish ware, well-levigated, comparatively fine to the touch, evenly fired, light brownish slip on top, dripped irregularly below. For body description cf. lamp No. 21. On discus a locust to the left in high

22

I. Classifications and Characteristics

Fig. 19

Group I. C: Nos. 19-22

Fig. 20

Fig. 21

23

24

I. Classifications and Characteristics

Fig. 22

relief, eating a bunch of grapes, appearing with powerful hind legs adapted for leaping. Parallel Examples

Lamps Nos. 18 and 20 with their semi-volutes around the rounded nozzles are of a type which could be attributed to BRONEER’S Type XXIV which is dated to the third decade until the end of the second century A.D. (BRONEER 1930: 80–83). The above-mentioned date was earlier been confirmed by LOESCHCKE (1919: 228–230, Pl. XIII. 513). See also WALTERS 1914: 106, 199, Fig. 125, 701, “first century A.D.” Lamp No. 19 with its plain and rounded nozzle is well-attested in the literature and could be compared to LOESCHCKE 1919: 237–243 and BRONEER’S Type XXV (BRONEER 1930: 83–87) which is dated from around the middle of the first century A.D. and continuing to appear through the

third century A.D.; MENZEL 1954: 40, Abb. 32: 21, “early Roman”; ÖZIOL and POUILLOUX 1969: 98–99, Pl. XII. 393–394, “late second century A.D.”; VESSBERG (1953: 124, Pl. III. 10, Type 13), deduces that “in the Mediterranean countries they certainly survived into the second century A.D.”; and BAILEY 1988: 80, Q 1507. BAILEY’S example represents a peacock with displayed tail and standing on a myrtle branch, dated to “45–100 A.D.” Lamps Nos. 21–22 are closely similar to HORSFIELD and CONWAY 1942: 196, Pl. XLV. 427. They attributed – such a body shape to BRONEER’S Type XXII (BRONEER 1930. 76–78), “first century A.D.”; LOESCHCKE 1919: 212–220) “first century A.D.”; DENEAUVE 1969: 116, Pl. XXXIX: 340, “early Roman”; and BAILEY 1988: 66–69, Q 2403, and Q 2406, “40– 100 A.D.” Lamp No. 22 is also comparable to WALTERS 1914: 77, No. 516, “undated”; BAILEY 1975: 344, Pl. 134. Q 727, “The early years of the first century A.D.; CAHN-KLAIBER 1977:179–182, Pl. 15.170, “second

25

Group I. D: Nos. 23-25

half of the first century A.D.”; and ROSENTHAL – SIVAN 1978: 25, No. 71, “first century A.D.” Conclusion

According to the chronological classification of both LOESCHCKE (1919: 212–220, Type I) and BRONEER (1930: 76–78, Type XXII) a date from the reign of Caius Octavianus Augustus (27 B.C.–14 A.D.) until about the end of the first century A.D. could be given to the lamps of Group I.C, (Nos. 21–22) which are characterized by the rounded body and the broad triangular nozzle, surrounded on each side by a spiral and concave volute. The lamps of Group I.C, (Nos. 18 and 20) which are furnished with rounded nozzles and decorated with a semi-volute on each side of the nozzle are attributed by LOESCHCKE (1919: pp. 220–230) and BRONEER (1930: pp. 80–83, Type XXIV) to a date from around the third decade of the first century A.D. until the middle of the second century A.D. Lamp No. 19 with its plain and rounded nozzle could be attributed by LOESCHCKE (1919: pp. 237– 243) and BRONEER (1930: pp. 83–87, Type XXV) to a date roughly from around the middle of the first century A.D. until the end of the third century A.D. However, since the above-mentioned dates of both LOESCHCKE (1919) and BRONEER (1930) are very broad, the author assumes, according to the recently published research of D. M. BAILEY (1965; 1972; 1975; 1980, 1988; and 1996), the first three decades of the first century A.D. as the date for lamps Nos. 21–22; the second half of the first century A.D. for lamps Nos. 18–20; and the late first and the second centuries A.D. for lamp No. 19.

Group I. D: Pottery Lamps with Metal Prototypes (Nos. 23–26)

This group consists of three lamps (Nos. 23–25) plus a handle in the shape of a crescent (No. 26). These lamps show their bronze ancestry, most probably being adaptations in clay of metal prototypes. Lamps Nos. 23–24 and 26 are from stratified deposits of the 1981 Petra Excavations. They were uncovered in Phase II which is dated by Nabataean coins of Malichus II (40–70 A.D.). Lamp No. 25 with its broad triangular nozzle and double volutes could be attributed by LOESCHCKE (1919: 212 –220, Type I) to a date from the reign of Augustus to the end of the first century A.D. Such lamps remind us of the Roman Imperial lamps which were common during the first third of the first century A.D.

The latter lamps are mainly more decorated and larger than lamps Nos. 23–26. Actually, the crescent which is represented on the sunken discus of lamps Nos. 24–26 might symbolize Diana, the Roman goddess of the crescent – moon, chastity, virginity, hunting; she was identified with the Greek Artemis.

Description

23 Intact lamp from D. 2.5 (Fig. 23): L. 8.4 cm.; W. 5.2 cm.; H. 3.0 cm. Light grey ware, well-levigated, evenly fired, traces of grey slip in places, highly polished, some fine limestone encrustation on top. Rounded body with plain elongated rounded nozzle, bent-up pierced knob handle at rear, faintly indicated ring base with impressed planta pedis in center, comparatively broad rim, separated from the sunken discus by two incised concentric circles, twelve-petalled Rosettes on each side, separating nozzle from the rim . 24 Intact lamp from D. 2.5 (Fig. 24) L. 10.0 cm.; W. 4.6 cm.; H. 2.5 cm. Creamy ware, smooth to the touch, well-levigated and evenly fired, pinkish slip on top with some splashes below. Rounded body, handle in the shape of a crescent, comparatively large in proportion to the body, surmounting rear of lamp, sunken discus with narrow rim, incised on top with two concentric circles, counterbalances the projection of rounded nozzle, spiral concave volute on each side of the nozzle, wick-hole is sooted with central pierced filling-hole, tight sunrays-like in a high relief radiating from filling-hole to rim, flat base surrounded by incised circle with impressed planta pedis in center. 25 . Intact lamp (Fig. 25): L. 9.9 cm.; W. 7.0 cm.; H. 2.3 cm. Buff ware, with some fine calcite lime grits included, evenly fired, some encrustation in places, traces of light brownish slip on external surfaces. Rounded body with narrow rim and sunken discus, broad triangular nozzle, decorated on each side with concave volutes, two incised concentric grooves on top of rim, flattened base surrounded by incised circle. Lamp with crescent-like handle in low relief appearing on discus. 26. Handle of lamp of crescent shape, from D.2.6

26

I. Classifications and Characteristics

Fig. 23

(Fig. 26): Ex. L. 6.9 cm.; W. of handle 4.1 cm.; H. of handle 2.1 cm. Grey ware, white lime grits included, pinkish slip, partially peeled off. Handle is very closely similar to that on lamp No. 24 but larger in size.

Parallel Examples

Lamp No. 23 finds possible parallels in MURRAY – ELLIS 1940: p. 26, Pl. XXXVI. 12, “undated”; HORSFIELD – CONWAY 1942, Pl. XXI. 161, “Nabataean”; and ROBINSON 1959: p. 36, Pl. 44. G 143 from the

Athenian Agora, Layer II, which is dated to “the middle of the first century A.D.” The latter example is furnished within its raised ring base with the letter alpha in relief. Lamps Nos. 24 and 26 are frequently attested in the literature and are exemplified in WALTERS 1914: pp. 127–128, Pl. XXVI. 837–850, but each of the latter two examples is furnished with two nozzles; LOESCHCKE 1919: p. 244, Fig. 4. 1–2, “first century A.D.”; BRONEER 1930: p. 169, Pl. VII, 396, “Type XXI”, which is dated from around the Christian era to the end of the reign of Tiberius Claudius Drusus (14–37 A.D.); ROBINS 1939: pp. 55–56, Pl. XII. 8, “first century A.D.”; VESSBERG 1953: p. 117, Pl. II. 17,

Group I. D: Nos. 23-24

27

Fig. 24

“first century A.D.”; LERAT 1954: pp. 5–6, Pls. IV. 31, V. 37, “early Roman”; BERNHARD 1955: p. 305, Tab. LV, “early Roman”; VESSBERG and WESTHOLM 1956: p. 123, Fig. 38. 17, furnished with two nozzles, “Roman”; PONSICH 1961: p. 117, Pl. XXXII, “Roman”; BRUNEAU 1965: p. 130, Pl. 35. 4752 from Delos, Group XXVI, “late first century A.D.”; DENEAUVE 1969: pp. 145–146, Pls. LVI. 544–545, LVII. 551–552, LX. 589, “first century A.D.”; MENZEL 1969: p. 29, Fig. 26. 4, 15, “early Roman”; SZENTLELEKY 1969: p. 63, Nos. 65a–b, 86a–b, 95a, “early Roman”; NEGEV 1974: p. 27, Pl. 16. 82, “first century A.D.” NEGEV deduces that the latter example from Oboda is certainly not imported, and “must have been produced in one of the local Nabataean potter’s work-shop; ÖZIOL 1977: pp. 172–173, Nos. 521– 523,”The first century A.D.”; FARKA 1977: p. 243 Taf. 18. 618– 619, ”Early Roman”; ROSENTHAL – SIVAN 1978: pp. 19–21, Nos.

42, 49–50, which are classified as “Roman Imperial Lamps: and mainly dated to the first century A.D.”; BAILEY 1980: p. 205, Pl. 28. Q 1002, Type D, Group II, “the first half of the first century A.D.”; ibid., p. 208, Pl. 29. Q 1007, Type D, Group III, “second and third quarters of the first century A.D.”; ibid., pp. 215–216, Pls. 33 . Q 1031, 34. Q 1033, Type D, Group VI, “40–80 A.D.”; ibid, p. 218, Pl. 34. Q 1036–Q 1038, “first half of the first century A.D.”; BONNET 1985: pp. 82–83, Nos. 133–135, “Early Roman”; and GRAWEHR 2006: p. 291, No. 110, from ez-Zantur excavations in Petra, “early Roman”. Lamp No. 25 has close parallels in shape and decoration to LOESCHCKE 1919: p. 399, Pl. XVII. 461, “early Roman”; and DENEAUVE 1969: p. 116, Pl. XXXIX, 338, “early first century A.D.” Conclusion:

28

I. Classifications and Characteristics

Fig. 25

Fig. 26

Group I. E

Although lamps of Group I.D (Nos. 23–26) could be the direct descendant of the “Roman Imperial lamps” they were made of the local clay of the Petra region. The majority of the above-mentioned parallels indicate that such lamps were well-known inside and outside the Nabataean sites during the first century A.D. Besides, lamps Nos. 23–24 and 26 belong to Phase II (4–70 A.D.). Hence, such a date does not contradict the dating evidence of the above-mentioned parallels. Group I. E: Lamps Decorated with Floral Elements, Shells, and Torches (Nos. 27–37)

Many Nabataean lamps were uncovered in Petra and the other Nabataean sites which are decorated with floral elements; such as wreathes, tendrils of ivy leaves, rosettes with petals in pairs, forming elongated heart-like shapes, radiating from a small central fillinghole to the rim,olive branches on the opposite side of the nozzle; the lower ends of the olive branches are interwoven while the top is connected together to

29

form a circular wreath . Each branch bears the fruit of two olives and three leaves. Furthermore, two other decorative elements appear on the sunken discus of the lamps of Group I.E; torches and shells. Most of the above-mentioned decorative motives represent specific mythological beliefs among the Nabataeans. The pictorial scene appearing on lamp No. 35 presents the torches crossing each other at their lower pointed ends which most probably symbolize the morning and evening stars and were connected with the worship of Helios, the sun god. Such torches also appear over both shoulders of Helios who is also wearing a radiating crown from Khirbet at-Tannûr (G LUECK 1965: p. 144, Pl. 136). Hence, one should assume that functionally there is a direct relation between the torches and the role of the lamp as a means for helping the bearer to see in the darkness of the wilderness, dwellings, tombs, and caves. Others mention that such artistic elements represent cornucopiae (HAKEN 1958 pp. 70– 71; LEIBUNDGUT 1977: p. 146), the symbol of fertility and prosperity, and were associated with the worship of Mercury, the Roman god of commerce, the mes-

Fig. 27

30

I. Classifications and Characteristics

Fig. 28

senger of gods, the patron of travelers, identified with the Greek god Hermes. The scallop shell appearing on lamps Nos. 33–34 represents a cult element dedicated to the worship of Aphrodite (BAILEY 1988: 85; CRELIER 1995: 86). It does represent a very common Roman artistic and architectural element frequently occurring in architecture for covering niches; it is also a very popular motif in decorating the discuses of some of the Roman lamps with radiating ribs and wavy edges. This conventional sign was relevant to the Nabataeans for both their goddesses, Allat and al-‘Uzza, were affiliated with water, and hence were also equivalent to Aphrodite. Consequently, both Aphrodite and Atargatis were closely related to each other by being associated with seas and springs (ZAYADINE 2003: p. 62). Besides, Aphrodite had been created from the foam of the sea waves, and Atargatis is symbolized in a legendary marine form. GLUECK (1965: pp. 359–60) states that the Nabataeans connected Atargatis with the goddess Allat. They also continued to worship al‘Uzza until around the end of the third century A.D. On the other hand, there is a direct and logical relation between Atargatis, the goddess of fertility, and the floral elements appearing on the lamps of Group

I.E, especially the olive wreathes occurring on lamps (Nos. 36–37). Of the eleven Nabataean lamps included in Group I.E, five of them came from the 1981 Petra Excavations (Nos. 29, 30–32, 37) . Description

27 Large fragment of the upper half of a lamp (Fig. 27) L. 9.5 cm; W. 6.5 cm; Approximate H. 2.9 cm. Dark grey ware, evenly fired, very fine grits included, traces of darker greyish slip on top. Sunken discus, surrounded by narrow rim, three incised concentric grooves on rim, with two other concentric grooves around filling-hole (0.6 cm. diam.). Discus decorated in low relief with two branches of ivy leaves connected together at rear of discus. 28 Complete lamp except for chip at nozzle (Fig. 28): L. 8.2 cm.; W. 7.8 cm.; H. 2.9 cm. Buff ware, fine grits included, evenly fired, dark brownish slip on top with some patches below, body

Group I. E: Nos. 27-30

highly encrusted and stained. Rounded body, furnished on both sides with “kothon” or ear-shaped handles, two incised concentric grooves on narrow rim, short rounded nozzle, flattened base. Discus decorated with rosetta of fourteen petals, arranged in pairs, forming seven elongated heart-like shapes, radiating from small central filling-hole (0.7 cm. diam.) to the rim. 29 Fragment of upper part of lamp, from B. 3.7 (Fig. 29). Dull brownish ware, evenly fired, well-levigated Slightly sunken discus, narrow rim, incised with two concentric grooves on top. For decorative de-

scription, cf. lamp No. 27.

31

30 Incomplete lamp, part of the upper top missing, from B. 12. 8 (Fig. 30): L. 8.7 cm.; W. 6.6 cm.; H. 2.4 cm. Yellowish-green ware, hard, evenly fired, traces of grey slip on top, comparatively coarse to the touch. Rounded body with narrow rim separated from large sunken discus by two concentric incised grooves, very close to each other, short broad triangular nozzle with spiral concave volutes on each side, flattened base. For discus decoration, cf. lamp No. 28 except for the petals which are twelve, forming six elongated hearts. 31 Upper half of lamp only, broken and mended,

Fig. 29

Fig. 30

32

I. Classifications and Characteristics

from D.1.4 (Fig. 31): L.9.4 cm.; W. 6.9 cm.; Ex. H. 2.3 cm. Yellowish-green ware, well levigated, evenly fired, traces of light brownish slip on top. Very closely similar in shape and decoration to lamp No. 30. 32 Small fragment of rim and discus, from B. 7.7 (Fig. 32): Light grey ware, evenly fired, encrusted. Broad rim, decorated with metopes (scrolls) and triglyphs (three vertical lines), on discus a petalled Rosetta. 33 Incomplete lamp, two-thirds of nozzle disap-

peared (Fig. 33). L. 8.8 cm.; W. 6.3 cm.; H. 2.5 cm. Creamy ware, almost well-levigated, evenly fired, traces of light brownish slip on top with some streaks below. For shape description, cf. lamps Nos. 30–31, except for the occurrence of five circular concentric grooves separating narrow rim from discus, scallopshell consists of fourteen ribs radiating like a fan on discus.

34 Intact lamp (Fig. 34): L. 9.0 cm.; W. 6.4 cm.; H. 2.4 cm. Red-pinkish ware, fine calcite grits included, evenly fired, comparatively smooth to the touch, top coated with thin light brownish slip, dripped irre-

Fig. 31

Fig. 32

Group I. E: Nos. 31-34

Fig. 33

Fig. 34

33

34

I. Classifications and Characteristics

Fig. 34

Fig. 35

gularly below in streaks, joints pared-off. For body shape and decoration, cf. lamp No. 33. 35 Intact lamp (Fig. 35) L. 9.2 cm.; W. 6.5 cm.; H. 2.9 cm. Yellowish-green ware, slightly gritty, evenly fired, joints pared-off with the help of sharp tool, like knife, top coated with light brownish slip, partially peeled off with some irregular streaks below. Round body with narrow rim and sunken discus, four concentric grooves on top of rim, broad nozzle with concave spiral volute on each side of nozzle, flat base. Discus decorated with two torches crossing each other at bottom, ending on top with what looks like

flames. 36 Incomplete lamp, tip of nozzle missing (Fig. 36). Ex. L. 8.2 cm.; W. 6.7 cm.; H.1.9 cm. Buff-red ware, comparatively gritty, evenly fired, red-brownish slip on top with some streaks below, mainly peeled-off. For body shape, cf. lamps Nos. 33–34 except for the decoration which represents a wreath in high relief, the lower ends of olive branches interwoven on the apposite side of nozzle, top connected together to form a circular wreath. Each branch bears two olives and three leaves. 37 Fragment of upper part of lamp, from D. 1. 11,

Group I. E: Nos. 34-37

(Fig. 37). Light buff ware, evenly fired thick pinkish slip on top, partially peeled off. For shape and decoration, cf. lamp No. 36. Parallel Examples:

35

Petra provides us with the only typical parallels which could be found for lamps Nos. 27 and 29, in HORSFIELD – CONWAY 1942: p. 122, Pl. XI, 46 “Import ? 1st cent. B.C.–A.D.” The latter example is intact

Fig. 36

Fig. 37

36

I. Classifications and Characteristics

and decorated with ivy–leaves around filling-hole; Khairy 1990: p. 17, Fig. 15–32, Pl. 8. 32, from Phase Ib, “dated by Nabataean coins of Aretas IV and his wife Shaqilat” (18–40 A.D.); and Grawehr 2006: p. 287, Nos. 76–77, from ez-Zautur in Petra “1st century A.D.” Lamp No. 28 which is furnished with ear-shaped handles on each side of the rim could be compared to MURRAY – ELLIS 1940: p. 14, Pl.XI.2, “undated”; HORSFIELD – CONWAY 1942: pp. 144–145, Pl. XXI. 162, “local clay, Nabataean”, and dated, “after middle of 1st cent. A.D.”; SCHMITT-KORTE 1968: p. 514, Abb. 11. 43, “Nabataean”; HAMMOND 1973b: pp. 36–37, Nos. 140–142, “Nabataean, first century A.D.”; FARKA 1977: p. 291, Taf. 45. 673, “Roman”; ZAYADINE 1986: 228, Pl. 19.2, “early Roman”; BAILEY 1988: p. 277–78, Pl. 57. Q2289 which is attributed to “the second half of the first century A.D.”; PATRICH (1990: p. 130) suggests that such a type of lamp is a “Nabataean omega rosetta lamp”. See also GRAWEHR 2006: p. 308, Nos. 231–232, from ez-Zantur excavations in Petra, “early Roman”; and BARRETT 2008: pp. 76–77, “Nabataean”. Lamps Nos. 30–32 are frequently published in the literature and are exemplified by LOESCHCKE 1919: p. 417, Pl. XV. 668 “Roman”; WAAGE 1934: p. 63, Pl. IX. 2015, “the second half of the first century A.D.”; WAAGE’ 1941: p. 64, Figs. 77, 97, which are classified as Type 39b and dated with a question mark to the “second quarter of the first century A.D.”; MURRAY – ELLIS 1940: p. 14, 26, Pls. XI, 2, XXXV . 17, “undated”; HORSFIELD – CONWAY 1942: pp. 144– 145, Pl. XXI. 162, which is furnished with “earshaped” handles; and deduce that their example is from the same “local factory”, as the painted Nabataean pottery, with a date after the middle of the first century A.D.; VESSBERG 1953:p. 116, PL.II,4, “Roman”; CROWFOOT et.al. 1957: p. 371, Fig. 88. 1, “Roman”; ROBINSON 1959: p. 38 Pl. 44, G 155, from the Athenian Agora Layer II, “first half of the first century A.D.”; PERLZWEIG 1961: p. 74, Pl. 2: 30, “The middle of the first century A.D..”; BAILEY 1965: p. 64, Pl. X. 218, “second half of the first century A.D. or perhaps a little later”; SCHMITT-KORTE 1968: p. 514, Pl. 11, No. 43, “Nabataean”. The latter example is furnished with two ledge handles; MENZEL 1969: p. 37, No. 162 and Fig. 31. 10, “early Roman”; ÖZIOL and POUILLOUX 1969: p. 53, No.. 113, “first century A.D.”; NEGEV 1974: p. 26, Pl. 16. 74, 80, from the Nabataean potter’s workshop at Oboda. NEGEV deduces that the latter examples are of a “local production”; ÖZIOL 1977: p. 80, Pl. 10. 164, “early Roman”; NEGEV – SIVAN 1977: p. 123, Fig. 4. 27, from the necropolis at Mampsis, Phase 1, which is dated to “the last quarter of the first century B.C. to about the middle of the first century A.D.”; ROSENTHAL – SIVAN 1978: p. 25, No.. 73 which is decorated with ten petalled ro-

settes and assigned to the “Roman Imperial lamps”; BAILEY 1980: 208, p. 211, Pls. 29 . Q 1008, 30, Q 1020 which are classified as “Type D, Group III”, and dated to “the second and third quarters of the first century A.D.” Petra provides us with typical comparable examples in HORSFIELD – CONWAY 1942: p. 122, Pl. XI. 45, “1st century A.D.; ibid., 144, Pl. XXI. 160, “Nabataean, early 1st cent. A.D.”; HAMMOND 1973b: pp. 36, 48, No. 139. HAMMOND mentions that the scallopshell decoration is merely “frond decoration”, and provides us with the date “first century A.D.”; PONSICH 1961: p. 79, Pl. IV, 23, which is assigned as Type II, “first half of first century A.D.”; GRAWEHR 2006,p. 288, No. 58, from ez-Zantur excavations, “early Roman Period”; and BARRETT 2008: p. 79; Fig. 4. 15, “Locally made scallop-shell motif lamp fragment” undated. Other parallels to lamps Nos. 33– 34 can be compared to BRUNEAU 1965: p. 128, Pl. 30, Nos. 4607–4068, from Delos, Group XXVI, “late first century A.D.”; COHN–KLAIBER 1977: p. 333, from Alexandria, “second half of first century A.D”; and BAILEY 1988: p. 277–278, Pl. 57, Q2285 – Q2286, “about 30–70 A.D.”, and p. 335, Pl. 75. Q 2674, “70 – 120 A.D.” Lamp No. 35 which is decorated with two crossed torches has similar comparable examples in HORSFIELD – CONWAY 1942: p. 197, Pl. XLVI. 435–436, which are dated with a question mark to the “2nd century A.D.”; HAKEN 1958: pp. 70–71, Pl. IX. 70, “Roman”; DENEAUVE 1969: p. 133, Pl. XLVIII. 454, “first century A.D.”; LEIBUNDGUT 1977: p. 146, Taf. 29, 65–67, “first century A.D.”; ROSENTHAL – SIVAN 1978: p. 25, No. 72, “first century A.D.”; ZAYADINE 1982: p. 392, Pl. CXLIII. 129, “dated to the first century A.D.” and GRAWEHR 2006: p. 287, Nos. 74– 75, from ez-Zantur excavations, “first century A.D.” Lamps Nos. 36–37 are frequently attested in the literature and could be compared to WALTERS 1914: p. 120, Pl. XXIV. 800, but the discus of the latter example is decorated with a wreath of oak-leaves and acorns. For olive wreath see ibid., p. 152, Pl, XXIX. 1018, “undated”; WAAGE 1941: p. 64, Fig. 77. 99 which is classified as Type 39, and dated with a question mark to the second quarter of the first century A.D.; GOLDMAN et. al., 1950: pp. 93, 109, Pl. 98 . 142, which is attributed to “Group XII” and dated to the “first century A.D.”, and see also ibid., p. 111, Pl. 99. 161, which is assigned to “Group XIII” and dated to the “second quarter of the first century A.D.”; VESSBERG 1953: p. 122, Pl. 11. 13, “first century A.D.”; VESSBERG and WESTHOLM 1956: 123, Fig. 38. 13, “Roman”; PERLZWEIG 1961: 88, Pl. 7: 197, “first century A.D.”; BAILEY 1965: p. 70, Pl. XI. 245, “probably Italian of the second half of the first century A.D.”; DENEAUVE 1969: p. 144, Pl. LIV. 533, “first century A.D.”; MENZEL 1969: pp. 26, 36, Figs.

37

Group I. F: Nos. 38-39

24. 81; 31 . 15, “early Roman”; SZENTLELEKY 1969: p. 78, No. 103, “the time of Tiberius; HERES 1972: p. 18 –34, “first century A.D.”; FARKA 1977: p. 189, Pl. 44. 109, “Roman”; ÖZIOl 1977: p. 123, Pl. 18. 312, “early Roman”; ROSENTHAL – SIVAN 1978: p. 31, No. 106, which is classified as “Roman Imperial Lamps”; and BAILEY 1980: p. 175, Fig. 101, Pl. 17. Q 925, Type B, Group III, “A.D. 40–80”; ibid., p. 182, Fig. 101, Pl. 20, Q 950, Type B, Group V, “second half of the first century A.D.”; ibid., pp. 209–210, Fig. 101, Pl. 29. Q 1010, “A.D. 40–80”; ibid., p. 240, Pl. 40. Q 1103, Type H, “second half of the first century A.D”; ibid., p. 305, Pl. 59. Q 1226, Type O, “late third of the first century A.D.” Conclusion

Lamps Nos. 36–37 are made of local clay. Besides, lamp No. 37 was uncovered in the 1981 Petra excavations which belongs to Phase Ia, “the beginning of the reign of Aretas IV (9B.C.–40 A.D.) This date does not contradict the dating of the above-mentioned parallels. Furthermore, such type of lamps was wellknown in the Nabataean sites. Besides, ROSENTHAL – SIVAN (1978: p. 170, Note 85) correctly conclude that “a comparison of archaeological evidences from Petra and Oboda revealed that the two groups (the Nabataean lamps with plain discus and the others with decorated discus from Petra and Oboda) are represented in equal [proportions]”. Group I. F: Elaborated Lamps with Handles in the Form of “Human Heads” (Nos. 38–39).

Lamps which are furnished with moulded handles in the form of human heads, crescents, and floral leaves are frequently attested in Petra and the other Nabataean sites. Such lamps with their attached decorated handles require a lot of care, creativity, and the ability to produce original work or ideas by the artist who performed such elaborated output, which consequently indicates that such a production was intentionally done for a specific functional purpose for each lamp, and also to fit a particular need relating to a certain religious custom or belief. Hence, each lamp of this group has a specific role for its users and owners. ROSENTHAL – SIVAN (1978: p. 90) conclude that “it is most tempting to associate these lamps with the different ethnic and religious groups which could order them”, and add that “such elaborately decorated mask attached to handle is possibly representing Dionysus or Pan” (ibid., p. 90, Nos. 368–369). GLUECK provides us with very brief comment on the

very interesting handles of these three lamps, saying that they are merely “heads of deities” without any further information or explanation (GLUECK 1965. pp. 6, 151–152, Pls. 66–68). Jerash provides us with lamps furnished with handles in the form of a human head or even a lion–like head which are dated by J. H. ILIFFE (1945: p. 20, No. 118) to “the first quarter of the second century”. Actually, the facial features of the “human” heads which appear on the handles of the Nabataean lamps remind us of the same facial features which existed on the Nabataean terracotta figurines and stone sculptures. They are characterized by the local oriental Nabataean features such as the healthy and fleshy face, the hair arrangement, the heavy chin and nose, accompanied with defined and protruding irises, and with a definite serious outlook. All these facial features together represent a specific Nabataean style of art. Concerning the decorated handle of lamp No. 38 which represents a female wearing a cone-like crown with a tight chain of precious jewels and stones underneath and nicely arranged, there are two flourishing rosettes which represent the female figure’s large earrings. Her chest is covered with a shield-like object and has a palmet on each side. All the abovementioned designations lead us to indicate that such a lamp bears a definite religious impact, directly related to Atargatis, the Nabataean goddess of water, fertility, creation of vegetation, and renewal of life after death. On the other hand, lamp No. 39 may symbolize captivity and death for bad spirits and protects the family members and their homes from any danger. Group I.F consists of two lamps only (Nos. 38 –39). They are the following: Description

38 Incomplete lamp, front part of nozzle missing (Fig. 38). Ex. L. 10.9 cm.; W. 6.6 cm.; H. 2.7 cm. Pinkish-red ware, well-levigated, and evenly fired, comparatively smooth to the touch, with darker pinkish slip on external surfaces. Rounded body with elongated nozzle, decorated on each side with vestigial volute, furnished with decorated handle in the form of female head wearing cone-like crown that has a tight chain of precious stones, two rosettes forming heavy earrings, surrounded by two palmets, chest covered by a shield-like object. Comparatively large filling-hole (1.2 cm. diam.) is at the same alignment with the wick-hole, and of the same diameter, shallow trough connecting discus and wick-hole, ring base.

38

I. Classifications and Characteristics

Fig. 38

39 Intact lamp (Fig. 39): L. 10.0 cm.; W 6.8 cm.; H. 3.8 cm. Creamy-buff ware, fine grits included, body comparatively well-levigated, evenly fired, thick grayish slip covering the entire external surfaces. Boat-like body shape, handle impressed with a grotesque mask, executed in primitive linear style, arms tied firmly with rope on each side of rim, seven circles with central dot arranged on top of lamp, large filling-hole (3.1 cm. diam.) surrounded with pronounced ridge which extends onto the nozzle and around wick-hole (1.3 cm. diam.), shallow ring base. Parallel Examples

Lamps Nos. 38–39 find closely similar parallels in ILIFFE 1945: 20, No. 118, Pl. VIII, which was found in Jerash, “the first quarter of the second century A.D.”; GLUECK 1966: 6, 150–151, Pls. 66–68, which is classified as Nabataean, “undated”; MAZAR 1969, Pl. XIII. 2–3, from the 1968 Jerusalem Excavations, “early Roman”; ROSENTHAL and SIVAN 1978: 90, Nos. 368–369. The latter two lamps are furnished with a high loop handle, arched internally, and end with human head. The authors concerning these two lamps attributed these heads to “possibly Dionysus or Pan” (IBID., 90), and provide us with the “second century A.D.” as a date for them; and HAMMOND 2003: 228, Fig. 248, from the Temple of the Winged

Group I. G: Nos. 40-41

39

Fig. 39

Lion Excavations in Petra. This lamp is decorated with signs of the zodiac, and with a bent-up strap handle, which ends with molded human facial features executed in a primitive style. The latter parallel is assigned by HAMMOND (2003: 228) as “Nabataean”, without providing any specific date.

Conclusion

The lamps of Group I.F (Nos. 38–39) are restricted to Nabataean sites, although they have some similar close parallels to other sites which are dated to around the turn of the first–early second centuries A.D. Group I. G: Lamps in the Form of a Sandaled Right Foot (Nos. 40–41).

Two lamps in the form of a sandaled-right-foot are presented in this study; they come from the Jordanian Archaeological Museum in Amman. Lamp No. 40 was found by the British School of Archaeology excavations in Petra which were supervised by P.J. PARR between 1958–1964, while lamp No. 41 is from an unknown provenance. Although these lamps are of a peculiar shape, they are well-attested in several sites of the Roman Europe, and were also common in Alexandria, Egypt during the early Roman period. ROSENTHAL – SIVAN (1978: p. 145) deduce that a “precise dating is difficult and a general date of the first to the third is suggested”. There can be no question, however, that this is a very broad designation for dating these lamps. It has been noted that such lamps seem to be of metallic prototype, mainly worked out of casted

40

I. Classifications and Characteristics

“bronze” (BERNHARD 1955: p. 206). On the other hand, A. MÖHRING (1989: p. 840) suggests that “the clay examples may be earlier than the generality of bronze lamps of this type”. Generally, such lamps appear with a single and also with double feet attached to each other in one lamp of two nozzles, and they were produced in clay or in bronze contemporaneously. This type of lamp attains a high level of artistic production, and the lamp’s maker acquired the skill to execute all the delicate details of both the Roman sandal and foot anatomy with a lot of success. Description

40 Complete lamp except for missing handle (Fig. 40) L. 13.7 cm.; W. 4.3 cm. H. 5.5 cm. Pinkish-red ware, evenly fired, well-levigated, fine calcite grits included, knife paring visible at joints, traces of darker pinkish slip on external surfaces,

body partially encrusted. Lamp in the form of sandaled foot, the thongs pass between the great toe and the second toe, short blunt nozzle, filling-hole (1.8 cm. diam.) at rear of lamp, wick-hole (2.2 cm. diam) in front of toes, flattened base. 41 Incomplete lamp, top of handle and three toes, missing (Fig. 41): L. 13.3 cm.; W. 3.4 cm; H. 6.9 cm. Yellowish-green ware, well levigated, evenly fired, traces of dark brownish slip in places. For body description cf. lamp No. 40. Parallel Examples

Lamps Nos. 40–41 have fairly close parallels in B RANTS 1913: 30, Pl. IV. 449, “Roman”. The latter example is furnished with floral handle; WALTERS 1914: pp. 60–61, Nos. 418–422, “early Roman”; LOESCHCKE 1919: p. 349, Abb. XXIII. 25. This example was made in bronze, with two nozzles and with crescent-like handle, “first century A.D.”; EVELEIN 1928: p. 24, Pl. XVI. 2–3, “Roman”; ROBINS 1939: 59, Pl. XIII. 3 except that this example was roughly executed; LERAT 1954: p. 34, Pl. XXIV. 212, “early Roman”; BERNHARD 1955: p. 206, No. 60, “Roman”; ROSENTHAL and SIVAN 1978: p. 147, No. 605. The latter example has double feet and nozzles, “no specific date”; BAILEY 1975: p. 351, Pl. 137, Q 742, “probably late first century B.C.”; BAILEY 1980: p. 257, Pl. 46. Q 1137–1138, except that the sole is held to the foot by many thongs. “early Roman”; MÖHRING 1989: pp. 834–835, Abb. 59, No. 50, Abb. 60, No. 51, Abb. 61, No. 52, Abb. 62, No. 53; Abb. 68, No. 57. The latter examples which were published by MÖHRING (1989) are from the Romisch-Germanisches Museum in Köln, “early Roman”. Conclusion

Depending on the above-mentioned parallels one could deduce that lamps No. 40–41 are not restricted to the Nabataean sites, since they were well-known in many sites elsewhere during the first century A.D., sometimes with different minor variations, and they were made in both clay and in bronze contemporaneously.

Fig. 40

Group I. H: Miscellaneous (Nos. 42–47)

Group I. G: Nos. 40-41

Fig. 40

Fig. 41

41

42

I. Classifications and Characteristics

Fig. 41 Since some of the lamp types cannot easily be assigned to any of the above-mentioned groups, they are assembled under a miscellaneous heading. They are the followings: Description

corated with a small wreath, flanked by two seven-petalled rosettes, palm tree-like on top of nozzle with concave volute on each side.

42 Fragment of lamp’s handle from C. 4.6 (Fig. 42) Black ware, well-levigated, evenly fired. Knob-like handle, with two applied small circular coils, and with an incised vertical groove in between.

44 Fragment of nozzle and part of discus only, from B.5. 12 (Fig. 44) Light grey ware, evenly fired, dark brownish slip on top and dripped irregularly below. Sunken discus with broad patulated nozzle, partially affected by fire, spiral concave volute on each side.

43 Fragment of upper half of lamp only, from D. 2.5 (Fig. 43) Light grey ware, evenly fired, body affected by fire. Broad flattened rim, within two circular ridges de-

45 Fragment of upper part of lamp, from D. 2.7 (Fig. 45) Whitish-creamy ware, well-levigated, evenly fired, traces of pinkish slip outside. Broad convex rim with small central discus, defined ridge separating rim from discus, ridge

Fig. 42

Group I. H: Nos. 42-45

Fig. 43

Fig. 44

Fig. 45

43

44

I. Classifications and Characteristics

decorated with incised strokes parallel to each others, floral wreath on top of rim tied at rear with a rosette of six petals. 46 Fragment of upper part of lamp, from D.2.6 (Fig. 46) Light grey ware, well-levigated, evenly fired, dark grey slip outside. Broad convex rim, decorated with wreath of tendrils of ivy leaves in high relief with small rounded fruit. 47 Upper top of lamp only, wick-hole missing. (Fig. 47) Dull light brownish ware, comparatively coarse to the touch, grey core, traces of red slip on top, mainly peeled-off, body heavily encrusted.

Oval body shape, sunken discus follows contour of body, defined ridge separating rim from discus, knob-handle at rear. Parallel Examples

The decorated knob-like handle No. 42 has a similar parallel example in GLUECK 1943: 218, “end of firstearly second centuries A.D.”; HORSFIELD – CONWAY 1942: pp. 197–198, Pl. XLVI, No. 438, “Nabataean”; and GLUECK 1966: p. 6, Pl. 67 a–c. from Khirbet etTannur, “undated”. Lamp fragment No. 43 compares to Sussman 1972: p. 22, Nos. 5, 23, 77 “Roman period”; NEGEV 1974: p. 28, Pl. 17. 86 “1st half of 1st century A.D.”; and ROSENTHAL – SIVAN 1978: p. 83, Nos. 335–337 “first century A.D.” The broad spatulated nozzle No. 44 coincides with BRONEER 1930: pp. 76–77, Pl. VII, Fig. 37, p.

Fig. 46

Fig. 47

45

Group I. H: Nos. 46-47

Fig. 47 422, pp. 431–432, Type XXII, “early Roman”; WAAGE 1941: p. 64, Fig 77. 102, which is assigned to “Type 40” and attributed to the “Augustan” period; HORSFIELD – CONWAY pp. 1942: 192–197, Pls. XLIV– XLVI. 412–434, “undated”; ROBINSON 1959: p. 37, Pl. 44. G 150 from the Athenian agora, Layer II, “first half of the first century A.D.”; and NEGEV (1974: p. 25, Pl. 15. 63) deduces that such lamps “were imported”. Fragment No. 46 could be compared to BRONEER 1930: p. 80, Fig. 38. 13–23, Type XXIV, “late first– early second centuries A.D.” Lamp No. 47 has similar parallel examples in PONSICH 1961: p. 91, Pl. XIV. 150–151, “Roman”; CAHN-KLAIBER 1977: pp. 212–213, 363, Pl. 26 . 261 from Alexandria, “second–third centuries A.D.”; ROSEN-THAL – SIVAN 1978: p. 89, No. 400. They mention that this lamp was acquired in Petra, “Nabataean”; and GRAWEHR 2006: p. 295, No. 130. The latter parallel came from the ez-Zantur excavation in Petra, “early Roman period”. Group II: Crude and Coarse Lamps (Figs. 48–56).

Crude production is evident in the irregular and warped shape of this group of lamps. They were made in two halves and poorly joined together. The two halves were mainly made by hand, and in a few cases the upper half only was made in a comparatively unclean or worn–out mould. Consequently, the artistic and decorative scenes presented, in rare cases, on the sunken discus of the lamp are mainly defaced or even destroyed, and sometimes they are not clear enough to be precisely deciphered, while the lower half was made by hand, which caused the lamp as a result to be of dull performance. In addition, the lower half is slightly split before firing. In a few cases, some coarse attachments are still visible at joints, and knife paring is commonly attested around the joints in order to remove the surplus attachments of the clay which was used for fixing the two halves of the lamp together. Therefore, the lamps are slightly warped, coarse and mainly lack a proper standing balance.

The body shape of this group of lamps is mainly elongated with a boat-like appearance. HORSFIELD – CONWAY (1942: 145) conclude that such a type of lamps is “a poor native amalgamation of Hellenistic and Roman lamp shapes” because of the elongated structure and the paucity of decoration. On the other hand, the author assumes that such dull, crude, and coarse lamps were intended for supplying the local market with inexpensive and not costly lamps to enable almost every Nabataean inhabitant to obtain such lamps without much difficulty. Some lamps of Group II have a rounded shape with a concave top surrounded by a defined and pronounced ridge. Small central filling-holes are mainly surrounded by three minor vents, regularly arranged in a semi-circle. Such lamps have a flattened base, broad and stretched nozzle with vestigial volutes occurring in rare cases. Handles are mainly formed in a bent-up knob-like shape and occur sometimes in the form of a floral leaf. The ware of the lamps of Group II is comparatively thick and heavy for the size of object. It is also very crude and coarse since it includes many fine and medium sized limestone grits. Such ware is not well-levigated and not evenly fired since a grey core is mainly visible. The color of the ware is usually dark grey, light greenish, and even black. Thin applied slip occurs frequently and is of the same color as the ware, mainly peeled-off. Encrustation of calcite deposits and staining are frequently attested in places. The majority of the lamps of Group II are plain except the discuses of lamps Nos. 48–50 which show locusts eating from grapes, erotic scenes, and a centaur-like figure in low relief (Nos. 48–50). Such figurative scenes are usually defaced since these lamps were made in worn-out moulds. Notches and incised tight strokes are found on top of the defined ridge around the sunken discus. The Identity of the Lamps of Group II

Our lamps Nos. 48–56 are frequently attested in the literature and are exemplified in H ORSFIELD – CONWAY 1942: p. 114, Pl. VI. 8 who mention that “such types of lamps are very crude native examples

46

I. Classifications and Characteristics

of Hellenistic shape and they are Nabataean poor amalgamation of Hellenistic and Roman lamp shapes” (Ibid.: p. 145, Pls. XXI. 163, XXIX. 240 –241). On the other hand, Petra provides us with a very close parallel to the lamps of Group II (MURRAY – ELLIS 1940: p. 28, Pl. XXXVI. 14) which is dated to the end of the first century A.D. ROSENTHAL – SIVAN (1978: p. 98) dealt with two lamps (Nos. 397–398) which are very closely similar in shape, ware, surface treatment, and technique of production to our lamps of Group II. They are classified as Nabataean lamps of the first century A.D., similar to the lamps from Oboda and described by A. NEGEV (1974: p. 29): they “resemble the apprentice lamps in its coarseness”. ROSENTHAL – SIVAN (1978: p. 98) add that such lamps “are poor in both the quality of ware and in iconographic representations”. The shape of these lamps is irregular and the nozzle is clumsy with a large wick-hole. They also inappropriately deduce that such lamps may be “either potter’s waste or samples used to test the temperature of the kiln” (ibid.: p. 98). Actually, the lamps of Group II frequently occur in Petra and the other Nabataean sites in large quantities and most of them were heavily used since their wick-holes are coated with soot and with some fire staining. Hence, this author rejects the suggestion that this type of lamps were potter’s wastes or even samples for testing the kiln temperature. On the other hand, since the shape of some of the lamps of Group II is elongated and stretched as in Nos. 52–56, HORSFIELD – CONWAY (1942: p. 114, Pl. VI. 608) suggest that such crude lamps are Hellenistic survivals. I assume that the differing forms and shapes of such crude and coarse lamps probably do not reflect a chronological development but rather demonstrate the craftsmanship of the Nabataean potters. In producing the different forms they show their individual tastes and cultural backgrounds, not restricting themselves to a single shape. They absorbed non-Nabataean influences and produced their group of lamps which are not difficult to distinguish from the other forms. GRAWEHR (2006: p. 379) dated such elongated crude and hand-made lamps to the late Hellenistic period, and noted that “at the end of 1st century B.C. a sudden change from hand made to mould-made lamps” had been introduced. Four crude, coarse and hand made lamps of Group II were uncovered in the 1981 Petra Excavations (Nos. 51–53, 56) which are dated by Nabataean coins of Aretas IV after his marriage to his second wife Shaqilat II. (16–40 A.D.). The rest came from the University of Jordan Archaeological Museum. Hence, none of the above-mentioned lamps can be dated before the Christian era, although they are of hand made production and have comparatively elongated body shape as in Nos. 52–56.

Besides, the lamps of Group II are mainly restricted to Nabataean sites, specially Petra, and consequently one should add these lamps to the list of those that are uniquely Nabataean. Lamps of Group II consist of two main variants. They are the following: Variant II. A: Crude Molded Lamps with Decorative Discus (Nos. 48–50):

Such crude and clumsy lamps were made by unclean or worn-out moulds. As a result, their decorative scenes are not as clear as in their counterparts of Group I although some of these lamps (Nos. 45–49) carry the same figurative ornamentation. Description:

48. Complete lamp except for chip at nozzle, (Fig. 48): L. 8.0 cm.; W. 5.8 cm.; H. 2.7 cm. Crude dark grey ware, comparatively gritty and coarse to the touch, body warped and worn-out. Upper half made by unclean mould while lower half is hand made, body stained and partially encrusted. Round body with semi-circular short nozzle, defined ridge around sunken discus, flat base. For decorative scene, cf. lamp No. 22.

49. Incomplete lamp, nozzle is missing (Fig.49): L. 7.6 cm.; W. 5.4 cm.; H. 2.4 cm. Crude dark grey ware, slightly gritty and coarse to the touch, imperfect firing, grey core, no visible slip, body warped and stained. Rounded body, worn-out, with short rounded nozzle, defined rim with two concentric grooves on top, discus carrying erotic scene, flat base was made by hand, while top by mould. 50. Intact lamp (Fig. 50): L. 8.2 cm.; W. 5.4 cm.; H. 2.6 cm. Light grey ware, fine calcite grits included, no slip on external surfaces, coarse to the touch. Body shape is very similar to lamps Nos. 48–49. Defaced centaur on discus moving to the right and in diving position, upper top was made by worn-out mould while the lower half was made by hand. Variant II.B: Crude Hand-made Lamps with Plain Discus (Nos. 51–56)

This variant of lamps is also very crude and both upper and lower halves were made by hand. Consequently, they are mainly warped and dented. No decorative scenes occurred in their discuses. Such lamps

Variant II. A: Nos. 48-49

Fig. 48

Fig. 49

47

48

I. Classifications and Characteristics

Fig. 50

were frequently attested in Petra and the other Nabataean sites. They were heavily in use since they have sooted wick-holes. Six lamps of Variant II.B are presented in this study. They are the following: Description

51. Intact, except for chip at nozzle, from B. 16.10 (Fig. 51) L. 9.2 cm.; W. 5.8 cm.; H. 3.2 cm. Crude thick grey ware, coarse and encrusted. Rounded body, twisted, flat and large discus, surrounded by bent-up ridge, incised on top, narrow central filling-hole surrounded by three pierced drainholes, plain rounded nozzle, high pinched handle

added, uneven ring base. 52. Intact lamp, from B. 3.9 (Fig. 52): L. 9.3 cm.; W. 4.5 cm.; H. 3.6 cm. Dull pinkish ware, crude with light grey core, hard to the touch, encrusted. Boat-like shape, bent-up knob handle, defined ridge around sunken discus, narrow main-hole, flattened base, incised strokes on rim and ridge, sooted nozzle. 53. Two-thirds of lamp only, broken and mended, from B. 14. 12 (Fig. 53) L. 10. 4 cm; W. 4.3 cm.; H. 3.0 cm. Very crude hand-made lamp, dark grey ware, light grey core, no slip occurs on external surfaces. Body coarse to the touch, fine calcite grits included, Elongated body, boat-like shape, defined ridge around sunken discus, pinched handle, three

Fig. 51

Variants II. A and B: Nos. 50-53

Fig. 51

Fig. 52

49

50

I. Classifications and Characteristics

Fig. 52

Fig. 53

grooves on top of nozzle, uneven flat base. 54. About three-fourths of lamp, large fragment of lower half missing. (Fig. 54): L. 9.6 cm.; W. 4.3 cm.; H. 3.3 cm. Black crude ware, gritty and coarse to the touch,

light grey core, no slip occurs on external surfaces, thumb- impression shown on internal surfaces which indicates that this lamp was hand-made. Boat-like elongated lamp with pronounced ridge around sunken discus, plain rounded nozzle with two

Variant II. B: Nos. 52-55

grooves on top, pinched handle with vertical groove on top, central small filling-hole surrounded by three pierced vents, uneven flattened base. 55. Intact lamp (Fig. 55) L. 8.7 cm.; W. 3.8 cm.; H. 2.5 cm.

51

Dull buff ware, fine calcite grits included, evenly fired, surface mainly destroyed and coarse to the touch, body discolored externally, traces of grey slip on top only. Boat-like elongated body with handle in the form of floral leaf, plain discus with rounded nozzle, decorated with semi-volutes connecting wick- hole and

Fig. 54

Fig. 55

52

I. Classifications and Characteristics

Fig. 55 rim, flattened base. 56. Incomplete lamp, nozzle missing, from B. 16.2 (Fig. 56) Ex. L . 6.8 cm.; W. 3.5 cm.; H. 2.9 cm. Coarse and hard black ware, hand made body, twisted and warped, no slip on external surfaces. Body boat-like shape, long bar handle at rear with concave sides, ridge around sunken discus, central filling-hole surrounded by three pierced drain-holes, un-

even flattened base. Parallel Examples

Lamp No. 48 could be compared to BAILEY 1975: p. 344, Pl. 134. Q 727, “the early years of the first century A.D.”; and BAILEY 1988: p. 85, Q 1903–1904, “the first half of the first century A.D.” Petra provides us with the only parallel example to the crude lamp No. 49 in HAMMOND 1973b: p. 37, 49,

Fig. 56

53

Group III No. 152, “Nabataean, first century A.D.” Lamp No. 50 is closely similar to ROSENTHAL – SIVAN 1978: p. 98, No. 395. The latter parallel is of similar body shape but with different figurative scene which show “a faint relief of Europa on bull”, and dated roughly to the “first century A.D.”; ZAYADINE 1982: p. 392, Fig. 15. 152, Pl. CXLII, “probably the end of first century A.D.”; and GRAWEHR 2006: p. 289, No. 93, from ez-Zantur excavations in Petra, “first century A.D.” Lamp No. 51 has fairly close parallels in BRONEER 1927: p. 332, Fig. 2.1, 3, 5–6, “late Hellenistic”; BRONEER 1930: p. 57, Pl. V, Fig. 25. 265, 287, 230, which are assigned to Type XVI, “late Hellenistic”; HORSFIELD – CONWAY 1942: p. 145, Pls. XXI. 163, XXIX. 240–241, “Nabataean, poor native amalgamation of Hellenistic and Roman lamp shapes, first century A.D.”; HOWLAND 1958: p. 166–167, Pl. 49: 649–660, from Corinth, classified as Type XIX, “early Roman”; DENEAUVE 1969: p. 106, Pl. XXXIV: 277, “early Roman”; NEGEV 1974: p. 29, Pl. 17.92, “Nabataean”; ROSENTHAL – SIVAN 1978: p. 98, No. 397 – 398, from Oboda, and GRAWEHR 2006: p. 281, Nos. 47–48, “30 B.C.–first century A.D.” Lamp No. 52 is closely parallel to HORSFIELD and CONWAY: 1942: p. 114, Pl. VI. 8, which is classified as “very crude native example of Hellenistic shape”.; GOODENOUGH 1953: Fig. 292, “undated”; HAMMOND 1973b: p. 34, Nos. 102 –103 on page 47, “Nabataean”; BAILEY 1988: pp. 276–277, Pl. 57. Q 2290, “probably third century A.D.”; and GRAWEHR 2006: p. 271, No. 1., “Hellenistic survival”. The Nabataean sites offer the only parallels to lamp No. 53 in NEGEV 1986: p. 138, No. 1194, “undated”; and GRAWEHR 2006: pp. 274 –275, Nos. 12– 18, “early Roman”. Lamp No. 54 is well attested in Petra as it is shown in the following references: HORSFIELD and CONWAY 1942: p. 159, Pl. 29, No. 241 “Nabataean”; HAMMOND 1973 b: p. 34, Nos. 102–103 “undated’; LINDNER 1986: 107, “undated”; ZANONI 1996: pp. 217–219, No. 13, “early Roman”; and GRAWEHR 2006: p. 278, No. 32, “Roman period.” Lamp No. 55 is restricted to the Nabataean sites as in MURRAY – ELLIS 1940: p. 14, Pl. II, No. 5, “Nabataean, Hellenistic survival”; HORSFIELD and CONWAY 1942: p. 162, Pl. XXXI. No. 262 “from the first–second centuries A.D.”; HAMMOND 1973b: p. 34, No. 101, “undated”; NEGEV 1974: p. 27, Pl. 16 No. 82, “product of local Nabataean potter’s workshop”; and GRAWEHR 2006: pp. 292–294, Nos. 116–125 from ez-Zantur excavations, “early Roman”. No published parallel could be found for lamp No. 56. Conclusion

According to the above-mentioned parallels such crude, hand- made lamps of Group II, with its two variants A (Nos. 48–50) and B (Nos. 51–56) are of local Nabataean production, and according to their body shape it is most probable that they are Hellenistic survivals of mainly the first half of the first century A.D. This date is also confirmed by the stratigraphy of lamps No. 48 and 56. Hence, these lamps are restricted to the Nabataean sites and were made mainly for domestic use in the poorer homes. Group III: Lamps of the Late Roman Period (Figs. 57–67). Introduction

Although the Nabataeans lost their political independence in 106 A.D., comparatively, they resumed performing their different cultural and commercial activities with a lot of pride for more than four centuries after the Roman annexation of the Nabataean Kingdom to the Roman Empire and the formation of Provincia Arabia during the reign of the Roman emperor Marcus Ulpius Trajanus (98–117 A.D.). Hence, it is logical to reject considering 106 A.D. as the turning point in terms of demolishing the continuity of the Nabataean existence in their different regions, and the utter destruction of the Nabataeans’ commercial, agricultural, and industrial activities. This fact has been confirmed by the results of the different field excavations, and the epigraphical surveys in Hauran, Negev, Sinai, and Egypt which clearly ensured a continuous sequence of the different aspects of the Nabataean culture until about the end of the sixth century A.D. without any intermission (K HAIRY 1990: 7–8). General Characteristics

The general characteristics of the Petra lamps of Group III (Nos. 57–67) which belong to the late Roman period show a rounded reservoir with pinched knob-handle at rear, or they sometimes occur without having any type of handles. Such lamps are also furnished with a decorated broad rim surrounding a decorated shallow sunken discus. They have also a narrow filling-hole which is less than 12 mm. in diameter, mainly pierced apart from the center to avoid damaging the pictorial scene. Besides, such lamps have a short rounded nozzle without the occurrence of any type of volutes. The base is flat and mainly marked by an imitation ring base.

54

I. Classifications and Characteristics

According to the stratigraphy of the 1981 Petra excavations, the second half of the third-early fourth centuries A.D. is the date for our lamps Nos. 57 and 66. The development tendency of the lamps of the fourth-fifth centuries A.D. reflects much change in shape; and the discus is replaced by a large fillinghole. Description

57. Intact lamp, from C. 6.3 (Fig. 57) L. 5.9 cm; W. 6.5 cm; H. 2.8 cm. Light red ware, fine calcite grits included, evenly fired, dull pinkish slip on top with some splashes below, peeled in places. Rounded body with short rounded nozzle, tiny pinched-up handle, two shallow concentric grooves separating rim from discus, flat base, dramatic mask of an African slave on discus with a filling-hole on each side of the mask. 58. Incomplete lamp, upper top of nozzle missing, (Fig 58)

L. 8.7 cm.; W. 7. 3 cm.; H. 2.5 cm. Off-white creamy ware, well-levigated, evenly fired, smooth to the touch, thin light red slip on external surfaces mainly peeled-off, traces of knife paring visible at joints. Rounded body with short rounded nozzle, pronounced circular ridge separating rim from slightly sunken discus, flattened base marked-out with four defined concentric circles with a central dot. Two incised Greek characters (alpha and delta) underneath base, representing the potter’s mark. Rim decorated on each side with the double-axes and two spiral scrolls behind the nozzle. Discus decorated with a fisherman facing leftward, nude except for kilt-like cloth, wearing also a conical-like cap, with a fishhook (in his right hand) on whose end is a caught fish, and a basket hanging from his left arm. 59. Intact lamp (Fig. 59): L. 8.3 cm.; W. 6.6 cm.; H. 2.3 cm., Pinkish-red ware, few white calcite grits included, evenly fired, smooth to the touch, body coated with thin red slip, partially peeled-off. On rim double-axes in stylization and two ovules, discus decorated with four large leaves alternating

Fig. 57

Group III: Nos. 57-63

55

Fig. 58 Round body with plain broad rim and rounded nozzle, two concentric ridges separating rim from discus, discus decorated with whale in vertical diving position, flat base grooved with two concentric circles. 61 Large fragment of upper part of lamp only (Fig. 61) Ex. L. 5.5 cm; W. 6.0 cm. Light red ware, small fine limestone grits included, evenly fired, traces of thin brownish slip on top. Defined ridge separating rim from discus, rim decorated with stamped ovules, two clusters of grapes in high relief on discus.

with for smaller ones. Round body with small round nozzle and low ring base. 60 Complete lamp, broken and mended, (Fig. 60) L. 8.6 cm.; W. 7.1 cm.; H. 2.3 cm. Pinkish ware, many fine crystallized grits included, evenly fired, traces of thick coat of light brownish slip on top, dripped irregularly in streaks below, body slightly stained and encrusted.

62 Fragment of upper part of lamp (Fig. 62) Pinkish ware, well-levigated, evenly fired, dark brownish slip on external surfaces, Traces of ovules on rim. Defined ridge separating rim from discus. On discus a bust of Satyr to left, holding a ram and palm branch on each side. 63 Incomplete lamp, front part of nozzle missing, (Fig. 63). Ex. L. 8.1 cm.; W. 5.4 cm.; H. 3.0 cm. Light grey ware, gritty and comparatively coarse to the touch, traces of grey slip on top,

56

I. Classifications and Characteristics

Fig. 59

Fig. 60

Group III: Nos. 59-63

Fig. 61

Fig. 62

Fig. 63

57

58

I. Classifications and Characteristics

Fig. 64

body encrusted, traces of irregular shallow stabs and grooves beneath base, body comparatively warped. Rounded body with defined ridge, separating broad rim from shallow sunken discus. Rim decorated with elongated ovules, flat base.

mm. thick), fine grits included, coarse to the touch, traces of dark brownish slip on top. Round body with pinched knob handle, sunken discus with broad rim and flattened base, rim decorated with very shallow strokes.

64 Incomplete lamp, nozzle and parts of rim missing (Fig. 64): Ex. L. 5.9; W. 5.1 cm.; H. 2.7 cm. Light brownish ware, thick for size of lamp (3–4

65 Incomplete lamp, tip of wick-hole missing, (Fig. 65): Ex. L. 8.6 cm.; W. 6.1 cm.; H. 2.6 cm. Brownish ware, gritty and coarse to the touch,

Fig. 65

59

Group III: Nos. 64-67

Fig. 65

evenly fired, traces of light brownish slip on top with some streaks below. Round body with tiny rounded nozzle, broad rim with bent-up knob handle. Decoration defaced because of the use of probably worn-out mould, wreath of flowers around discus, flat base. 66 Incomplete lamp, filling-hole missing, from C. 4.5 (Fig. 66): L. 6.9 cm.; W. 6.6 cm.; H. 2.2 cm. Brownish-red ware, coarse to the touch, gritty and heavily encrusted. Rounded body with small rounded nozzle, and tiny bent-up knob handle, defined ridge separating decorated rim from plain and shallow sunken discus, series of sixteen rounded rosettes impressed on rim, low disc base, body slightly warped . 67 Intact lamp (Fig. 67): L. 7.8 cm.; W. 6.0 cm.; H. 2.6 cm.

Buff-red ware, small calcite grits included, evenly fired, traces of dark red slip on external surfaces. Rounded body with tiny rounded nozzle, pinchedup knob handle, broad rim with slightly sunken discus, flat base, rim decorated with series of ovules while discus ornamented with two rosettes, each consisting of four petals and two crescent-like figures in low relief . Parallel Examples:

Comparable examples for lamp No. 57 would seem to be W IEGAND and SCHRADER 1904: p. 279, Fig. 288, “Late Roman”; LOESCHCKE 1919: pp. 439–440, Pl. XVIII. 913, 938, “Late Roman”; KENNEDY 1963: p. 73, 99, Pl. XIV. 501, “second and third centuries A.D.”; HAMMOND 1973b: p. 34,No. 100, illustrated on page 47, “Roman import (?)”; NEGEV – SIVAN 1977: pp. 107–131, esp. 113– 114, Fig. 5. 29, though the latter example is without a handle and attributed to

Fig. 66

60

I. Classifications and Characteristics

No. 67

Phase II “the last quarter of the first century A.D. until about 150/ 200 A.D.” Lamp No. 58 has a typical parallel example in both shape and the figurative decoration on the depressed discus in KENNEDY 1963: pp. 73–75, 99, Pl. XXI. 503, which is classified as Type 5 and dated roughly to “the second and third centuries A.D.” For close parallels in shape of lamp, cf. ROSENTHAL – SIVAN 1978: pp. 85–89, Nos. 347–367, “third century”; and BARRETT 2008: pp. 88–89, Fig . 4. 25. The latter parallel was found in Petra and furnished with double axes on each side of rim. Lamp No. 59 could be compared to WALTER 1914: p. 109, Fig. 127, No. 731, “undated”; KENNEDY 1963: p. 98 Pl. XXI. 499, “early fourth century A.D.”; BAILEY 1965: p. 62, Pl. X. 209, “late Roman period”; TUSHINGHAM 1972: p. 127, Fig. 3. 30, “Nabataean”; and ROSENTHAL – SIVAN 1978: p. 89, No. 366 “late Roman”. Lamp No. 60 is attested in MENZEL 1954: p. 40, Abb. 32. 23, “Roman period”; ROSENTHAL – SIVAN 1978: p. 88, No. 361, “late Roman period”; and ROSENTHAL – HEGINBOTTOM 1981: p. 90, Taf. 6, “late Roman.” Lamp No. 61 has similar close parallels in BAUR 1947: p. 47, Fig. 18, Pl. VII. 292, classified as Type VI, “middle of the third century A.D.”; and ÖZIOL –

POUILLOUX 1969: p. 63, Pl. XVIII. 162 from Salamis, Cyprus, “late Roman period”. For the same shape of our lamp No. 62, cf. ROSENTHAL – SIVAN 1978: 103–104, Nos. 419–422, “last quarter of the third century A.D.” Lamps Nos. 64–65 can be compared to MURRAY – ELLIS 1940: pp. 36, 48, No. 134, “undated”; HORSFIELD – CONWAY 1942: p. 144, Pl. XXI. 161 “Nabataean”; HAMMOND 1973b: p. 36, No. 134, “undated”; and ROSENTHAL – SIVAN 1978: p. 98, No. 399, “acquired in Petra”. Lamp No. 66 has fairly closely related parallels in LOESCHCKE 1919: p. 237, Fig. 7. L1, L2, K, H, R, and Pl. III. 694, “Late Roman”; MURRAY – Ellis 1940: p. 26, Pl. XXXVI. 16, “undated”; ILIFFE 1945: p. 23, Pl. IX. 139, from Jerash, “undated”; HARDING 1950: pp. 81–82, Pl. XXV. 35, “dated to the mid–late third century A.D.”; ROBINSON 1959: p. 51, Pl. 45. J6 from the Athenian agora, Layer II, “late second century A.D.” The latter example is accompanied by a high pierced handle; BAR-ADON 1961: pp. 28–29, Fig. 1.8, “undated”; HAMMOND 1973b: p. 36, No. 134, “undated”; SMITH 1973: pp. 215–216, Pl. 65. 507, Pl. 83. 312, from Tomb 8, Chamber, “third century A.D.”; AVIGAD 1976: p. 24, Fig. 9.5, Pl. LXX. 5, which is approximately assigned to “the middle of the third century A.D.”; NEGEV – SIVAN 1977: pp. 117, 129,

61

Candlesticks: Nos. 68–69

Fig. 10. 65 from Phase II, which is dated to “the last quarter of the first century until about 150/200 A.D.” Petra offers a parallel example to lamp No. 67 in GRAWEHR 2006: p. 311, No. 258, from ez-Zantur excavations, “late Roman period”. Conclusion

According to the above-mentioned parallels, one could deduce that the lamps of Group III (Nos. 57 – 67) were well-known in the Nabataean sites, specially Petra, and also are heavily attested elsewhere during the third-early fourth centuries A.D. Besides, the ware of the lamps studied is of a local clay and cruder than the ware of the parallels from the non-Nabataean sites. Candlesticks (Nos. 68–69)

Acquired from Petra, Candlestick No. 68 is from the Jordanian Archaeological Museum in Amman. It is wheel-made consisting of a medium-sized hemispherical bowl with a tubular socket fixed firmly in the internal center of the bowl. Three slit openings occur around the foot of the socket in order to permit the oil to reach the wick. BRONEER (1930: p. 35, 44, Type A–5b) published some candlesticks which were uncovered in the sanctuary of Palaimon at Isthmia, sacred to Poseidon and the cult of Palaimon, and dated to the Augustan period. At Samaria, ninety-six similar candlesticks were found connected with the cult of Core, and dated to the first–third centuries A.D. (CROWFOOT et. al. 1953: pp. 373–374, Fig. 88. 11, Pl. XXIII. 1–2). The author includes a fragment of a large nozzle (No. 69) under the heading of “candlesticks”. This

wick-hole indicates the heavy use of such a “huge” candlestick to probably enlighten a large area or very spacious hall. This fragment was found in the 1981 Petra Excavations (KHAIRY 1990: p. 17, No. 38) where it belonged to Locus B. 16. 12, Phase Ib, dated by a number of coins of Aretas IV and his wife Shaqilat I. to 16–40 A.D. Description

68 Complete candlestick except for chip at rim (Fig. 68 ) Upper diam. 7.2 cm.; H. 3.5 cm. Thickness varies from 2 to 4 mm. Pinkish-red ware, fine calcite limestone grits included, evenly fired, traces of creamy band around rim outside, body comparatively fine to the touch and slightly stained. Hemispherical bowl, rim plain and sharp on top, high ring base, central socket in vertical position with three stabs around. 69 A large fragment of nozzle with body attachment from B. 16.12 (Fig. 69) 5.8 x 3.6 cm., and 2.9 cm. for the diameter of the wick-hole and almost 0.7 cm. for the thickness Red ware with grey core, gritty and thick coarse to the touch, pinkish slip externally, with some irregular streaks internally. Parallel Examples:

Candlestick No. 68 could be compared to CROWFOOT et. al., 1957: pp. 373–374, Fig. 88. 11, “first– third centuries A.D.”; ROSENTHAL – SIVAN 1978: p. 124, No.

Fig. 68

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I. Classifications and Characteristics

No. 69

512, “early Roman”; and BARRETT 2008: pp. 89–92, Fig. 4. 26, from Petra, “undated’. The latter example is furnished with a handle outside the rim.u Conclusion

Both candlesticks Nos. 68–69 were made in Petra during the first half of the first century A.D. Although candlestick No. 68 has some parallels from outside

Petra, it has its own local Nabataean ware characteristics. Fragment No. 69 is a unique Nabataean examplar and is never, so far, attested elsewhere in the literature.

II. Every Day Life and Religious Beliefs

An Antiquarian and Art Historic Commentary on the Nabataean Lamps Introduction

The Nabataeans who clearly understood how to paint and carve their elegant floral elements and were dexterous in producing the most sensitive and delicate pottery objects, could also express divine nature spontaneously with the Graeco-Hellenistic-Roman standards with which they had very intimate knowledge and acquaintance. The Nabataeans were deeply engrossed in the religions of the Hellenistic world and beyond. They framed their gods in agreement with their own local environment, traditions, faith, and worship. They also extended their worship outside their kingdom, such as in Delos, where a shrine for Hadad and Atargatis was established in the year 128–127 B.C. (INGHOLT 1954: pp. 5–7; WENNING 1987: p. 23 No. 4). Further, they dedicated offerings to Dushara’s sanctuary at Miletus (GLUECK 1965: 248; WENNING 1987: 23 Nr. 6). They set up sanctuaries in both Puteoli near Naples (CIS II, nos. 157–158; COOKE 1903: pp. 256–258; WENNING 1987: p. 22 Nr. 2 ), and Rhodes (CANTINEAU 1930: p. 21). This obviously indicates the presence of Nabataean traders and worshipers who demostrated their devotion in the above-mentioned sanctuaries. Consequently, one could deduce that the Nabataeans never lived in isolation, and accordingly they absorbed mythological and religious aspects from the GraecoRoman worlds, which were reflected in their own cult and art, as it is shown in the following artistic and figurative scenes present on the studied lamps. Regarding the figural representations on the lamps, mainly placed upon the upper sunken disks, one has to pose questions as to how far they reflect religious and every day life of the Nabataean capital at the time when they had been manufactured and used. As shown in the previous chapter, these small clay items have been modeled by the skillfull hands of local craftsmen – surely with the aid of moulds – and it is thus an inductive conclusion that the themes figured on these pieces of popular art reflect in a way the religious and esthetic demands of the craftsmen and of their clients. It is also intriguing to ask whether the represented themes provide any clue for the spatial environment in which these lamps had been used. A survey of the iconographical themes and patterns used by Nabataean potters can be organized into the following sub-chapters:

II. 1. Themes of Nabataean Every Day Life II. 1. 1. The Sandal Lamps (Figs. 40–41; 70–76)

One should assume that there is a metaphoric connection between the sandaled foot, body shape lamps Nos. 40–41 and the function of the lamps, since both are intended to guide, to lead, and to direct those who use such a means of vision and guidance. In his Geography (16, 4, 26), the Roman scholar Strabon gives an important account of Nabataean costume. His information goes presumably back to the authority of the late-Hellenistic writer Agatharchides from Cnidus, who temporarily himself resided at Petra (B OWERSOCK 1983, 12–13 with note 4. 20). For this reason, this author must be evaluated as a reliable eye-witness. As the “national” footwear of the Nabataeans, he reports “slippers”, literally in Greek “blaútiai” or “blaútê” in the singular. How the Nabataeans named this type of shoe is not reported and, due to the lack of written sources, we will probably never know. Consequently, one has to raise the question: Do the two lamps, both of them obviously manufactured by Nabataean potters, represent these ancient Arabian “blaútiai”? What did the Greeks understand by attributing this specific term to footwear? It is far too early to provide a definitive answer to this question. As a very preliminary result of research conducted on fashion and dresses of the Nabataeans, one might state that the Byzantine lexicon by Suidas gives a somewhat ubiquitous explanation of this term as “a kind of sandal” (“eîdos tinós hypodêmatos”). How “this” distinctive sort of ancient Arabian sandal differed from other Greek ones is, at the present stage of research, difficult to determine. The Greek blaútê was a luxury sandal, sometimes with golden buckles, worn on special occasions such as the symposion or a visit at the gymnasion (ERBACHER 1914, pp. 4–5). Original Nabataean leather shoes have recently been found in Jordanian and Saudi cemeteries such as Khirbet Qazone, Khirbet al-Dharih or Mada'in Salih. These original finds might elucidate the appearance of Strabon's Nabataean “blaútê”. Some years ago, Swiss excavations within the Siq uncovered monumental reliefs (Figs. 70–71) depicting leaders of caravans guiding their beasts of burden, dromedaris, towards the ancient city area (RUBEN 2003,. pp. 40–43 esp. Fig. 59). Unfortunately,

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Figs. 70–71: Monumental relief of a leader of caravans, Petra, Sîq. Detail of the sandal (Photos MOHAMMED ADI).

Fig. 72: Caravan leader, relief near ed-Deir (Photo M. ADI).

Figs. 73–75: Bronze potter’s stamp in the form of a sandaled foot, Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, Cabinet des Médailles (Photos TH. M. WEBER)

the human figures suffered serious damage by alluvial corrosion caused by the torrent waters flowing through the gorge after hydraulic maintenance had ceased. One lord of the caravan is preserved up to the hips (Fig. 70) while of the other one only the feet remain. Both of them have sandals as footwear with two straps running from the ankle joint over the back

of the foot and meeting between the big and the first toe (Fig. 71). Below the ankles, on each side is a vertical rein, slightly protruding above, connecting the bootlaces to the flat sole. A similar costume is shown on another relief near ed-Deir at Petra (Fig. 72). Due to the local character of these reliefs, one may conclude that the representation of the footwear

II. 1. Themes of Nabataean Every Day Life

comes rather close to what Strabon understood by “blaútê”. The same type of sandal is shown on a series of bronze figurines (HESSE 2007, pp. 133–148), which probably represent Nabataean ruler-gods. Comparing the representations with the sandaled foot lamps, however, there are obvious differences in the design. One has to take into account that also a variety of sandals existed in antiquity according to individual taste or seasonal fashions. For the time being, one can compare to the sandal-type of the two lamps Nos. 40–41 a fine bronze potter's stamp of a certain Phyderios (BABELON – BLANCHET 1895, p. 464 no. 1083) preserved in the Cabinet des Médailles of the old Bibliothèque Nationale at Paris (Figs. 73–75). This extraordinary specimen comes from Syria, unfortunately without any specification of the provenance. The design with its vertical strap running over the bridge of the foot, terminating above in two inverted volutes, is rather similar to the lamp-sandals as well as the lateral lambda-shaped fixing straps with a small rounded tongue protruding upward. The Paris stamp provides an interesting detail on the manufacture of the sandal: the covering leather of the sole has a denticulated border, bent downward to the lower side and fixed by small nails. There is justified hope

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that further research on the original leather finds from Nabataean cemeteries will help us understand the peculiarities of ancient Arabian craftsmanship in greater detail. It also seems possible that the fashion of Arabian Nabataean sandals with their characteristic pointed soles continued up to the period of the Byzantine realm: A number of wealthy residences and palaces in Madaba figure removed sandals of a type rather similar to the Nabataean ones at the entraces of reception halls (Fig. 76) which is certainly a symbol to welcome guests and to make them feel at home (P ICCIRILLO 1993: p. 76 Fig. 46. p. 79 Fig. 51). II. 1. 2. Fisherman Catching a Fish (Figs. 17; 77)

The discus of lamp No. 17 is decorated in high relief with a draped male-figure facing rightward and holding a net. Most probably, this action is to be interpreted as fisherman. At first glance, such a representation might surprise a modern spectator. The Nabataeans were people living in arid regions where water was a precious commodity. The lack of this substantial element provided by nature for human survival forced

Fig. 76: Mosaic representation of taken-off sandals at the entrance of a Byzantine reception hall at Madaba (Photo TH. M. WEBER).

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all the Arabian desert folks to a more or less masterly but always prudent household use of this scarce resource. It is well known that the Nabataeans as well as their tribal relatives in the southern Arabian peninsula achieved excellent engineering skills in the hydraulic management of water (HÜBNER 2004: 77– 105) which guaranteed prospering agriculture, not only in the immediate vicinity of their religious, political and commercial center Petra, but also in the confines of the desert. Scholarly exploration in the Arabia Petraea is in many respects too vague, yet, in order to decide whether artificial dams or other refined irrigation installations provided sufficient facilities for creating artificial pools in which fish breeding was possible. At least, one representative pavillon in the very center of Petra was surrounded by artificial pools permanently filled with water. The Swiss-Liechtenstein excavations at ez-Zantur, a rich living quarter in the Nabataean capital, has proved, on the other hand, that fish made up to 14% of the total diet of the inhabitants of the villa during the late Roman period (STUDER 1996, 369–370) compared with the rest of the faunal nourishment. Even though it would be hard to imagine today that fishing in ponds was something like a daily evening leisure for the inhabitants at Petra, one should not forget that the Red Sea coastal line along both the Sinai peninsula as well as the Arabian subcontinent politically permanently belonged to their empire. The territory of the kingdom, in fact, comprised considerable sea water surface area. That is why one could talk with NELSON GLUECK about “Deities and Dolphins” (1965) when discussing Nabataean history. The famous limestone bust of the dolphin goddess (Fig. 77), the “twin-sister” and iconographical counterpart of the grain deity, both found in the temple of Khirbet at-Tannûr, points to the widely neglected aspect of Nabataean sea power. In that part of the ancient world, the local inhabitants were not only well acquainted with the sandy overland caravan routes, but also with the nautical conditions of the Monsoon winds dominating the sea. No wonder the Nabataeans were not only appreciated as gentle seafaring merchants, but earned also quite a bad reputation, during sometimes at least, due to their piracy raids (BOWERSOCK 1983, 20–21). Literary sources can only shed a glimpse on what was the daily business at Ayla / Aqaba at that time. The above-mentioned faunal remains from ezZantur, however, testify to the direct import of fish from the Read Sea – either in the form of fresh draught or as “tinned food” or fermented sauces (garum). At present, it is impossible to decide whether the theme shown on lamp No. 17 was a random choice of a craft well known in Nabataean society, or whether it served a special purpose, to enlighten the dark freezing cellar of a seafood shop or to decorate the

Fig. 77: Limestone bust representing the astrological symobol of the Pisces (after GLUECK 1965, pl. 1).

table of a triclinium in which Red Sea fish was offered as a guest meal. There are many issues which would make good sense, but all are highly speculative. II. 1. 3. Symplegmata (Figs. 13–14; 78–80)

Shame, intimacy, and sexuality are the most precious gifts provided by God to mortals. It is a banal fact that different cultures, in past and present, deal with these in different ways. The mystery of this divine grant is the biological continuance of mankind even under extremely dangerous external forces, such as climate change, plagues, natural catastrophes, or cruel wars. For millennia, mankind survived even these extreme challenges. Sexuality, according to Greek Platonic philosophy, is the most of human interactions. The narrow frame of the present survey does not allow us to go into details of this philosophy, and other future studies may supplement these sketchy considerations. Alas, not all humans are ideal, and for this reason there are a lot of trespasses against this divine and moral rule. Especially Christian fundamentalism directed, in some instances, extremely hostile attitudes toward sexuality which automatically led to an austere discrimination of the female part of mankind, resulting in cruel persecutions of women in medieval Europe. As mentioned before, these complicated facts cannot be stressed sufficiently enough in these introductionary remarks. The Orient, on the other hand, behaved much more moderately in this matter, where prominent political female leaders such as the famous Queen of Saba, Zenobia of Palmyra or various heroic women joining forces with the Berber

II. 1. Themes of Nabataean Every Day Life

tribes against invadors such as the victorious Kahena (fighting against the army of Hasan ibn al-Nûman alGhassani in the battle of Guerrat al-Tarf) intervened substantially into the political realm of their life times. Note-worthy in this context, there is hardly a comparable equivalelent for such an emancipation of the female gender to be found in the ancient or early medieval history of the Western World. The subject of sexual interaction is quite frequently attested on the discs of the Nabataean lamps Nos. 13–14. They pertain to passionate love, amorous, and amatory arts. Themes of this genre are also well-known in many other regions of the Graeco-Roman world during the first – early second centuries A.D. The Nabataean coroplast obviously aimed at stimulate loving pairs to enjoy their erotic practices. Greek drinking meals were renown for organistic sexual exaggeration, and Athenian vase painting of the Archaic and Classical periods provide an avalanche of pictures showing men and women making love in lascivious positions (in Greek: symplegmata). In the context of the consumption of wine, such actions are commonly associated with the cult of Dionysos stressing the ecstasy reached through sexuality. It is well known, that the Nabataeans not only cultivated vineyards around Petra. They also consumed wine during official drinking meals in the company of

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young women of entertainment, comparable to the manner of Greek haiteirai: “They prepare common meals together in groups of thirteen persons; and they have two girlsingers for each banquet. The king holds many drinking-bouts in magnifivcient style, but no one drinks more than eleven coupfuls, each time using a different golden cup” (Strabon, Geography 16.4.26). The quantity mentioned by Strabon is, frankly speaking, far from being modest: Even if one calculates a minimum of liquid which one of the well-studied pottery vessels could hold, approximately 0.2–02.5 cl, the consumed portion of wine during these state receptions could amount up to 2.5 to 3 liters, surely enough for a modest drinker to kick over the traces even if the pure wine would have been mixed with water according to Hellenic drinking habits. It is not known, whether lamps with erotic representations would have possibly been used to enlighten the halls for such common meals, the triclinia. The inspiration for pictures of this sort is securely rooted in Greek art. They reached the Oriental regions already in Pre-Hellenistic times as a searies of Graeco-Persian gems witness. Small terracotta pinakes were found in countless number in Hellenistic Seleucia on the Tigris (I NVERNIZZI 1993, 155–165). The vulgar art of erotic scenes never ceased in the lands east of the Jordan River after the political decline of the Nabataean kingdom. One of the finest

Fig. 78: Umayyad charcoal brazier with erotic scenes, bronze, from al-Feda’in, Mafraq (after J. B. HUMBERT, in: Der Königsweg 348 Fig. 353; Photo MOHAMMED ADI)

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Fig. 79: Detail of the Umayyad charcoal-Brazier with erotic scenes, bronze, from al-Feda’in, Mafraq (Photo MOHAMMAD ADI).

II. 1. Themes of Nabataean Every Day Life

examples of that genre came to light at the Umayyad site of al-Feda’in (Figs. 78–79) at Mafraq. This findspot was one of the major Arab administrative centers during the reign of Calif Walid II (743–744 AD), already in the aftermath of the Umayyad splendor. The brazier belonged to the household of a noble Arab lady who sojourned there shortly prior to a fatal earthquake around the middle of the 8th century A.D. Her name is written in Cufic letters in some of the stone vessels found with the metal object, indicating that all the houshold utensils belonged to her private property. II. 1. 4. The Cluster of Grapes (Figs. 61; 80–81)

Two clusters of grapes in high relief appear on the sunken discus of lamp No. 61, which represent the fertility character of the Nabataean cult. The occurrence of the grapes and vine motif in both Nabataean architecture and pottery decoration are frequently attested. This is shown in the frescoes in one of the banquet halls in the Sîq al-Bârid, which is located in the northern vicinity of Petra (ZAYADINE 1997: 54 Fig. 52 a–d). The vaulted ceiling is covered by polychrome wall painting showing a spreading cluster of vine populated with various figures well known in Greek mythology. Despite the considerable

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damage to this wall painting caused by the elements or by the smoke of fires, one can clearly recognize the seated shepherd god Pan with goat horns and legs, playing the flute. Another vignette of this bucolic vineyard is filled by a winged Eros hunting with bow and arrows (Fig. 80). The illusory representation of ashlar masonry in painted stucco (Fig. 81), however, links this monument chronologically with the Pompeian wall painting of the second style and with the lush figural art of the late Hellenistic Ptolemaean capital of Alexandria. Such figurative scenes with vines probably gain a cultic role in the worship of Dushara, the Nabataean god of wine and revelry, who is commonly associated with Greek Dionysus or Roman Bacchus. A critical standpoint to this identification, however, has been questioned by J. P ATRICH (2005: 95–113). Beside this, four fruits were connected with the worship of the Nabataean goddess Atargatis: the cluster of grapes, the cone of pine, the pomegranate, and the spike of grain, which are difficult to count their included seeds and minor units, and consequently symbolize fertility. II. 1. 5. The Olive Branches (Figs. 36–37; 82)

There seems to be a direct relationship between Atargatis, the Nabataean goddess of fertility and the yello-

Figs. 80–81: Wall painting and detail of illusory ashlar masonry in painted stucco inside the Nabataean banquet hall at Sîq al-Bârid (Photos TH. M. WEBER).

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Fig. 82: Fragment of a sandstone frieze showing naked winged Eros supporting a garland of olive branches, probably from the royal palace upon the Umm al-Biyâra plateau, early 1st century AD, Petra, Archaeological Museum (after Gesichter des Orients, Exhib.-Cat. Berlin 2004, 146 Fig. 7,8).

wish-green olive wreathes which occurred on lamps (Nos. 36–37). Each branch bears two olives and three leaves. Such a floral element was adopted by the Nabataeans from Greek mythology. The olive tree is the holy plant of the soils of Attica and its capital Athens, where the oil was granted to the winners in the Panathenaic races in special amphorae painted in black figure style since the rule of the tyrant Peisistratos. The olive branch, shown on early Athenian coinage, indicates fertility and prosperity of the land, protected by the city's patron, the virgin goddess Athena, daughter of the supreme Olympian, Zeus. The most impressive representation of the mythic introduction of the holy tree to Attica by Athena, combating against the stroke of the trident by her divine rival Poseidon, is found in the sculptures of the western pediment of the Classical Parthenon, the city’s main temple furnished by the atelier of Pheidias with marble figures of immortal beauty. As the myth reports, the Athenians considered the introduction of this tree as a divine grant, and the logical question resulting from that is: Where are the real origins of olive cultivation? Many other agricultural plants, the olive tree as well as both vines and fig trees, are deeply rooted in the southern Levant, where the wild growing tree was grafted already by early Semitic peoples in order to

improve seasonal yields. The Old Testament sheds light on the earliest stages of human history: the oil of the olive is already mentioned as an enrichment of food, as a liquid for ointment of the hair or the entire body, for sacrifices, and as burning fuel for lamps (HEHN 81911 repr. 1963: p. 103). The interior of Asia as well as Egypt did not gain much prosperity from this tree which thrives on Mediterranean lime soils under a moderate climate. It is thus evident, that the Nabataeans, throughout their entire history, were well acquainted with the maintenance of this extraordinary plant and the consumption of its fruits. Apart from the terracotta lamps discussed in the present book, there are other archaeological finds that emphasize the appreciation of olives by the Nabataeans. The preliminary analysis of botanical remains found by refined excavation methods of the SwissLiechtenstein mission to Petra, ez-Zantur, documents a rather high number of olive kernels, the remains of which, after the pressing process, had been used for fuel (KARG 1996, 356). This was, of course, a common practice in all Mediterranean areas. Examining the occurence of the olive branch in Nabataean figural art, one may point to the delicately painted luxury pottery in which various floral motifs were obviously inspired by the natural prototype of the olive branch. It occurs as well on numerous reliefs used for the embellishment of palaces, houses, temples, and tombs: We may confine ourselves to a high quality relief block showing a nude winged Eros holding a garland of olive branches (Fig. 82). Corresponding representations, combining other floral motifs with the Erotes, had been found upon the rocky plateau of Umm al-Biyâra (LINDNER 1970, 46 Fig. 5) where recent archaeological investigation headed by STEPHAN SCHMID (2010, in Press) located the royal Nabataean palaces in an audacious position dominating the lower city of Petra. Such pieces of high-quality sculptural workmanship, probably commanded by the Nabataean court in order to embellish the royal residence or important sanctuaries, might testify to the importance of the olive as one of the “national” plants of Nabataean society. II. 1. 6. The Dove (Figs. 18; 83–84)

Discus of lamp No. 18 is decorated with a dove to the right with spread wings, seen in profile. The displayed pose has been always a favorite subject with Oriental artists. In Nabataean art, the feathers of the wings and breast are carved in coarse, each overlapping regularly over the one below it like the tiles of a roof (AVI-YONAH 1947: 136). In Roman mythology the dove is the messenger and the metaphorical envoy to carry the escaped soul of the dead to heaven.

II. 1. Themes of Nabataean Every Day Life

In the Oriental realm, however, the wild dove or domesticated pigeon occupied a special rank in the ornithological fauna (HEHN 81911: repr. 1963: pp. 341–354). The historian Xenophon, marching as a Greek mercenary officer in the service of the Persian great king Cyrus the younger throughout Syria, is astonished by the fact that the inhabitants of this Oriental country venerate fish and doves alike as divine beings to such an extend that they did not dare to do them any harm: “The Syrians venerated the fishes as Gods, and, in the same way, the doves, and, for this reason, they did not harm them” (Anabasis I, 4,9). The historian Diodorus of Sicily adds that Semiramis, a deity originating in central Asia, derived her name from the doves: “Semiramis has been named in the language of the Syrians after the doves who have been adored since that time by all inhabitants of Syria as goddesses (History 2,4). This explanation is confirmed in the Byzantine lexicon by Suidas under the entry “Semiramis: ‘it means the mountainous pigeon in Greek vulgar language’.” Her birth is linked by one version of Greek myth with the Levantine port town of Ascalon, the northern twin of the Nabataean incense harbor of Gaza. Here she was exposed immediately after her birth by her mother, the fish goddess Derketo, breathed by doves and raised by the shepherd Simmas, who gave her his name. Afterward she appeared at Nineveh as a splendid warrior and finally metamorphosed into a pigeon and escaped in the company of other doves (Diodorus, History 2,20, referring to Ktesias). Another varying narrative of this myth, provided by Hygieinos (fabulae 197), speaks about a monstrous egg fallen from heaven into the Euphrates, brought by the fishes to the shore and breathed by doves, and Venus slipped from the shells, later identified with the Dea Syria. For this reason, as Hygieinos adds, the Syrians keep fish and doves alike as holy and strictly forbid eating their meat. At Hierapolis-Bambyke (modern Membij), the centre of the cult of the Syrian Goddess, doves were consequently considered as sacred to such an extreme extent that the humans living there avoided even to touching them. In case this happened by accident, the men or women to whom this happened were considered by the society as criminals. Lucian, in his 54th chapter of his treatise on the Syrian Goddess, adds that doves invaded the living-place of the humans that “they lived in fact together as roommates occupying widely the ordinary floors of the living-space of humans.” Even more extreme conditions reports Philon of Ascalon, about his place: “ I found an innumerable crowd of doves there on the streets and within the houses, and when I asked for the reason of this, they replied that there is a traditional religious law forbidding to catch the pigeons in order to deliver them to profane use. For this reason, this animal became so tame that it dose not only leave under the roof of human houses, but it shares also the convivial table of

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men with outrageous impudence” (Euselius, praep. Evang. 8, 14). Profane use of the animal does not only refer to the consumption of its meat and eggs, but obviously included the extraordinary ability of this special species of birds as messengers, certainly due to its intimate symbiosis with humans. Such a meaning is already implied by the sending of the two birds, a raven and a dove, from the landed Noah's ark after the great Flood, variously confirmed by non-biblical cuneiform texts: The wild, black raven stays away while the tamed white dove returns holding a prospering cane in her nib as a message of life. The bird's use as a message-carrier was already known in the Old Empire of Pharaonic Egypt. The earliest explicit literary reference to the carrier-pigeon is the question by Pseudo-Jesaias (60,8) “Who are those who fly like the clouds and like the doves to their windows (i.e. fences of their dove-cote)?”, dating back to the period of the Persian exile. Many other texts mentioning this extraordinary service provided by the tamed bird to humans has been gathered in the exhaustive handbook by V ICTOR HEHN (81911, repr. 1963: pp. 348– 349, cf. RICHTER 1979: p. 535). The most impressive occurrence of the messenger pigeon in Greece goes back to the year 444 BC, when the wrestler Taurosthenes from Aigina island allegedly vanquished his rivals in the Olympic match of the pancration. According to an anecdote by Claudius Aelianus (ca. AD 170–240), he sent a carrier pigeon with the message about his victory from the sanctuary of Olympia to this father on his native island, which arrived over the distance of about 300 km on the evening of the same day (Claudius Aelianus, Poikile Historia 9,2; cf. Pausanias, Periegisis VI, 9, 3). There could be more to mention on the religious significance and on the practical use of the tamed bird in the ancient world. One has to confine himself in the present context to the essential question: What was the significance for a Nabataean spectator who bought a lamp in a local pottery workshop with a representation such as one finds on No. 18 One could, of course, vaguely argue that the depiction of a dove has something to do with the fertility cults of female deities, especially that of al-‘Uzza, the Arabian equivalent of Greek Aphrodite. One rock-cut monument in Petra has tentatively been associated with the breeding and daily use of pigeons: At the eastern face of the steep al-Hâbis rock, a large room can be reached by a path behind the old Nazal camp hotel. It is located at the southern end of a row of tombs and is distinguished from the usual type of Nabataean burial installations by dense rows of square niches arranged in horizontal tiers, covering every inch of the inner walls and most of the space of the recessed front (Fig. 83). Its resemblance to the Roman type of a columbarium and its topographical context with other, partly unfinished tombs made some scholars

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believe that this is a special type of burial place. There are, however, two strong arguments against such an interpretation: Columbaria with rows and registers for the reception of cinerary urns are common during the late Republic and the early years of the principate in the suburban cemeteries of the Roman capital and in some towns of central Italian Latium. Here these burial places had been erected by the specific class of Roman citizens, namely by former slaves who achieved the liberation or manumission because of their patrons. The common rite of burial at Rome was the cremation of the bodies and the deposit of their ashes in urns. In the provinces outside of Italy, this type of mausolea is only rarely attested. As I AN BROWNING in his popular guide book on Petra (1973: 165) convincingly argued, the niches of the Petra columbarium, are “not really big enough, being only about ten inches in square, to hold funerary urns and so it is extremely doubtful that this was the purpose of this particular monument. The back of each niche slopes down inwards so that no tall object, like an urn, could stand on the rather narrow

ledge.” An additional argument supporting BROWNING’s doubt is the fact that the cremation of dead bodies contradicted the religious beliefs of Oriental societies and thus was extremely rarely practiced. Further, Strabon’s statement that the Nabataeans “have but few slaves” (Geography 16.4,26) speaks against an interpretation of the Petra monument as the funeral place for this social group according to the Roman prototype. Again, BROWNING’s (1973: p. 165) conclusion, also not met with universal agreement among in scholars, is: “The whole arrangement looks like a Post Office sorting grid except that the niches have no depth to them. In Latin a columbarium is a pigeon-house or dove-cote, but any pigeon trying to perch there would quickly end up with a very stiff neck.” It would be interesting to see in a practical experiment how stiff a dove’s neck really gets in a shelter of limited space. It is well known that the bird takes rest with its head stuck underneath its wings, and it is questionable whether the niches would really not suffice for such a position. The last word on the significance of this monu-

Fig. 83: The columbarium at Petra, located on the southeast of the al-Hâbis massive (Photo by MOHAMMED ADI).

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Fig. 84: Modern dove house near Priasto on the Cycladic island of Tinos, Greece (Photo TH. M. WEBER). ment has to do with purpose. To the author's knowledge, there are only two other columbaria in Jordan, both located in a more pastoral rather than urban environment: The first is a tower-shaped, rock-cut columbarium called ed-Dêr in Wâdî Sîr south-west of Amman, the second a cave with triangular niches arranged into tiers at the entry to the Wâdî Shuwaîb southwest of Salt. It may be worth concluding these remarks here with a hint on the architecture of dove houses (Fig.

84) created by vernacular modern architects in the Cycladic Islands of Tinos and Andros (CHARITONIDI – GOULANDRIS 1979). In this circular group of islands occupying the centre of the Aegean archipelagos, these tower-shaped buildings of peculiar appearance are called by the inhabitants “peristerónes”. Standing on the slopes of ravines and gullies at a distance from human dwellings, these white-washed pigeon-towers dominate the landscape, contrasting in color with the burned golden-brown harvested fields, the vast silver-

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Fig. 85: Dionysos sailing with the company of the dolphins across the ‘coral-red’ wine-colored sea bringing to mortals the present of grapes. Athenian black figure wine cup (kylix) signed by Exekias (ca. 530 BC), from Vulci. Munich, Antikensammlungen (after BUSCHOR 1969: 133 Fig. 144). green olive orchards and the bright blue of the Aegean Sea and the cloudless sky. “Each of these dove-houses is built in the same spare style as all human abodes in the Cyclades islands. But their richly patterned walls, constructed of stone slabs and sunlight, transform these small buildings into devotional symbols set up throughout the country in some parts of the islands” (C HARITONIDI – GOULANDRIS 1979: p. 9). II. 1. 7. The Dolphin (Figs. 60. 85–86)

The relief discus of lamp No. 60 is decorated with a dolphinlike animal with crescent-shaped, curved tail, diving in vertical position. Greek myth pays much attention to the manifold men-loving attitudes of the dolphin, but the transformation of these narratives by Arab societies is less known due to the lack of written sources. The dolphin was sacred to Poseidon, the god of the sea and of horses, because it brought to him his divine spouse Amphitrite. It acted further as the holy animal of Apollon, and it appears as a recurrent companion of sea-foamborn Aphrodite with an Eros riding on it (Figs. 112–113). Also the wine god Dionysos has strong affinity to the dolphin in the myth bringing the appreciated present of the wine on an

oversea journey from the Orient to the mortals (Fig. 85). It was the far most beloved animal of the sea-faring Greeks because it symbolized diligence, love, and swiftness (Z IMMERMAN 1966: p. 71). Many heroes and founders of overseas colonies were said to have been saved by the dolphin from the dangers of the sea such as Arion, Phalantos, Taras, Melikertes, Eikadios – just to mention a few of the most prominent personalities. Even though living in the open sea, the dolphin should not be classified as a sort of fish since biologically its species belongs to the mammals. Already Aristoteles correctly attributed it to the zoological class of the whales (History of Animals 489ab al.), breathing with lungs (ibid. 536a. 589B al) and being furnished with skeletal bones (ibid. 516b). As the renown book by NELSON GLUECK (1965) attests through its peculiar title, the dolphin played a substantial role in Nabataean religious and cultural history. GLUECK has followed evidence for dolphins throughout the dry lands of Transjordan (1965: 319–339), where admittedly nobody would expect its appearance due to the arid nature of this desert land. The American scholar pointed in this context the connections of the dolphin to the Mediterranean, where the occurrence of this animal is physically much more accustomed. One plausible function of dolphins was to serve as water spouts at public or private fountains. In far off Aï Khanoum one lavish stone bust of a dolphin appears with that of a Molossian dog, and both functioned as gargoyles at a nymphaeum that had been built around the middle of the 3rd century BC on the shores of Oxus river (LERICHE 1986: 33–34; 107 pl. 13 Figs. 24–26; Figs. 93–96). In the same function, but different in terms of style and iconography, the head of a dolphin at Amman must be attributed to a public fountain which flanked a road leading from ancient Philadelphia westward to the Tranjordanian city of Gadora / Salt (WEBER 2002, 512– 513 no. D 13 pl. 155: F–H). A more cultic rather than a purely decorative purpose may be assumed for a dolphin statue uncovered on the Island of Ikaros in the Arabian Gulf (GACHET – SALLES 1990, 193–195). Small-sized dolphins made out of Terracotta or metal might have served as votives, too. Their small size and weight, however, made these items easy for transport, and thus their interpretation as talismans for travelers could be assumed as well. A bronze figurine found in the excavations at Pella / Tabaqât Fahil may be identified, due to the shape of its spouted mouth, as a dolphin. Dedications of this animal, chiseled out of stone or cast in bronze, are known from various sanctuaries in the Middle East and on the Arabian Peninsula. A bronze statuette showing a dolphin with a cork-screw-like curled tail from Husn Sulaiman / Baetocaeca in northern Syria (WEBER 1993: 83 pl. 12,3) might have been part of a Roman military vexillum (cf. FRANKEN 2002: 369–382), dedicated by a veteran to the sanctuary of the local Zeus Baitokaikos. A similar piece, with only the twisted tail of it preserved, has been found in the shrine of the Arabian 'Allat at Eram / Wâdî Ram (GLUECK 1965: 20. 243 pl. 8A), a holy place and resting place for Nabataean caravans on their way to the lands of incense, Arabia Felix. One of these merchants might have lost another bronze figurine out of his pocket at Qaryat al-Faw (AL-ANSARY

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Fig. 86: The zodiac in the Umayyad bath of Qusayr ‘Amra (Photo TH. M. WEBER). 1982 below; 114), shortly before arriving at his destiny in Southern Arabia. An answer to the riddle, why this sea animal occurs so frequently in the sandy deserts of Arabia might be found in the astrological importance as sign of stars within the Zodiac (NEGEV 1981, 396–397). For its life-saving service, the dolphin was raised by Poseidon, Zeus or Dionysos as a constellation of nine stars, the “signum musicum” close to the tropic of the Capricorn (RICHTER 1979: 1149). At a time when GPS and even compasses were widely unknown, only an ingenious sort of ancient sextant had been found by the Greek archaeologist VALERIOS STAIS on the Kythera island; the knowledge of the

star constellations was essential in order to navigate to one’s destination, on the sea as in the desert. The zodiac wall painting in the dome of the central bathing room of Qusayr ‘Amra (Fig. 86) impressively testifies that the dolphin as an astral symbol kept its importance in the middle of the desert up to the year of the reign of the Umayyad Caliphs. The association of a dolphin shown on the discus of a lamp as a symbol of a secure guide through the darkness seems plausible, but due to the lack of written information on this subject matter, such a conclusion remains hypothetical.

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II. 1. 8. The Locust on the Grapes (Figs. 22; 48; 87–88)

On the discus of both lamps, Nos. 22 and 48, is a figurative scene in high relief which stems from the artist’s environment, nature, and religion: a locust to the left is greedily eating a bunch of grapes, appearing with powerful hind legs adopted for leaping. Such an insect is migratory and destructive of grain and vegetation. Hence, it represents the wicked evil while the cluster of grapes indicates fertility and the most gracious and munificent fruit which is probably connected with the worship of the Nabataean Atargatis, the goddess of fertility. The massive presence of locusts moving in swarms that darken the sky during day, blown over far distances by the wind, and catastrophically destroying all agricultural crops, was always felt as a plague and

Fig. 87: Roman marble copy of the Classical bronze statue of Apollon Parnopios, attributed to Pheidias, Kassel, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Schloß Wilhelmshöhe (Photo TH. M. WEBER).

as a serious threat to sedentary cultures, in antiquity as nowadays. The Old Testament informs us about the well-known seven fertile and the seven meagre years in Palestine, and the priests of the Hebrews augured their appearance like that of the apocalyptic horsemen of Saint John as a punishment for human trespasses. The Greeks sought divine help against this plague by Apollon, surnamed Parnopios, who was represented by a magnificent bronze statue on the Athenian Acropolis. Pausanias (Periegisis I, 24, 8) reports: “ Opposite the temple is a bronze Apollon, said to be the work of Pheidias. They call it the ‘Locust God’(Parnopios), because once when locusts were devasting the land the god said that he would drive them out from Attica. That he did drive them away they know, but they do not say how. I myself know that locusts have been destroyed three times in the past on Mount Siphylus, and not in the same way. Once a gale arose and swept them away. On another occasion violent heat came on after rain and destroyed them. The third time sudden cold cought them and they died”. It is commonly believed that this statue of Apollon Parnopios, attributed already in antiquity to Pheidias, survived in a series of Roman marble copies, as is shown in the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Schloss Wilhelmshöhe at Kassel, Germany (Fig. 87). According to an old proposal of restitution for the Kassel replica, the god held in his right hand either a bunch of laurel branches or a golden locust, one of the animals extinguished by him. As already stated, this vermin never earned much human sympathy and thus the rare representation in ancient art. A sort of grasshopper is shown on a frieze on the outside face of an Athenian black figure drinking bowl, privately owned in a Switzerland collection of antiquities, depicting the insect in the company of other parasites (W ALKER 1996: 4–6 No. II, 4). This species, however, does not seem to be one of the aggressive zoological species, and the same might be true for a Roman bronze statuette in the same collection of the late LEO MILDENBERG (Fig. 88). All these monuments are not very helpful for understanding the representation of a locust on a wine grape shown on a Nabataean lamp. Even more puzzling than this are the pure biological facts: According to the History of Animals (555b, 18–20) by the ingenious, early Hellenistic universal scholar Aristoteles, the personal teacher of Alexander III of Macedonia, later named “the Great” by historians, the locusts deposited their impregnated eggs toward the end of the summer season into the freshly ploughed soils in which they survived during the cold winter months. Especially during the dry summers, they invaded in mass the freshly prospering crops and particularly the blossoms of the vines. In this respect, the representations of lamps Nos. 22 and 48 are somehow misleading. Their natural enemies came by air, owls, falcons and jackdaws, but

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Fig. 88: Roman bronze statuette of a locust or a grasshopper, Switzerland, private collection of the late LEO MILDENBERG (after WALKER 1996: 4 Fig. 3 (III,3).

the locusts survived under favorable climatic conditions in sufficient numbers to maintain this serious challenge to agriculture. Exposed to heavy winds, floods or sudden cold, as reported by Pausanias, they were not able to survive. As stated above, Petra and its environs were reputed in the heyday of the Nabataean kingdom as a zone of highly developed agriculture and vintage. The representation of vermin on popular items like terracotta lamps reflect an everyday aspect of efforts in the life of indigenous farmers to prevent their agricultural products from disasters caused by nature. II. 1. 9. The Crescent (Figs. 24–26; 89–91)

A number of further astral symbols such as the dolphin decorate ancient lamps and one easily comprehends their protective, guiding functions in this context. Lamps Nos. 23–25 are furnished either with lunate handles as in Nos. 24 and 25, or decorated on top with a crescent-like handle as in No. 25. Such representations might symbolize in Roman mythology Luna, the goddess of the moon and of months, which was identified with the Greek Selene, and also Diana, the Roman goddess of the crescent – moon, chastity, virginity, hunting, and was identified with the Greek Artemis. Such combinations of both the sunrays like and the crescent in the same lamp as in No. 25 which symbolises day and night, since the sun and moon are providing us with the everlasting permitted vision and luminosity that oppose darkness. The crescent motif survives from earliest antiquity until our days as a protector against evil, and its widespread use is attested in all primitive and civilized cultures since the influence of the growing and waning moon on the natural calendar and human fate is one of the most elemental experiences of mortal life. In its combination with a five-ray star, the crescent, al-hilâl in Arabic, became one of the central

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symbols of Islam. Its high apotropaic value explains the popular use of the half-moon in jewelry as an amulet as well as for humans and animals (see W REDE 1975: 243–254). Lunulate hangers occur in antiquity as today in the center of the bridles of horses, divine lions, and tamed cattle. The references in ancient figural art are abundant in number and it is beyond the frame of the present essay to discuss them in detail. A larger than life-sized equestrian basalt statue, however, found in the Arab tribal sanctuary in Sahr al-Ledja, southern Syria (Fig. 89), may suffice to illustrate this magic function of protection and guidance. Another possible purpose of jewelry was to assign a real or assumed social or religious rank to the wearer. In this additional sense, they are worn by gods, goddesses, and mortals of both genders in different ages, hanging from their necklaces. An instructive example for this is a series of Nabataean terracotta figurines from Petra depicting a nude standing boy raising his right hand in a gesture of adoration (Fig. 90). An example of the strong chronological persistence of the lunula in vernacular Arab jewelry is a lavish modern silver pendant from Aswan in Nubia, once on display in the Exler Gallery at Frankfort/M, Germany (Fig. 91): Here, the crescent and the star appear linked to a large silver plaque from which five sets of three chains are hung. A small silver-sheet triangle, each with a punched star, is fixed on each chain. The magic aspect of the pendant is emphasized by seven red or blue glass beads, three of them on the crescent, three on the rectangular plaque,

Fig. 89: Crescent-shaped amulet on the breast bridle of a horse, fragment of an equestrian basalt statue from Sahr alLedja, Syria, 1st Century AD (after WEBER 2009: 180 Fig. 508).

Fig. 90: Terracotta figurine (fragment) depicting a standing nude boy, from Petra, wearing a lunula at his necklace, 1st Century AD, Petra, Archaeologi-cal Museum (after PARLASCA 1991: 114 Fig. 8).

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Fig. 91: Large silver pendant from Nubia, modern, Frankfort/M, Germany, EXLER Gallery (after BACHINGER – SCHIENERL 1984: 67 no. 45). and one on the star. Crescent, plaque, and star are additionally embroidered by systems of geometrical ornaments, punched, embossed or incised by tremolo engraving. II. 1. 10. The Scallop-Shell (Figs. 33–34; 92–93)

The scallop-shell appearing on lamps Nos. 33–34 represents a cult element dedicated to the worship of Aphrodite (BAILEY 1988: 85; CRELIER 1995: 86). Some Classical Athenian vases in the shape of the closed scallop may alluded to this goddess. An oil flask (Greek “Lekythos”) at Boston dated to the mid 4th century BC is modelled in the shape of the bathing goddess kneeling in an opened scallop attended by two small nude Erotes gliding from the sky down to the shell basin (Fig. 92) which is certainly an irrefutable proof for our statement. The Nabataeans related his conventional sign to both of their goddesses Allat and al-’Uzza who were affiliated with water, and hence they were also equivalent to Aphrodite. Consequently, both Aphrodite and Atargatis were closely related to each other by being associated with seas and springs (ZAYADINE 2003: 62). Besides, Aphrodite had been created from the foam of the sea waves, and Atargatis was symbolized in a legendary marine form. N. GLUECK (1965: pp. 359–360) states that the Nabataeans connected Atargatis with the goddess Allat. They also continued to worship al-‘Uzza until around the end of the third

century A.D. The species represented on the lamps is only one variety of the zoological class of shells, assigned by the collective name “óstrea” in vernacular demotic Greek. Shell fish in general were a popular element of the daily diet, but also used for the production of purple dyes (murex) or the forming of pearls (KRENKEL 1979, 1480–1481). Ancient zoology subdivided the group of scallops into two species, the pecten maximus and the pecten jacobaeus L., both called “kteis” in Greek (Aristoteles, History of Animals, 4, 4, p. 528a, 15; Pliny, Historia Naturalis 9, 103), both characterized by their two cambered valves of oval outlines, rounded toward the front and held together by a swollen hinge-joint at the rear. The outside surface is radially ribbed, extending from the hinge. These scallops were known for their deliciousness on the eastern Greek island Mytilene and at the southern Italian harbor of Tarentum (Ennius, Hedyphagetica 3; Pliny, Historia Naturalis 32, 150; Horatius, Satyrae 2,4, 34; Gellius, Noctes Atticae 6, 16, 5; Petronius, Satyrikon 70,6; Athenaeus, Deipnosophistai 3, 90 F). Apart from coroplastic art, the motif of the upright standing scallop valve enjoyed great appreciation as a decorative element in Oriental Roman architecture, here served as a semi-domed crowning of an apsidal niche, semicircular in cross section. The ribbing of the valve appears inverted compared to the natural prototype in order to fit the purpose of a cover. Those niches occur in temples such as at as-Sanamein and Brekeh, in garden-triclinia such as in Bosra (Fig. 93), or in funeral architecture such as the rock-tomb

Fig. 92: Plastic Athenian Lekythos: Aphrodite in the bath-basin formed by an opened scallop, about 350 BC, Boston, Mass., Museum of Fine Arts, Acc. no. 00.629 (photo courtesy by the trustees of the MFA, Boston.).

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Fig. 93: Semi-domed crown of a niche in the shape of a scallop, garden-triclinium at Bosra (Photo TH. M. WEBER).

of the Secundi at Saidnaya. In all cited examples the scallop semi-dome seems to symbolize a protective function and an apparently happy aspect of life, probably caused by its allusion to one of the above mentioned deities. II. 1. 11. The Lion (Figs. 20–21; 94–97)

Each discus of lamps Nos. 20–21 is decorated in relief with a lion jumping to the right, while his hind right leg is still pressed upon the floor in attacking position. In Nabataean art, the lion is shown full face with an open mouth and a partly protruding tongue. The monuments of the lion fountain above the socalled garden triclinium in the eastern Wâdî al-Fârasa (M. L INDNER, in: WEBER – WENNING 1997: pp. 34–25 Fig. 27; MUHEISEN 2009: p. 73) and those of the lion triclinium in the Wâdî ad-Dêr (F. ZAYADINE, in: WEBER – WENNING 1997 p. 38 Fig. 30 No. 28) impressively support this statement. The representation of the lion raises a basic problem which concerns the natural environment of our Nabataean ancestors: This “king of the animals” (JOHANN WOLFGANG GOETHE) seems to be omnipresent in the figural art of Syria, Palestine and Arabia. During antiquity, the zoological species of the lion occurred in fact in the Arabian realm and in both Asia and northern Africa, including Egypt, Ethiopia, Syria, Persia, and India. Only exceptionally, wild beasts of this sort are reported in Macedonia (Herodot, History VII, 125). Otherwise, it was unknown in the central Mediterranean in places such as Greece and Italy, where the abundant representations of lions in ancient and medieval art goes back to Oriental influence (RICHTER 1979b: col.

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704). Two general main-stream areas, Egypt and the Hittite realm in Asia Minor, can be singled out for transmisson of the lion image into the art of early Archaic Greece (GABELMANN 1965: pp. 17–84). One should not forget that, due to their extraordinary physical power and majestic countenance, the lion and the eagle were used as symbols of human monarchic rule, handed down throughout the early ages of humanity until very recent times. Both animals often appear in heraldic compositions of European and Oriental aristocratic dynasties. A detailed discussion of the significance of the lion, either in full body or with his head only, in Oriental art could fill entire encyclopedias. Such an endeavor would certainly go beyond the limited scope of the present essay. The author thus confines himself to provide general remarks on the iconography which might have been of relevance for Nabataean society. The lion head was employed as a waterspout on the horizontal roof architrave at the renown Nabataean temple at Qasr Rabbah (Fig. 94, cf. GLUECK 1965: p. 367 pl. 164 a) was certainly not an indigenous invention but merely a free adoption of recurrent Graeco-Roman models spread all over the Roman empire. The lion was one of the favored subjects of ancient Oriental figural art (AVI-YONAH 1948: 134). The head is usually encircled by a circular mane-like wreath. Gadara, for instance, provides us with leaping lions on gems in postures comparable to the lamps which seem to have been a rather common motif during the 1st century B.C.–1st century A.D. (HENIG and WHITING 1987: p. 35, No. 35, Nos 35, 360). The animal on these semi precious stones may have emphasized the individual power of those persons who

Fig. 94: Gargyole in the shape of a frontal lion head with a long collar mane, baring his teeth, from the temple at Qasr Rabbah, Amman, Jordan Archaeological Museum (Photo TH. M. WEBER).

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Fig. 95: Fragmentary copy of the archaic cult statue of Allat at Palmyra, Tadmor, Archaeological Museum (after GAWLIKOWSKI 2008, p. 405 Fig. 5).

Fig. 96: Monumental lion protecting the antelope from the sanctuary of Allat at Palmyra, Tadmor, Archaeological Museum (Photo TH. M. WEBER).

wore them on their finger rings. In the Levant and on the Arabian peninsula, however, the lion acted not only as a symbol of monarchic rule, but it is attended as a sacred animal representing a variety of deities. The most prominent of these deities was Allat, the Oriental equivalent of Greek Athena or Roman Minerva. This warrior goddess earned high popularity and temples for her are identified at Palmyra and the Wâdî Ram. In her shrine, at the central Syrian oasis, the archaic cult image, later replaced by an imported marble statue of a more classical Graeco-Roman blend, depicted her enthroned and flanked by two sitting lions. The original cult statue of the older phase is not preserved but known through several small replicas reused in the sanctuary. One of them (GAWLIKOWSKI 2008, pp. 405–406 Fig. 5) bears the name “Allat” in Palmyrenean characters on the plinth (Fig. 95), an identification of the goddess stands for this reason beyond any doubt. Another monumental lion of 3.5 m in total height (Fig. 96), depicted in a relief made of local limestone, guarded the entrance to the holy precinct at Palmyra (GAWLIKOWSKI 2008, 407-408 Fig. 6). The Semitic inscription on the left paw refers to sacrifices in the temple. Obviously, precluding the slaughter of animals: “May Allat bless whoever does not spill blood on the precinct.” The lion appears here not as a majestic hunter, but as a protector of life, expressed by an antelope crouching safely between the legs of

the predator. M. GAWLIKOWSKI (2008: p. 408) suggested that “the big white antelopes with long straight horns…, known as Oryx leucoryx (maha in Arabic) …, represented a very attractive prey, though there is no indication of them being offered as a sacrifice”. The Oryx is in fact replaced on other representations of the crouching lion by the heads of bulls or sheep under the frontal paws (cf. WEBER – MOHAMMED 2006: p. 116 No. 101, pl. 79a– d; p. 119 No. 105, pl. 82a–d). The appearance of Arabian Allat can hardly be distinguished from that of Atargatis, the great Syrian goddess also known as Dea Syria, who was venerated in her holy city Hierapolis (modern Membij). The main difference is, as a matter of fact, that Atargatis appears always in the company of her male consort, Zeus Hadad. This holy pair was also present in the mountain shrine of Khirbet at-Tannûr (GLUECK 1965: 94 pl. 42; 96 pl. 44; Weber 2002: p. 531 no. 36 pl. 180: C–D). The Nabataean version of the female cult statue is not preserved in the lower section, but the allusion with the lion is attested by a magnificent torque terminating on both ends with heads of the animals. In the same associative manner, the lion head appears as a general attribute of various other deities such as the Jupiter Optimus Maximus at Heliopolis / Baalbek emphasizing his universal power by protecting all mankind from any kind of evil. Heads or busts of lions were attached to the doors of public or private buildings, aiming to prevent unclean spirits

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from entering the enclosures. In the ancient world such a belief can be found in most cultures and periods, not only in the sacral or profane spheres (MENDE 1981: pp. 128– 136), but it achieved an extreme importance as well as in sepulchral customs, obviously caused by the imagination that the soul of the deceased needs an intensive protection from demoniac threats during its transition to the underworld. The Lion heads are thus not only found as “door-knockers” on the portals of mausolea. They appear in Syria, Phoenicia and northern Arabia also rather commonly as metal appliques on the outside boards of wooden coffins (WEBER 1989: pp. 3–5 pl. 1–62). This burial custom, however, does not seem to have affected significantly the funeral practices either of the Herodians or of the Nabataeans. The motif of the jumping lion as depicted on lamps is variously attested in the Arretine sigillata pottery production of central Italy (PORTEN PALANGE 2004: p. 268 T/Felidae re 4 pl. 149). In the eastern provinces of the Roman empire it occurs frequently in

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the context of Arab sacral and funerary sculpture. One may quote, for instance, the antithetic acroteria on both extreme corners of the architrave supported by the Corinthian hexastyle porch at the lower sector of the Khazneh al-Fira’un facade at Petra (R. A. S TUCKY – N. N. LEVIS, in: WEBER – WENNING 1997: pp. 11. 13 Figs. 5–6). The heraldic arrangement of these majestic elements presumably underlines the royal status of the patron of the rock-cut building. This aspect relates to the above remarks on the lion as a monarchic symbol of power. Other examples for the occurrence of the jumping lion occurred with divine chariots widely distributed on monuments in the forecourts of southern Syrian sanctuaries (Fig. 97). In Sahr al-Ledja, the rider of such a processional cart drawn by lionesses could be identified with great certainty as the armed Athena-Allat. Typical attributes of these draught animals are a broad belt strapped vertically around shoulders and bellies combined with a collar strap with a singular lunula pendant hanging down on the

Fig. 97: Chariot of Allat drawn by jumping lionesses from the Arab sanctuary of Sahr al-Ledja, southern Syria (after. WEBER 2009, p. 195 Fig. 584).

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breast. Despite the representation of the long mane with curly tufts, the absence of genital parts indicates the female gender of these wild beasts. Sometimes the lionesses are shown with their cubs squatting under their extended hind paws. This iconographic scheme is well known as a symbol of majestic power in the longue durée: The giant lions at the Hellenistic palace of the Qasr al-‘Abd in ‘Iraq al-Amir and the arms of Mameluke Sultans at various buildings in medieval Damascus may randomly be referred as an example in Oriental art. What was the meaning of the lion portraits on the Nabataean lamps? The discussed allusions to the sphere of the ruler or to the cults of Allat and Atargatis do not really give conclusive answers to this question. As it was already the case with the dolphin, one should take into consideration that the lion, too, had an astral significance II. 1. 12. The Torches (Figs. 35; 98)

This pictural symbol appears on lamp No. 35, representing two torches crossing each other at their lower pointed ends. Most probably, it refers to the morning (phosphoros) and evening (hesperos) stars which were connected to the worship of Helios, the sun god in Greek mythology, the son of Hyperion, a Titan, grandson of Uranos and Gaia. Helios is the brother of both Selene, the moon, and Eos, the personification of dawn. The proposed interpretation in this view is strongly supported by a Nabataean monument

par excellence: Torches protrude over both shoulders of the bust of Helios from Khirbet at-Tannûr (Fig. 98) who is wearing a radiate crown (G LUECK 1965: p. 144, Pl. 136). Further fragments of burning torches from the same location are today stored in the Jordan Archaeological Museum in Amman (WEBER 2002: pp. 539–540 no. G. 63a–b pl. 182 E–H). It should be added that the lowered and raised torches are attested in connection with other Oriental astral gods such as Abgal and Asshar in the Palmyreanian desert or Azizos and Monimos in Arabia. Both pairs are associated with the Greek Dioskouroi Castor and Pollux. The most prominent, however, was Mithras, a solar god of Persian origin. He was venerated in innumerable shrines throughout the Roman empire, his cult being spread by the legions from the Orient into the western and extreme northern provinces. In the eastern regions of the empire sanctuaries are attested at Seeia / Sî’ and Shâ’arah in the Hauran, Sidon in Phoenicia and Dura Europos in Mesopotamia. In the Sidonian Mithraeum, a sculptural group of white marble enriched the cultic relief depicting the god slaughtering a bull (Mithras tauroktonos). This represents the god carrying the bull (taurophoros), a column of the triple-headed goddess Hekate (hekataion), a dog-headed Aion-Kronos, a fine bronze statue of Isis-Aphrodite in the type of the Greek Classical Cnidia, two cultic axe bearers, and the two attendants of Mithras, Kautes and Kautopates. The latter two servants each bear a lowered and a raised torch in their hands (F. BARATTE, in: GUBEL 2002, pp. 87–97) Hence, one should assume that functionally there is a direct relation between the double torches and the role of lamps to illuminate the wilderness during the night. Other scholars tend to prefer a slightly modified interpretation, that these artistic elements are representing the cornucopiae (HAKEN 1958: pp. 70– 71; LEIBUNDGUT 1977: p. 146), the symbol of fertility, prosperity. These “horns of plenty” are associated with the worship of Mercury, the Roman god of commerce, the messenger of gods, the patron of travelers, and identified with the Greek god Hermes and with the Nabataean al-Kutbâ. II. 1. 13. The Rosette (Figs. 28; 30–32)

Fig. 98: Bust of Helios wearing the radiated crown with two burning torches protruding from his shoulders, from Khirbet at-Tannûr (after GLUECK 1965, p. 302, pl. 136).

Lamps Nos. 28, 30–32 are decorated with petals arranged in pairs, forming elongated heart-like shapes radiating from the central filling-hole to the rim of the lamp. Such an ornament has some resemblance to a blossom, a painted or sculptured architectural ornament with parts circularly arranged. The rosette is an abstract graphic element with affinities to natural phenomena: Prospering flowers with their central knob but also the life-giving rays of the sun may have already inspired early mankind to in-

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vent an infogram (alternatively named “pictogram” when narrative pictoral elements prevail) for these natural phenomena, which can easily be reproduced independently from artistic skills or knowledge of foreign languages. Such graphic designs were made to be understood by a wide audience. The most common modern infograms are traffic signs, computer taps, national flags, logos of industrial companies and stickers of political parties, just to cite some examples which help to organize everyday life. Sometimes they develop into cryptic codes, the deciphering of which is only possible by trained specialists. They are also found in airports, for instance, directing travelers to departure gates, escalators, wash rooms, meeting points or information desks. Such visual signs are always linked with a specific message, only understood over a certain period of time. For instance, who will know the meaning of the pictogram for closing an elevator door 500 years from now when no elevators in the traditional sense will exist. The same is true for symbols from prehistoric or historic antiquity, which tend to be interpreted by scholars as pure decorations. Of course, they cannot be understood without qualified expert explanation. At any rate, these considerations on the subject only show how carefully a modern art historian should deal with those “decorative” signs.

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The current art historiacal and sociological discussion on the role of simplified graphic designs which substitute oral information is too complex to be discussed here in detail. Reference to the wall paintings of Tulailat al-Ghassul in the south-east of the Dead Sea (Fig. 99) or of the even earlier Neolithic Çatal Hüyük settlement may suffice to demonstrate the problem in this respect. The message by the anonymous Chalcolithic Tulailat al-Ghassul people through the painting might have been very dramatic in respect of their unrecorded history and life. Our access to the world of Tulailat al-Ghassul is limited by our understanding and interpretation of cultural materials. A possible explanation of the rosette on a lamp might have a direct connection with the sun which appears like a rose when it opens petals early each morning and closes them, when the sun sets. (K HAIRY 1986a: p. 107). This reminds us of the reciprocal role of flower and sun in Egyptian mythology. The lotus was the symbol of birth and fertility, and it was believed that the worshiped dead had to emerge again to life from the lotus (CLARK 1978: p. 239). The head of young Tutankhamun emerges from the lotus as the sun god appears from the flower when it opens its petals each early morning. The aspect of recurrent natural growth and de-

Fig. 99: Wall painting representing star and sun symbols, Chalcolithic period (ca. 4500–3300 BC), from Tulailat al-Ghassul (after: S. KERNER, in: Gesichter des Orients: p. 79 Fig. 4.7).

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Fig. 100: Rosette and bowl with centrifugal “windmill”-ribbing in the metopes of the Doric frieze on the tomb facade of the Germani at Gadara / Umm Qais, early 1st century AD (Photo TH. M. WEBER) cline has been adopted in the sense of an infogram by other ancient societies in the Mediterranean region and in the Orient. Only this associative knowledge on the abstract symbol as a sign of rebirth makes the widespread occurrence of the rosette in funeral art understandable. Together with the wreath, the picto-gram meaning victory and salvation, the multiple tall blossom is a leading theme on lintels and cornices over the doors of Roman tombs in southern Syria and northern Jordan (Fig. 100). The meaning of the rosette on a Nabataean lamp as a symbol of light provides no difficulties and coincides with the explanation of other astral motifs. II. 1. 14. Sun-Rays (Figs. 1–6)

A similar statement can be made regarding the closely related motif of radial sun beams: The top of the shoulder of lamps Nos. 1–6 is decorated with tight and slightly pronounced sun-rays-like strokes. They indicate the function of the lamp itself as a means of vision for helping to see in the darkness of the wilderness, tombs, dwellings, and caves, especially when the sun disc with its ‘golden’ beams escaped beyond the horizon and nothing but darkness remains. Hence, the figurative tight sun-rays shown on such a type of Nabataean lamp represent the sun’s function which puts an end to the dark emblematic of sadness, the somber, the dismal, the gloomy, and moral evil. Instead, it brings to all creatures on the earth the bright, crystallized, dazzling, gleaming, and illuminating life during the full darkness of each night, and thus it symbolizes a pictogram of life and resurrection (K HAIRY 1981: pp. 115–119).

II. 1. 15. Masks (Fig. 39; 57)

The dramatic mask of an African slave on discus of lamp No. 57 is a subject adopted from the world of theatrical performances. Lamp No. 39 may symbolize captivity and death since the represented facial features are closely similar to a grotesque mask or mummy which is executed in a linear art and probably reflects death. The countenance of the face expresses a silent but most determined ferocity. Hence, one could assume that such a lamp is merely a funerary object to enlighten the soul of the dead. Even though the exact function of the buildings is not always clear, performances could have been staged in one of the two theatres at Petra and Wâdî Sabrâ (S EGAL 1995: pp. 91–95 nos. 28–29). A sandstone relief of remarkable sculptural quality (Fig. 101) was found in the deposit of a vestibule in the vicinity of the Temenos-gate (the so-called 1967group of reliefs). It displays the bust of the Muse Melpomene, the divine patron of dramaturgy, holding a bearded mask in her raised hand (F. BARATTE, in: Königsweg: pp. 227–228. No. 212; WENNING 2004: p. 165 No. 12,8), which the actors wore to represent allegorical or mythological subjects. Such a mask was an artistic covering for the face, used by Greek and Roman actors in comedy and tragedy, usually furnished with grotesque facial features such as the heavy nose and the enlarged lips. The New Comedy of Hellenistic times invented additional types such as the mask of the young lady or that of the ivywreathed, bearded Silenos as shown on a mosaic floor emblema from an imperial building on the Aventine at Rome (Fig. 104). It was found in 1824 in the Vigna dei Gesuiti in front of the Church of Santa Prisca and

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Fig. 101: Detail of a sandstone frieze block showing the bust of the Muse Melpomene holding a bearded dramatic mask in her right hand, found in 1967 at Petra in the vicinity of the Temenos-gate (after F. BARATTE, in: Königsweg: pp. 227– 228. No. 212). it is today one of the highlights of the Capitoline Museums in the Palazzo dei Conservatori (LA ROCCA 2000: p. 57). Eyes and mouths were pierced, allowing the actor to see and to speak. The shape of the mouth was essential for the sort of performance, drama or comedy: in the first instance widely opened with arched upper lips in an expression of a grin; in the second drawn to a grimace with a broad grin. As the Aventine mosaic attests, in the Graeco-Roman world such dramatic or comic masks achieved great popularity not only in the architectural ornaments of theatres, but as well on water spouts or decorative elements on public or private luxury fountains. The example of the garden nymphaeum (Figs. 102–103) in the Casa della Fontana Grande at Pompeii (Figs. 102–103; C OARELLI 1979: 285–285 Figs. 111–112. 136) may suffice to illustrate this phenomenon. In the mentality of the noble propriators of those garden fountains, such spaces of leisure and recreation allude to an illusive sphere of happy and sorrowless life, closely linked to the deities Aphrodite and Dionysos. NELSON GLUECK (1965: pp. 242–243) delt with the occurrence of the dramatic mask in Petra and its combination with the dolphin. He concluded that “the Nabataeans use of the tragic mask furnishes yet another example of their preoccupation with immortality and their intense desire to become identified with divinity” (ibid.: p. 242). Nabataean potters reproduced theatrical masks

Figs. 102–103: Garden nymphaeum in the Casa della Fontana Grande at Pompeii, with detail of one of the marble dramatic masks of Heracles wearing the lion skin (after COARELLI 1979: P. 286–287, Figs. 111–112). in considerable number (KHOURI 2002: pp. 17–18. p. 172 pl. 137–138). A mask in rock appears on a sandstone capital (Fig. 105) found at Wâdî Sâbra, a few kilometers to the southwest of Petra (WENNING 1987: pp. 93–94 Nr. 67). This place, commonly named a “suburb” of the capital, has some monumental buildings, amongst which is a temple of Nabataean type, originally decorated with delicate

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Fig. 104: Polychrome mosaic representing two theatrical masks of the New Comedy, deposited with the double flute (auloi) on a socle. Found in 1824 on the Aventine, Vigna dei Gesuiti, 2nd century AD, Rome, Musei Capitolini, Palazzo dei Conservatori (after LA ROCCA 2000: p. 57). ornaments. On the eastern side of the ravine rises a high and steep cliff at the roots of which nestles a small theatre of Graeco-Roman plan (F. ZAYADINE, in: WEBER – WENNING 1997: p. 55 Fig. 53), chiseled out of the reddish sandstone. The relief with the mask has been variously attributed to the theater in scholarship. Beyond summa cavea a huge water reservoir, fed by a dam on top of the massive, supplied the orchestra via drains and pipes. This connection between a theater and water installations led early travelers to identify the building as a naumachia, such as variously attested by the Roman imperial coinage of Gadara. The small size of the ochestra, even when flooded by water, makes it improbable that mock sea-battles would have been staged here. On the other hand, the waterworks for the pleasure of the audience finds striking parallels in the Oriental realm, the most famous and celebrated of which was Daphne in the outskirts of the Syrian metropolis of Antioch. In this ancient spa Apollon ruled as the

guide of Muses and protector of lyrical art. Comparable extramural sites with springs, temples and theatre buildings can be claimed in the vicinity of many póleis in Syria, Palestine, and Arabia: Afqa near Palmyra, ‘Ain Fidjeh west of Damascus, Emmatha/Hammat in the northern territory of Gadara, Shuneh north of the Palestinian provincial capital of Caesarea Maritima, Birketeen northwest of Gerasa, Ras al-’Ain west of Philadelphia, modern Amman, and many others (WEBER 2002: pp. 51–52). The city planners designed these places beyond the enclosures as spas for leisure and enjoyment by the urban population. The conclusion that the theatrical mask had an allegorical significance standing for joy, fertility and rest is imperative. In this sense, the symbol could be transferred as well to funeral art indicating the belief on the pleasures of the world beyond death. II. 1. 16. Satyr- like or Mimic Dancer (Figs. 8; 106–108)

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Fig. 105: Detail of a sandstone pilaster capital representing a dramatic theatrical mask with a scroll, probably belonging to the theatre, from Wâdî Sâbra southeast of Petra (after GLUECK 1965: p. 17 pl. 5a). Discus of lamp No. 8 is decorated in high relief with a naked male dancer in a rightward position raising his two arms over his head with two small castanets or symbols of shells, hard wood, or metal fastened to the thumb and forefinger to click them in time to match his body movement with a nebris hanging over his shoulder and around his neck. The Nabataeans received the inspiration for this subject from the Greek Satyr, a woodland deity in human form, having pointed donkey ears, pug noze, long horse tails and sometimes budding horns, and of wanton nature (B OARDMAN – GRIFFIN – MURRAY 1986: pp. 225, 233– 234). A closer look at the topic of the dancing Satyr or Seilenoi in Greek art leads back to the early Archaic period. Until the last quarter of the 6th century BC, Athenian pottery is decorated with pictures in the black figure painting style, and scenes with Satyrs and Menads joining the Dionysiac thiasos occupy a wide range of the themes. Burlesque parties by drunken attendants of the wine god often merged into orgies with wild, rather promiscuous dances. In some cases, the depicted action seems to have a real historical background linked with the Satyr plays performed at religious festivals in honor of Dionysos. Ritual Dances of fertility daemons in Doric Corinthos in the northern Peloponnese seem to have mutated into the artistic theatrical genre of the Athenian Satyr-play which was reputed to have been invented by Pratinas during the 70th Olympiad. Since that time, in fact, the competitive agon during the Greater Dionysia consisted of a Satyr-play following the cast of three tragedies. Thus, the composition of Satyr plays was a domain of the tragic poets, never of the Comedians as one instinctively might assume. The team of actors consisted of the chorus of Satyroi,

guided by an old Seilenos, the costumes of which can be reconstructed on the basis of representations, such as the renown red figure Satyr-play volute krater from Ruvo in the Naples National Museum (ARV2: 1336 No. 1): the Satyrs were nude apart from a kilt of goat fur, ithyphallic, horse-tailed (less commonly with a goat-tail) wearing bearded masks, bald-headed, heavy nosed, with long pointed ears and sometimes ramhorned. The Papposeilenos distinguished from his younger companions by his white beard hair and fur body. These games enjoyed great popularity but only a single one, the “Cyclops” by Eurypides, survived in full Greek text (STOESSL 1979, 1573–1574). The topic of the drunken Satyr in orgiastic dance did not lose its attraction either in Hellenistic or in Roman Imperial art (cf. Fig. 108). A certain climax was achieved in late Hellenistic sculpture, best proved by an accidental find of a life-sized fragmentary bronze statue found some decades ago in the Mediterranean Sea between the coasts of Tunisia and Sicily, today on display in the municipal museum at Mazara del Vallo (Figs. 106– 107). It depicts a nude unbearded Satyr in a daring spiral concentric turnjump around a thyrsos or pine tree trunk, originally held in his left hand and providing the only support for the figure's extremely static. According to PAOLO MORENO’s reconstruction (Fig. 106), a deer skin or nebris hung over his right upper arm while the hand grasped a Greek drinking vessel, a kantharos. The artistic perfection of this three-dimensional translation of wild movement into sculpture presumed some renowned art historians such as PAOLO MORENO or BERNHARD ANDREAE to attribute the Mazara del Vallo-Satyr to the ingenious hand of Praxiteles, the leading sculptor of late Classical Greece as a chef d’oeuvre or masterpiece. Others,

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Figs. 106–107: Life-sized bronze statue of the dancing Satyr from Mazara del Vallo, Sicily, and reconstruction according to P. MORENO (after A. PASQUIER, in: Praxitèle: pp. 285 No. 72; 288 Fig. 200). such as EUGENIO LA ROCCA, revealed elements of retrospective Neo-Classic tendencies prevailing in late Hellenistic art or even in early Roman Imperial Classicism (A. PASQUIER, in: Praxitèle: pp. 284–291). It cannot, however, be the aim of the present discourse to offer a decisive opinion in this controversy. Instead, these examples are cited in order to elucidate the artistic roots and the cultural context of their representation on Nabataean lamp No. 8. The dancing Satyr populates the Roman pictural world such as seen on the Arretine relief pottery from Central Italy. The dancing attendant of Dionysos holding small castanets out of hard wood or metal fastened to the thumb and forefinger to click them in time to match his body movement appear in this genre in the pottery-workshops of Rasinius and M. Perennius (PORTEN PALANGE 2004: 201–202 Nos. Sre 10a. 11a.c). The associative value for the Nabataeans of this image type would most probably be the same or similar at least to the representation of theatrical masks. II. 1. 17. Sacrifice (Fig . 7; 109–110) Figs. 108: Dancing Satyr, mural painting of the second Pompeian style, Pompei, Villa dei Misteri (after DE FRANCISCIS 1971: p. 65 Fig. 80).

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Even though belonging to the sphere of religion, the sacrifice of animals, wine, crops or incense was an act practiced daily or recurrently by the Nabataeans in order to urge the benevolence of their gods. The discus of lamp No.7 is decorated in high relief with two men sacrificing an animal that looks somehow like a goat on an altar. It is impossible to discern the species of this animal with certainty due to the coarse character of the coroplast's mould. This scene could indicate the act of conducting an offering or dedication to a certain Nabataean god or deity in worship or atonement, propitiation, and supplication (H ORSFIELD – CONWAY 1942: pp. 195– 196, pl. XLIV. 241). A somewhat alternative interpretation, which seems not entirely impossible, would be a more profane setting in one of Petra’s butcheries where animals were slaughtered for daily or festive meat consumption. The Greeks considered the goat as an inferior sacrificial animal, reserved for the divinities of rural characters of the underworld. The closest alignment of the he-goat is that to the Arcadian Greek shepherd god Pan who accumulated anatomical features of this animal in his own nature: goat-like feet and tail, chinbeard and horns; in early representations his entire head was that of a he-goat (Fig. 109). When the Athenians claimed Sparta for military support after the Persian fleet had landed at the bay of Marathon (490 BC), the messenger met the shepherd god in the high mountains of Arcadia. Pan postulated veneration at Athens and promised in exchange his attendance against the Oriental enemy. While the Spartian army could not depart to Attica on time due to religious law, Pan appeared in the phalanx of the Athenians during the battle and spread the proverbial “panikós trómos” (panic horror) among the Persians. From this time onward, Pan received many sanctuaries in Attica, the most famous of which was that at the base of the Acropolis rock at Athens. During the Hellenistic period the goat-like shepherd god arrived in the Orient. He held a renown sanctuary at Paneion in the southwestern foothills of the Hermon mountain range, where a rustic setting of natural caves and rock-carved niches were dedicated to this god. Chronologically, this Paneion goes back to the year of the victorious battle by Antiochos III against the army of the Ptolemies in 201 BC . Probably again, the panikós trómos among the defeated Egyptian army could have played a decisive role in this military success of the Seleucid king. Later the site achieved the rank of a city, founded by Herod's son Philip in 3 BC, which was officially named Caesarea Philippi Panias because it received a parallel cult in honor of the Roman emperor. During the reign of Marcus Aurelius, the city minted coins

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Fig. 109: Bronze statuette of the goat-headed Pan from the sanctuary of Artemis at Lusoi (Arcadia, Greece), early 5th century BC. Berlin, Staatliche Museen Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Antiquities Collection (after NEUGEBAUER 1921: p. 74 Fig. 39)

showing the head of Pan on the obverse and his favored musical instrument, the Pan-pipes or syrinx, on the reverse. Another mint issue at about the same time depicted him standing nude beside a tree trunk with a fleece playing on another type flute (MESHORER 1985: p. 68 Nos. 185–186). This numismatic evidence for the veneration of Pan continues to the end of the rule of the Severian emperor Elagabal in 222 AD. (MESHORER 1985: p. 69 No. 192). In the area of the neighboring Syrian Decapolis, figural representations of Pan are attested at Canatha /Qanawat and Abila/Qwêlbeh. There are various possibilities for attribution of the relief of Pan, today preserved in the National Museum at Damascus (WEBER – MOHAMMED 2006: pp. 95–96 no. 71 pl. 52), to one of the monuments of Qanawat. A logical assumption would attribute the slab to the architectural context of the local nymphaeum on the eastern shore of the ravine, since the cult of the Arcadian shepherd god has been closely linked in Greek and Roman religions to that of the water goddesses of the Nymphs. An alternative to take into account would be a more

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II. 1. 18. Peacock (Fig. 19; 111)

Fig. 110: Limestone mask from a Roman rock-cut tomb at Abila /Qwêlbe (Jordan), Irbid, Archaeological Museum, Department of Antiquities, Inv.-Nr. 3510 (after WEBER 2002: pl. 116: A). decorative use of the panel at the stage building of the near-by odeion. It is for another reason not impossible that the Pan relief once adorned one of the representative temple-shaped tombs in the outskirts of Qanawat. In the Orient, Pan had also a more private, sepulchral connotation, as indicated by sculptures and wall paintings in tombs at Palmyra, Palestine, and Jordan. A limestone mask of Pan, for instance (Fig. 110), was deposited in one of the burial shafts of a rock-cut tomb in Abila/ Qwêlbeh together with a bust representing a deceased woman (WEBER 2002: p. 481 no. A 73 Fig. 130 pl. 116:A–B). Admittedly, these considerations on the goat-like shepherd god Pan can contribute only little to the understanding of the representation on the Nabataean lamp No. 7. This is due to the unclear style of the relief. In case it is really a sacrifice, a blood offering to Pan would be one possibility. Also other chtonian fertility deities, such as Demeter or Magna Mater or Artemis could have benefitted from such sacrifices of Nabataean cattle breeders or farmers.

The discus of lamp No. 19 is decorated with a male peacock displayed on a branch of myrtle, has erectile tail enormously elongated, usually marked with ocelli, and the neck and breast are an iridescent greenishblue. Such a bird was especially sacred to Hera or Juno, the spouse of the highest Olympian god Zeus, or – likewise the normal cock – to Mercury, the herald and messenger of the gods in Roman mythology, and the god of merchants and commerce, identified with the Greek Hermes. Often, there is a direct connection between the peacock and the thunderbolt which provides the strength and power to the bird accompanied with a molten bolt hurled by the lightning flash. As will be shown below, this symbolism is alluded to with the highest deities of the Graeco-Roman and Nabataean pantheon. BAILEY (1988: p. 80, Q1507) illustrates a lamp decorated with a peacock with displayed tail and standing on a myrtle branch, dated to “45–100 A.D.” Such a branch was sacred to Venus, the Roman goddess of love, spring, bloom, and beauty. The wild peacock or pavo cristatus, taôs in Greek (HEHN 1911 repr. 1963: pp. 355–363), populated the mysterious forests of India. Due to its colorful lash plumes with their glittery ocelli, Latin agricultural authors such as Marcus Terentius Varro (res rusticae 3,6,2) or Lucius Iunius Moderatus Columella (de re rustica 8, 11, 1) appreciated it as the most beautiful among the birds. As early as the 10th century BC king Solomon was reputed to have brought peacocks in his ships from the expedition to Ophir to the harbors of Edom (1. Kings 10, 22) as exotic animals for his royal court. Domestication and breeding foreign environments proved to be a difficult task; however, such a fact is considered as a reason for the slow diffusion over the western areas. The earliest appearance of the tamed species at Greece seems to be in the sanctuary of Hera on the island of Samos, where the bird enjoyed the goddess protection. Mendotus writes in his book on objects at the Temple of the Samian Hera: “The peacocks are sacred to Hera. And it may be that they were first produced and bred in Samos, and from there were distributed among the regions beyond, like the fowls of Persia and the meleagrides (Guinea-hens), as they are called, of Aetolia.” Antiphanes adds to this information: “…the Hera of Samos, they say, has that golden species of birds, the beautiful spectacular peacocks” (Athenaios, deipno-sphistai, XIV, 655a). When a pair of peacocks was first given to this holy precinct remains obscure. During the rule of the tyrant Polycrates (538–522 BC), however, the bird seems still unknown, as one should conclude on behalf Samian court poets such as Anakreon or Ibykos. VICTOR HEHN (81911 repr. 1963: p. 357)

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Fig. 111: Wall painting representing a peacock in a garden, Roman, 1st century AD, formerly Switzerland, private collection of the late LEO MILDENBERG (after KOZLOFF 1983: p. 180 no. 164). quoted a legend according to which a rich Syrian or Arabian merchant, perhaps a sort of “ProtoNabataean” trading in the Red Sea, gave it as a votive gift after the late Archaic temple’s completion. Alternatively, even a Samian colonist settling in one of the emporia of Syria, Arabia or Egypt might have been the dedicator. It was then perhaps the occasion of the defecting of the Samians from the Attic-Delian league in 440 BC by which the tamed Samian peacock has been “hijacked” and abducted by the Athenians as part of a punishment campaign commanded by Perikles. In the years following this precious bird became a real attraction for the Athenian people, and various rich poultry-keepers such as a certain Demos, son of Pyrilampes, made good profit out of exhibiting the bird once each month on the new moon in his private zoo to the excited public, raising tremendous entry fees. The ownership of a peacock was, due to the rareness of the species, a matter of prestige for the Athenian “nouveau riches”, and the price of a pair was estimated up to 10,000 drachmes. On that fact the comic poet Anaxandrides ironically laments: “Isn't it crazy to keep peacocks in the house when for all that money you can buy two statues!” (Athenaios, deipnospohistai, XIV, 655a). From late Classical Athens the peacock spread during the following centuries over other Greek regions and achieved immense popularity all over the southern Balkan Peninsula. On his campaign to the interior of Asia, Alexander and his Macedonian troops explored the jungles of India. There, after crossing the river Hy-

draotim, the Greeks met wild peacocks in a forest of hitherto unknown trees (Curtius, Historiae Alexandri Magnis Macedonis 9,2). Impressed by their beauty, the king threatened all those who intended to sacrifice these birds with capital punishment (Aelian, Perí Zoôn Idiótetos 5, 21). By the spread of Greek culture and civilization the peacock appeared again in the towns and gardens of Asia. Diodorus of Sicily assigns Babylon, for instance, rich of peacocks with most beautiful colors (Bibliothéke 2, 53). All Asiatic names for the peacock derive from Greek zoological terminology which made V ICTOR HEHN (81911 repr. 1963: p. 359) to believe that the tamed species had been revived on the continent by the Hellenic lords. From the 2nd century BC onward peacocks are found in Italy (Fig. 111). Evaluated as an infallible symptom of decadence by his contemporaries, the orator Hortensius, living in the late Republic, was reputed to have served as the first dish of the roasted bird for his luxury guest meals on the occasion of his promotion to the religious rank of an Augur (Varro, res rusticae 3, 6, 6). Being aware that these birds cannot fly over long distances, the peacock were kept on small islands where they could live in relative freedom (Columella, de re rustica 8, 11). At the end of the 2nd century AD, when Athenaios of Naucratis compiled his encyclopedic “sermons of wise men during the guest meal” (deipnoso-phistai), peacocks overcrowded the city of Rome. Thus, he makes the comedian poet Antiphanes to remark: “When anybody imported just a pair of peacocks, it was a rare thing; but today they are more

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nummerous than quails. (Athenaios, deipnosophistai XIV. 654e). Their immense popularity certainly has roots in the ancient superstition that the bird’s flesh was imperishable and its consumption leads to immortality. Due to the splendor of its appearance and due to the alledged eternal durability, the peacock entered into the symbolism of Christianity. Thus Augustinus (De civitate Dei 21, 4) poses the somehow ridiculous, naive question: “Who else, if not God, the creator of the universe, gave the flesh of the peacock the ability not to die”? Coming back to the representation on lamp No. 19, one can only speculate ex silentio that the Nabataean nobility had been well acquainted with the Roman luxury customs. Whether the peacock was indeed part of their diet cannot be said with certainty. The fact that the peacock with his spread fan appears on a thunderbolt, however, recommends another, more symbolic connotation: As with the Roman imperial coinage of Tripolitanian Lepcis Magna, where the peacock appears together with the eagle, the representation on the lamp alludes to the highest Olympian and Capitolian deities, Zeus / Jupiter with the thunderbolt and Hera / Juno with the peacock. In the Arabian realm, this divine couple was surely translated to indigenous Hadad and Astarte. The flashing thunderbolt is variously depicted in the sculpture from Khirbet et-Tannûr, not only as the attribute in full representations of the male father god, but also as an isolated symbol in architectural decoration (G LUECK 1965: pp. 48. 86. 105–106 etc., esp. p. 94 pl. 42; El-KHOURI 2002: p. 184 note 13). As in northern Africa, this symbol could also been deciphered by Nabataean society as the deification (“apothéosis”) of the ruling imperial and royal couple.

scholar ibn al-Kalbî sheds an impressive light. The following chapter aims to discuss those mythological personalities shown on the studied Nabataean lamps. These are namely Aphrodite Anadyomene, Eros, Fortuna / Tyche, Hercules, and the Centaurs. II. 2. 1. Aphrodite Anadyomene (Fig. 11; 112)

Lamp No. 11 represents three naked figures in a frontal position on its sunken discus: Aphrodite in the middle with an Eros figure standing on each side. She is shown in the moment of taking her bath, ascending from the water and wringing her wet hair as to show

II. 2. Mythological Subjects

As the Nabataeans participated on the Hellenized culture of the Roman orbis terrarum, Greek myths seem to have occupied their religious beliefs. Unfortunately, written literary sources on the history of the pre-Islamic Arabs, such as the Arabika by Uranios, Palaiphatos of Abydos, Teukros of Kyzikos, Glaukos, Ulpianos of Emesa, and even by Juba II., king of Mauretania, are widely lost. The monuments of figural art can hardly substitute for this considerable loss of information. Exploring the semantics of Greek mythological inconography in the Arabian realm, one gropes vastly in the dark. The representations occuring on Nabataean lamps provide only a limited and, assumingly, a rather random selection of those myths that orally circulated at Petra and around the camp-fires in the desert nights. On the vitality and strength of such an oral tradition in the Arab world later works such as “the book on the idols” (kitâb al-’asnâm) by the ‘Abbasid

Fig. 112: Marble figurine of the nude, standing Aphrodite Anadyomene with Eros holding a scallop, from Syria, Tokyo, Japanese National Museum (after photo QASIM MOHAMMED).

II. 2. Mythological Subjects

her real beauty. This statuary type is commonly named with the Greek term Anadyomene, meaning “the one who dives up”. The goddess is most commonly shown entirely nude in a kneeling pose. The popularity of this type leads to delicate alterations of the movement as it is shown in the present case of the lamp relief (Fig. 11), sometimes partly dressed by a long cloak which covers her lower body from her hips downward. She is accompanied by two Erotes, each one holding a floral wreath as the symbol of love and dedication for the lovers' firm and everlasting unity. Such a subject indicates that the Nabataeans were well acquainted with the mainstream of the Imperial artistic fashions, before and during the Trajanic period (BAILEY 1988: pp. 9–10, Fig. 13. Q2301). Statuettes of the Anadyomene achieved extreme popularity in the Syro-Phoenician realm, both along the littoral and in the hinterland as well. Figurines identical or similar to the specimen in the Tokyo Japanese National Museum (Fig. 112) carved of marble, alabaster, terracotta, bronze and sometimes in precious metal like gold or silver have been found in tombs, and one supposes that it was a gift to untimely deceased young people who just got married. This may probably be deduced from a notice in an Egyptian papyrus (DEONNA 1918, p. 140; MEUDRAC 1941, p. 49 note 1). Other statuettes of Aphrodite have come to light in sanctuaries thus suggesting a use as votive offerings probably in the context of marriage ceremonies. It is tempting to conclude that Nabataean lamps with the representation of the Anadyomene would have had the same or a similar purpose as an inauguration present in the frame of a marriage. The bride would associate herself with the goddess shown in

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the most attractive moment of her physical beauty. To jump to such conclusions should be handled with great prudence since there are too many alternative possibilities to consider. In other parts of the Roman empire, representations of the nude Aphrodite are attested in military camps. It is not impossible that these figures and reliefs had a rather pejorative purpose of sexually stimulating "pin-ups" in the world of war and military life where in fact very little space for intimate physical love existed. II. 2. 2. Eros (Figs. 9; 12; 113–117)

Eros, the son of Aphrodite, is one of the most popular mythological personalities in the figural art of Graeco-Roman antiquity. His father Zeus armed him with golden wings and these distinguished him from mortal boys (A MES 1963:68–69). He is described as beautiful, but sometimes thoughtless, even rebellious and capricious whom Aphrodite had to punish by the removal of his wings. He is not only the youngest but by his character also the most “human” of the Graeco-Roman gods. For this reason, he is often represented as having leisure or executing hard work normally designed for mortals. Further, he is not an exclusive, individual god since his physical appearance on reliefs and mosaics could be multiplied by the artist to any number. In numerous temples of Aphrodite along the Syro-Phoenician coast a pair of torch bearing Erotes, often erected on small pedestals, pillars or columns, flank the goddess’ cultimage as reflected by small-sized reproductions in bronze and numismatic imagery (FLEISCHER 1983: pp. 31–42; HILLER 2002: pp. 462–476).

Fig. 113: Erotes as silversmiths, mural painting in the triclinium of the Casa dei Vetti, Pompei (after DE FRANCISCIS 1971: p. 55 Fig. 60).

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Fig. 114: Erotes as wine merchants, mural painting in the triclinium of the Casa dei Vetti, Pompei (after DE FRANCISCIS 1971: p. 55 Fig. 61). Apart from figural scenes in minor art such as bronze figurines (FLEISCHER, HILLER, loc. cit.), brown glazed Roman relief pottery (PORTEN PALANGE 2004: p. 158 no. mMG/Erosre 1 pl. 80) or terracotta lamps, the Erotes are omnipresent in Roman funeral art, mural paintings and on late antique mosaics. Especially do Roman sarcophagus reliefs of different categories and periods display a variety of scenes in which Erotes play a dominant role, not only bearing garlands or tondi with the busts of the deceased, but also actively involved in circus games such as horse races or animal fights (SCHAUENBURG 1995: pp. 30. 37). Winged naked boys are shown busy in human professions such as those on silver jewellery (Fig. 113) or in the wine trade (Fig. 114) in frescoes of the casa dei Vetti at Pompeii (DE FRANCISCIS 1971: p. 55). The famous mosaics on the vaulted ceilings of the burial

church of Santa Constanza at the Via Praenestina at Rome show these divine naked winged boys, nestling in round vignettes and attending the annual harvesting work of mortals in their vineyards (Fig. 115. KRAUSE 1967: p. 271 Fig. 356). In this respect of profane actions executed by Aphrodite's attendants, the Nabataean lamps well coincide with the common trends in the central areas of the Roman Empire. Eros, for instance, is shown seated (lamp No. 9) to the right on a lion-skin under a fruitful and leafy palm tree, arched over his head, and binding as a result of the heavy load of the bunches of dates, bamboo basket in front on bench-like, his left hand at mouth while the right rests on bench in front of him. The palm tree was a symbol of prosperity and victory in the Levant (HERSHKOVITZ – AMORAI-STARK 2007: p. 223), and it was, of course, always associated with

Fig. 115: Erotes, Menads and birds in vignettes, vault mosaic of the 4th century AD in the funeral church Santa Constanza at Rome (Photo TH. KNOSALA).

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Figs. 116–117: Eros riding the dolphin: Fragment of a sandstone sculpture from Khirbet at-Tannûr, 1st century AD, Amman, Jordan Archaeological Museum, Inv.-No. 12756; Detail of a floor mosaic found in a villa of the Constantinian age (early 4th century AD) at Philippopolis, Shahba, Archaeological Museum (Photos TH. M. WEBER). the vast arid lands of Arabia. An odd scenery shown on lamp No. 12 obviously set Eros in the miserable role of a copper miner swinging the pickaxe, wearing leg-shackles and a basket to collect the ore (KHAIRY 1986a: pp. 101– 108). Such an exhausting, sudorific and humilating work was normally imposed on slaves, criminals or war captives as attested by the Greek historian Xenophon (ca. 430–355 BC) in his proposal on the increase of the Athenian state income (Greek: póroi), referring to the silver mines near the Attic harbor of Laurion. How else could a Nabataean client in a local potter's shop understand the picture on this lamp rather than Eros in captivity, condemned to work with a pick in the copper mines of Wâdî Fenân? The historic essence of such a topic opens a wide space for speculations and the present author prefers to leave these to the reader's fantasy. In the Nabataean Kingdom Eros was depicted in various reliefs, sculptures, terracottas, bronze figurines, wall paintings, and mosaics (Fig. 117). Usually, he appears as the companion of his lover Aphrodite, frequently riding the dolphin, such as is shown by a sculpture from Khirbet at-Tannûr in the Jordan Museum at Amman (Fig. 116). He can also act as an isolated personality in the attitude of a hunter as testified by some of the vignettes of the handsome and unique mural painting at Siq al-Bared near Petra (GLUECK 1965: 459–461), already in the discussion of the grape clusters cited above. Quite a large series of bronze statuettes coming from the Syro-Phoenician realm present him in human acti-

vities such as sleeping, dancing and playing the lyre. Egyptian religion was very keen on the veneration of divine children, and Eros was frequently assimilated to Horus or Harpocrates (hellenzied form of Egyptian Har-pa-khrat = “Horus the son”), the son of Isis. II. 2. 3. Tyche / Fortuna (Figs. 10)

Fortuna in Roman mythology was the goddess of chance and identified with the Greek Tyche. She is represented on the discus of lamp (No. 10) in high relief, standing leftward and wearing a cone-like bonnet and long chiton with her left arm holding two cornucopiae and her right arm in gesture of benediction with fingers apart. The raised right hand with its open palm symbolizes the bestowal of blessings, happiness, prosperity upon her worshipers and believers, which reminds one with the Nabataean terracotta figurines of enthroned nude goddesses uncovered in Petra and other Nabataean sites (K HAIRY 1990: pp. 23–25, Fig. 24: 1–2; EL-KHOURI 2002: pp. 9– 11. p. 149 pl. 2). Tyche/Fortuna is characterized by the attribute of the turreted crown worn on the head (Fig. 118). This symbol is exclusively owned by this deity which expressed the safeguarding power to protect the urban community and to warrant them liberty and reputation. Also associated with Tyche, the safe government is sometimes symbolized by a rudder in her right hand. This metaphoric sign was exclusively reserved to her, and it is often emphasized by showing the goddess setting her right foot on the bow of a

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Fig. 118: Bust of Tyche wearing the turreted crown, inscribed into a zodiac-framed medaillon supported by a Nike / Victoria, from Khirbet at-Tannûr, Cincinnatti, Ohio, Art Museum (after GLUECK 1965: p. 108 pl. 46). ship, the prora. A further standard symbol, the cornucopia or the horn of plenty and abundance, however, the city goddess shares with other deities and personifications such as Dusares, Demeter and the river or source gods. The cornucopia became a favored symbol for the Roman imperial figurative propaganda, stressing guaranteed welfare to those loyal citizens who accepted the rule of the emperor. The Tyche/Fortuna depicted on lamp No. 10 even duplicates this associative promise, bearing two cornucopiae in her left arm. This is to be translated into the proclamation of augmenting the commonwealth of the state and each citizen drawing individual profit from his loyalty toward the king. This political statement can be proved by Nabataean coinage. During the reign of Aretas IV. (9 BC–40 AD) coins were struck at Petra depicting two crossed horns of plenty under the Nabataean names of both the king and the queen (Fig. 119 b), and the portraits of the royal couple are shown on the obverses (Fig. 119 a). The crossed cornucopiae were not invented by Nabataean coin designers, but adopted from the imagery of the Roman imperial court. They already ap-

pear in the years of the early principate of Octavianus (Fig. 120) who received the title Augustus in 29 BC by the senate. He was honored by this honorific nomenclature as “the savior of the state” after having finished the Republican civil war by the triumvirate, after having vindicated the assassination of his step father Gaius Julius Caesar (44 BC) and after his defeat of Marcus Antonius and Kleopatra VII. in the sea battle on the coast of Actium (31 BC). Augustus’ wise and moderate rule in the provinces was based on the loyalty of indigenous client kings, and as such, the Nabataean Aretas IV maintained close relations to the central power in Rome. The crossed cornucopiae thus proclaimed a two-fold message, namely that of loyalty to the Julio-Claudian Imperial house on the one hand, and the promise of welfare to his own people on the other hand. This political manifest is reflected in the humble media of Nabataean art such as is shown on lamp Fig. 10. II. 2. 4. Heracles (Fig. 16)

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Fig. 119: a–b: Nabataean copper coin bearing on the obverse the portraits of Aretas IV and his wife Shagilat, on the reverse two crossed cornucopiae Amman, Central Bank of Jordan, Numismatic Collection (after AL-TELL 1986: 36 pl. 11).

Discus of lamp No. 16 is decorated in relief with Heracles' naked body looking to the right , nearly in back view with his right hand outstretched, holding a 'magic' lantern equipped with a high-powered lamp to guide seamen by night (BOARDMAN – GRIFFIN – MURRAY 1986: pp. 86–87). In Greek mythology Heracles is the son of Alcmene and Zeus, renowned for his tremendous, superhuman strength and indefatigable endurance. His most famous adventures were the twelve heroic deeds (dodekathlos) commanded to him by King Eurystheus. These adventures required substantial nourishment consisting of huge quantities of fat meat and wine, the consumption of the latter giving him the suspicious nick-name “the drunkard” (Bibax in Latin). A Roman bronze statuette of remarkable artistic quality, found in the oasis of Qaryat al-Fâw in south-western Sa’udi Arabia (Fig. 121), shows this Greek super hero who tends to depend on alcoholic drinks. Travelling from the Egyptian Nile delta to the eastern shores of Libya, where he reached the lush gardens of the Hesperides (in the eastern outskirts of modern Benghazi), Heracles is an “international” hero proving his successful interventions as a sign of the anticipated supremacy of Hellenic culture over the realms of the Oriental of African Barbarians. In this way, his personality reflects very early contacts of the Greeks with the southern Levant and northern Africa, which had, in the absence of objective historiography, translated into myth. One should compare the miraculous adventures of Heracles to the vagarie of the Ithacian king Odysseus participating in the Troyan war in northwestern Asia Minor. His wanderings as far as the littorals of Sicily and the northwestern Balkans, influenced by the moods of supporting or opposing deities, may be explained as an episode in the history of Greek exploration of trade and settling space. In all of

Fig. 120: Intaglio out of yellow-brown glass paste: Head of a youth above the globe and two crossed cornucopiae, early Augustean period, Vienna, Art Historical Museum (after MADERNA-LAUTER 1988: 466 Cat.-No. 245).

Fig. 121: Bronze statuette of Heracles Bibax, “the drinker”, a drinking vessel to be restored in his outstretched right hand, 1st century AD, from Qaryat alFaw, Riyadh, Museum of the Department of Archaeology, King Sa’ud University (after AL-ANSARI 2010: 334 Cat.-No. 155).

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Fig. 122: Heracles finds the Telephos child in front of the enthroned Muse Therpsichore, Pompeian mural painting, 1st century AD, Naples, National Museum (Photo Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli). these oversea regions, Hellenic trading places or emporia and permanent settlements for merchants were established during this period of colonization from the 8th to the end of the 6th centuries BC. The unmistaken tokens to recognize Heracles in Graeco-Roman art are the skin of the lion, whom he struggled with and killed in the forests near Peloponnesian Nemea, and the club. Further weaponry included the quiver, arrows and the bow with which

he killed the dangerous birds of Stymphalos. With this impressive equipment he became without doubt the most popular hero of Greece throughout the ages (BROMMER 41979, passim; 1984, passim). Hercules is the sole hero of Greek mythology whose backside, especially his buttocks, were the subject of a burlesque narrative. It seems adviseable to mention this in the context of the present Nabataean lamps, since specimen No. 16 shows the

II. 2. Mythological Subjects

hero in an apparently unaccustomed backview. The episode of Hercules and the two Kerkopes brothers does not belong to the dodekathlos, but nonetheless it is depicted on a considerable number of monuments and vases in Italy and Greece dating to the Archaic and Classical periods (BROMMER 1984: pp. 28–32; WOODFORD 1989: pp. 200–204). The names of these two brothers are referenced differently in ancient literature such as Andoulos and Atlantos by Aischrion or Passalos and Akmon or Olos and Eurybathes by Diotimos. Other names given by a commentary on Lukian’s works are Sillos and Tribalos (Scholion in Lucianum p. 180 R). Further sources mention that these Kerkopes were even larger in number without going into details. They earned a rather doubtful reputation as lyers, thieves and flatterers. One day, these grotesque guys met Hercules sleeping under a tree, trying to steel his weapons; the hero woke up, captured and bound them. He hung them on a bar across his shoulders by their heels in order to deliver them to their legal punishment. This moment has been figurally represented on one of the Selinunt metopes (Fig. 123) (GIULIANI 1979: pp. 22– 27 pl. 4, 2). Hanging from the wooden bar with their heads downward, the Kerkopes had a full view on the uncovered, sun-burned posterior of their master, which led them to laugh. Turning his head backward and inquiring of them the reason for their peculiar amusement, he heard their reply that they had been warned by their mother to be aware of the black-bottomed one, in Greek “melampygos”, but they did not understand whom she meant. Now they it saw that was him. Being a person with the right sense of good humor, Hercules shared their laughter and released them. One can easily understand why this burlesque narrative on the Kerkopes adventure provided a rather strong basis for popular comedy of any vulgar kind. But the attraction of the topic seems to have been exhausted by the time, since its figural representations ceased in late Classical or early Hellenistic times, and the subject had never again been revived in the period of the Roman empire. Therefore, doubts on the relation of the back view representation of the hero on the Nabataean lamp No. 16 to the myth of the Kerkopes are fully justified. Nonetheless, Hercules remained a powerful heroic champion in later times as well, appreciated by artists and presented in his full body appearance. Ancient people admired his muscle-packed anatomy from all views. A Roman wall painting from Herculanum (Fig. 122) shows him in approximate back view, dark skinned by his labors in the full sun, finding the Telephos child in the presence of enthroned Muse Therpsichore. The early Hellenistic masterpiece of

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Fig. 123: Heracles and the Kerkopes brothers, metope from the temple at Selinunt, Sicily, Palermo, Museo Archeologico Nazionale (after GIULIANI 1979: pl. 4, 2).

the Heracles Farnese (KRULL 1983: passim), attributed to the sculptor Lysippos, by his three- dimensional sculptural concept, invited the spectator to walk around the sculpture in order to understand his supernatural strength in all aspects. Roman copies of this opus nobile were distributed all over the Roman empire. It was extremely popular at the Oriental borders. Dura Europos produced a large number of Hercules statuettes remounting to this type (DOWNEY 1969, passim). One replica out of imported marble is attested in the Nabataean Arabian realm, once displayed on the forum of ancient Philadelphia (WEBER 2002: p. 509 No. D 7 pl. 150: C). Two further marble sculptures of another sculptural type adorned the stage building of the rock-cut theater at Petra (WEBER 2002: pp. 522– 533 Nos. G 10–11 pl. 170: A– F; 171: A–D), obviously imported to the former Nabataean capital after the decline of the kingdom. It is quite possible that representations like these inspired the Nabataean coroplasts to produce lamps such as that discussed in the present chapter. II. 2. 5. The Centaurs (Figs. 50; 124–126)

In Classical mythology Centaurs were a race of synthetic creatures compounded of half man and half horse. The upper parts of their bodies were human and the rear part was that of a horse. Originally they were presented as full bearded men whose back was elongated in the shape of a horse body. During the

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Classical periods their anatomy changed, the Centaurs had then a full animal body with four horse's hooves and the anthropoid part was limited to the head, the thorax and two human arms (SCHIFFLER 1976: pp. 11. 15–27; VON GEISAU 1979: pp. 183–184). During the 5th century BC the Athenian painter Zeuxis invented a female counterpart. Being at home in the mountains and forests of the central mainland Greek Thessalian Pelion massif, they were known for their wild, uncultivated nature, said to eat raw flesh and combat their enemies by throwing broken rocks or beating them with punked trees (GRIMAL 2005: p. 94). They appeared in crowds, often disregarding the law and order of the mortals: Such an event took place during a mythic wedding of Pirithous, king of the Lapith tribe, when the Centaurs violated the holy rules of hospitality. After trying to abduct the bride Hippodameia and other Lapith virgins, a wild struggle of both parties, the Centauromachy, broke out, translated into stone at the western pediment of the early Classical temple of Zeus at Olympia (Figs. 124– 126; ARAPOGIANNE 2008: pp. 155–159). Other famous centauromachies are shown on the metopes of the Classical Parthenon and of the Hephaisteion at Athens. A Lapith hero named Kaineus, to whom invulnerability to weapons had been granted, the Centaurs smashed into earth by throwing rocks and branches of trees upon him. The mythic king of Athens, Theseus, who happened to be present among the guests, took part on the side of the hosts and turned the tide toward the Lapithian party. This strife was understood as a metaphor for the eternal fight between primitive instincts against the right order of human civilization.

The majority of the Centaurs are an anonymous crowd. In his lyric description of the centauromachy, Ovid (Metamorphoses 12, 212ff.) provides the names of 18 Lapiths and 56 Centaures, the latter mainly invented (VON GEISAU 1979: p. 185). Only few individuals can be singled out such as Eurytion or Nessos. Nessos served as a ferryman at the river Lykormas and greedy, he attacked Hercules’ wife Deianeira. Gravely wounded by the arrows of the hero, Nessos gave her a probe of his blood as a love-spell by which she caused later unwillingly Hercules’ end (Fig. 126). Despite their wild nature, some the Centaurs such as Chiron and Pholos were known for their friendliness and hospitality toward mortals; they achieved great wisdom and acted as teachers of Greek heroes. An attempt to explain the meaning of the Centaurs for the Nabataeans is not an easy task. In general, as the above survey aimed at disputing, the Nabataeans fully adopted Graeco-Roman culture. A large number of images occur in their realm closely related to archetypes originally developed in Greece and Italy. Probably the most convincing interpretation of a Centaur on Nabataean lamps might be its astral significance as a constellation of stars. Precise astrological knowledge was essential for Arabian caravan trade since travel was mainly executed during the cool nights. Together with the astrological symbol of the dolphin, the centaur appears in the Nabataean and Arab zodiacs such as that from Khirbet at-Tannûr (Fig. 118) or in the bath of Qusayr ‘Amra (Fig. 86).

Figs. 124–125: Centaurs trying to rape the Lapith virgins during the wedding of Pirithous and Hippodameia, sculptures of the western pediment of the temple of Zeus at Olympia, ca. 470 BC, Olympia, Archaeological museum (after ARAPOGIANNE 2008: p. 157 Figs. 161. 163).

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Fig. 126: Nessos killed by Hercules, wall painting from the cubiculum of a villa (IX, 5, 18–21) at Pompeji, Naples, National Museum, Inv. 111474 (after Unter dem Vulkan: p. 138–139 Nr. 39).

III. Stratigraphical Outlines III. 1. The Chronological Phases

III. 2. Table of Concordance

Some of the studied lamps in this book were uncovered in well stratified deposits from the 1981 Petra Excavations which were carried out in the elKatuteh area (fig.127), southeast of Qasr el-Bint and at the foot of Umm el-Biyarah, by the University of Jordan with the cooperation of the Department of Antiquities under the direction of the writer. Excavations began on 4 May and ended on 5 July 1981. The dating of the stratigraphy depends mainly on coins. Almost one-third of the total number of coins was readily deciphered; the rest were illegible or merely pieces of fragile rust.

Cat.-N o. Locus Phase _________________________________________

Three main areas were opened (B, C, D). Nineteen squares were opened in Area B, six squares in Area C, and only two squares in Area D. lows:

The phases represented in these areas are as fol-

Phase I.a :Dated by coins to the beginning of the reign of Aretas IV before his appearance with his wife Shaqilat II. Phase I.b :Dated to the reign of Aretas IV after his marriage to his second wife Shaqilat II. Phase II :Dated by coins of Malichus II (40-70 A.D.) Phase III :Attributed to the reign of Rabbel II (70106 A.D.) Phase IV :Dated by pottery to the second half of the third to early fourth centuries A.D. Phase V :Dated by coins of Justinian I (525-538 A.D.) and the tenth year of the reign of Justin II (574 A.D.) Apart from the excavated lamps from the 1981 Petra Excavations, several unstratified lamps have been included in the present study. Such lamps are roughly datable depending on the comparable parallel examples.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 12 13 23 24 26 29 30 31 32 37 42 43 44 45 46 51 52 53 56 57 66 69

D.2.5. D.2.5 D.2.9 D,.2.12 B.12.8 D.1.5 B.5.7 D.2.9 D.2.11 D.2.5 D.2.6 D.2.6 B.3.7 B.12.8 D.1.4 D.7.7 D.1.11 C.4.6 D.2.5 B.2.8 D.2.7 D.2.6 B.16.10 B.3.8 B.14.12 B.16.2 C.6.3 C.4.5 B.16.12

II II Ib Ia Ib II Ib Ib Ia II II II Ib Ib III Ib Ib III II Ib II II Ib Ib Ib V V IV Ib

III. Stratigraphical Outlines

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Fig. 127: Excavation areas in the 1981 campaign at Petra.

Fig. 128: Excavation team of the University of Jordan of the 1981 campaign at Petra. The excavation’s director and author of the present book is in the front seated row, fifth from the left (Photo University of Jordan, archive of the Institute of Archaeology).

IV. Index of Provenances of The Studied Lamps The following abbreviations are used in the index:

BEP: The British Excavations in Petra (1952-56). BM: The British Museum, London. CUMAE: The Cambridge University Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Cambridge. HEP: The Horsfields Excavations in Petra, 1929. JAM: The Jordanian Archaeological Museum, Amman. KEP: The Al-Katuteh Excavations in Petra, 1981. PAM: The Petra Archaeological Museum, Petra. PHE: Philip Hammond's Excavations in Petra, 1976. PPA: Peter Parr's archives, the Institute of Archaeology, London University, London. UJAM: The University of Jordan Archaeological Museum, Amma

Cat.No. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35.

Provenance KEP KEP KEP KEP KEP KEP KEP Petra Petra HEP BEP KEP KEP PHE BEP HEP BEP HEP Petra Petra Petra Petra KEP KEP BEP KEP HEP HEP KEP KEP KEP KEP Petra Petra Petra

Location PAM PAM PAM PAM PAM PAM PAM JAM BM CUMAE PPA PAM PAM JAM PPA CUMAE PPA CUMAE JAM PAM PAM BM PAM PAM PPA PAM CUMAE CUMAE PAM PAM PAM PAM UJAM UJAM UJAM

Cat.No. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69.

Provenance Petra KEP Petra Petra BEP BEP KEP KEP KEP KEP KEP Petra Petra Petra Petra KEP KEP KEP HEP PHE KEP KEP KEP Petra Petra BEP BEP Petra BEP BEP KEP Petra BEP KEP

Location PAM PAM JAM JAM PPA PPA PAM PAM PAM PAM PAM JAM UJAM JAM UJAM PAM PAM PAM CUMAE PAM PAM PAM PAM JAM UJAM PPA PPA UJAM PPA PPA PAM JAM JAM PAM

V. Bibliography and Abbreviations Conventional Abbreviations

Cat. cm D Ex Fig., Figs. H (I)ibid. m mm No., Nos. Pl., Pls. p., pp. W

Catalogue Centimeter(s) Diameter Existing Figure(s) Hight ibidem (at the same place) meter(s) millimeter(s) Number(s) Plate(s) page(s) Width

Bibliography and Abbreviations (for Journals and Monograph Series)

AASOR Annual of the American School of Oriental Research

ADAJ

Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan

AL-ANSARY 1982 A. AL–ANSARY, Qaryat al–Faw: A Portrait of Pre- Islamic Civilization in Saudi Arabia. Riyadh: King Sa’ud University, 1982.

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VI. Index A

Abbasid 92 Abgal 82 Abila 90 Abydos 92 Acropolis 76, 89 Acroterion 81 Actium 96 ADI, M. 64–65 Aegean 74 Aetolia 91 Afqa 86 Agatharchides of Cnidus 63 Agora 26, 36, 45, 60 Aï Khanoum 74 Aigina 71 Aion-Kronos 82 Aischrion 99 Akmon 99 Alexander III 77 Alexandria 20, 36, 45, 69 ALICA, D. 11 Allat 30, 75, 78, 80–82 alluvial 64 al-’Uzza 30 AMES, D. 12, 93 Amman 61, 73–74, 79, 87 AMORAI-STARK, S. 95 Amphitrite 74 amphora 70 amulet 77 anabasis 71 Anadyomene (Aphrodite) 92, 93 Anakreon 91 Andros 74 ANSARY- AL, A. M 1, 75, 97 antelope(s) 80 Antioch 19, 86 Antiphanes 91, 92 Aphrodite 15, 30, 71, 74, 78, 85 apocalyptic 76 Apollon 74, 76, 86 apotheosis 92 Arabia Felix 75 Arabian Peninsula 1 Arabia Petraea 66 ARAPOGIANNE, X. 100 Arcadia 88, 90 Archaic Greek 67 Archipelagos 74 Aretas IV 10, 20, 37, 61, 96, 97 Arion 74 Aristoteles, Historia Anim. 77, 78

Arretine (pottery) 81, 89 Artemis 25, 77, 89–90 Ascalon 71 Ashar 82 ashlar 88 Asia 70 Asia Minor 79 astrological signs 75 Astarte 92 Atargatis 30, 37, 63, 76, 78, 80 Athena 19, 70, 89, 100 Athenian 67, 74 Athenaeus of Naucratis, deipnosophistai 78, 92 Atlanta 99 Attica 70, 76, 89 augur 92 Augustus 10, 25, 96, 97 Aventine 85 AVIGAD, N. 60 AVI YONAH, M. 71 Ayla/ Aqaba 66 Azizos 82 B

Baalbek 81 BABELON, E. 65 Babylon 91 Bacchus 69 BACHINGER, R. 78 Baetocaeca 74 BAILEY, D. M. 10, 13, 18–19, 24, 25, 27, 30, 36, 40, 52-53, 60, 78 Baitokaikos 74 Balkans 91, 98 bamboo 12 BAR-ADON, N. 60 BARATTE, F. 82 Barid (Siq). 68–69 BARRETT, D. G. 19, 36, 60, 62 BAUR, P. V. C. 60 beasts 20 bekataion 82 Benghazi 97 Berkeh 79 BERNHARD, M. 27, 39, 40 BESTERMAN, TH., 19 Bibax (Heracles) 97 birds 20 BLANCHET, J.-A. 65 bláutê 63 blautíai 63

BOARDMAN, J. 87, 97 BONNET, J. 27 bootlaces 64 Bosra 79 Boston 78 BOWERSOCK, G, W. 63, 66 BRANTS, J. 19, 40 British Museum 18 BROMMER, F. 99 BRONEER, O. 5, 10, 19–20, 24, 26, 44, 45, 53, 61 BROWNING, I. 72 BRUNEAU, P. 27, 36 bull 53, 80, 82 BUSCHOR, E. 74 C

Caesarea Maritima 87, 89 CAHN-KLAIBER, E. 25, 45 candlestick 61, 62 CANTINEAU, J. 63 Capitoline deities 19, 85, 92 Capricorn 75 Caravans 63 Casa Della Fontana 85 castanets 11 Castor 82 Çatal Hüyük 83 Centaur 45, 93, 100 Centauromachy 100 Chalcolithic 82 chalice-like 4 CHARITONIDI, E. 74 CHARLESTON, R. J. 2, 3 Chiron 100 chiton 13 Christian era 46 Cincinnati (Ohio) 95 CIS 1, 36 Claudius Aelianus 71 CLARK, R. 84 CLEVELAND, R. A. 10 Cnidia (Aphrodite) 82 Cnidus 63 COARELLI, F. 85 Columbarium 72, 73 Columella (de re rustica) 92 comic mask 85 commerce 1 CONWAY High Palace 10 CONWAY, A. 10, 18–20, 24, 26,35, 36, 44, 46, 53, 89

116

VI. Index

COOKE, G. A. 1, 63 Core (Cult) 61 Corinth 53, 85 Corinthian 81 cornucopia 13, 29, 82, 95–97 CRELIER, M.-C. 30, 78 cremation 72 crescent 3, 25, 37, 59, 78 crescent-moon 25, 77 CROWFOOT, J. 18, 36, 61 Cufic 69 cuneiform 71 CURTIUS, L. 91 Cycladic Islands 73–74 Cyclops 87 Cyprus 18–19, 60 Cyrus 71 D

DALMAN, G. 10 Damas 66 Damascus 82, 86, 90 Daphne 86 dates 12 DE FRANCISCIS, A. 94 Dead Sea 83 Decapolis 90 Deianeira 100 deipnosophistai, see Athenaeus Delos, Delian 27, 36, 63, 91 Demeter 90, 96 demos 91 demotic 78 DENEAUVE, J. 19, 24, 27, 36, 53 DEONNA, W. 93 Derketo 71 Diana 25, 77 Diodorus (Siculus) 71, 91 Dionysos 19, 37, 38, 67, 69, 74, 75, 85, 87, 89 Dioskouroi 82 Djebel Haroun 2 dodekathlos 97, 99 dolphins 66, 74, 75, 76, 77, 95 Doric 84 double-axe 54 dove 20, 71, 73 dove-house 73 DOWNEY, S. 99 Drachmes 91 dromedars 63 Dura Europos 82, 99 Dushara 63, 96

E

earrings 37 ear-shaped 31, 36 earthquake 69 Edom 90 egg-shell ware 1–2 Egypt 1, 19, 53, 70–71 Eikadios 74 Elagabal 89 ELLIS, J. C. 10, 36, 46, 60 emblema 85 Emesa (Homs, Syria) 92 emporia 91, 98 engobe 3 Ennius (Hedyphagetica) 78 Eos 82 Eram 75 ERBACHER, K. 63 Eros, Erotes 12, 15, 17, 19, 20, 69, 70, 74, 78 erotic scene 15, 45, 68–69 Ethiopia 72 Euphrates 82 Europe / Europa 53, 66 Eurybathes 99 Eurypides 87 Eurystheus 97 Eurythion 100 Euselius 71 EVELEIN, M. 4 Exekias 74 ez-Zantur 10, 19, 20, 27, 36, 45, 53, 61, 66, 70 F

fabula 80 Failaka 1 falcons 77 FARKA, CH. 19, 27, 36 Fauna 71 Faustus (potter) 11, 18 Feda’in, al- 67, 68, 69 fish 54, 65, 71 fish breathing 66 fishhook 54 fishing 18 FLEISCHER, R. 94 floral elements 4, 29–30, 37 Fortuna 13 G

GABELMANN, H. 79

GACHET, J. 74 Gadara 74, 84, 86–87 Gaia 82 gargyoles 74 garum 66 GAWLIKOWSKI, M. 80 GAYET, A. 19 Gaza 71 Gellius, Noctes Atticae 78 Gerasa 87 GIULIANI, L. 99 Glaukos (potter) 92 glaze 3 Glueck, N. 29, 30, 37, 38, 44, 63, 66, 74, 75, 78, 80, 82, 86-87, 92 GOETHE, J. W. 79 GOLDMAN, H. 36 GOODENOUGH, E. 53 GOULANDRIS, D. 74 Graces 19 Graeco-Roman culture 2, 10 grapes 4, 24, 45, 69, 74, 76, 95 grasshoppers 4, 7, 76–77 GRAWEHR, M. 19, 20, 27, 36, 45, 46, 53, 61 Greek mythology 15 grotesque mask 38, 84 GUBEL, E. 82 Guerrat al-Tarf 67 Guinea-hens 91 gymnasion 63 H

Habis 71 Hadad 63, 80, 92 Haiteirai 67 HAKEN, R. 29, 36, 82 Hammat 86 Hamond, Ph. 2, 3, 9–10, 19, 20, 36, 38, 39, 52, 53, 59, 60 HANNESTAD, L. 1 HARDING, G. L. 60 Harpocrates 12, 95 Hasan ibn al-Numan 67 Hauran 82 he-goat 89 Hebrews 76 HEHN, V. 70, 71, 90–91 Hekate 82 Heliopolis 81 Hephaisteion 100 Hera 19, 90, 92 Heracles 18, 93, 97–99, 101 heraldic 81

117

VI. Index

HERES, G. 10, 19, 36 Hermes 30, 82, 90 Herodian 81 Herodot 79 HERSHKOVITZ, M. 95 Hesperides 97 Hesperso 82 HESSE, K. 65 Hettithe 79 Hierapolis-Bambyke 71 HILLER, H. 94 Hippodameia 100 Horatius (Flaccus), Satyrae 78 HORSFIELD, G. 10, 18, 19, 20, 24, 26, 35, 36, 44, 45, 46, 53, 89 HOWLAND, R. H. 53 HÜBINGER, U. 10, 19 HÜBNER, U 66–67 Husn Sulaiman 74 Hydraotim 91 hydraulic 66 Hydrology 2 Hygieinos 71 Hyperion 82 I

Ibn al-Kalbi 71 Ibykos 91 iconography 74 Ikaros 74 ILIFFE, J. H. 37, 38, 60 Imperial activity 13 Imperial lamps 27, 29, 37 India 79, 91 infogram 83 INGHOLT, H. 63 insects 20 INVERNIZZI, A. 67 Iraq al-Amir 82 irrigation 66 Isis- Aphrodite 82, 95 Islam 77 Italy 1, 72, 79, 81, 99 ithyphallic 87 ivy 29, 30 J

jackdaws 77 Japanese 93 Jerash 37, 38, 60 Jerusalem 38 Jordan 68, 73

Juba II 92 Julian-Claudian 97 Julius Caesar 95 Jupiter Optimus Maximus 81, 92 K

Kahena 67 Kaineus 100 kantharos 88 KARG, S. 70 Kassel 76 Katuteh 10 Kautes 82 Kautopates 82 KENNEDY, D. 59, 60 Kerkopes 99 KHAIRY, N. I. 1,3,10,15, 20, 36, 53, 61, 84, 96 Khazneh 81 Khirbet al-Dharih 63 Khirbet et-Tannur 29, 44, 66, 80, 82, 92, 95–96, 101 KHOURI, L. 86, 92 kilt -like 54 Kleopatra VII 95 knife-parring 15 kothon 31 Köln 40 Königsweg 10, 67, 85 KOZLOFF A. 91 KRAUSE, TH. 95 KRENKEL, W. 78 KRULL, B. 99 kteis 78 Ktesias 71 KURDI, H. 10 kylix 74 Kythera 75 Kyzikos 92 L

LA ROCCA, E. 85 ladder-like 4 lampda-shaped 65 Lapith 100 Leg-shackles 15, 95 LEIBUNDGUT, A. 19, 29, 36, 82 lekythos 78 Leptis Magna 92 LERAT, L. 27, 40 LERICHE, P. 74

leucoryx 56 Levant 70 Levantine 71, 95 Libya 97 LINDNER, M. 53, 70, 79 lion 21, 37, 77, 79, 81, 82, 99 lion-skin 12 locust 24, 45, 76, 77 LOESCHCKE, S. 10, 19, 24, 25, 26, 27, 36, 40, 59–60 lotus 84 Lucian 71, 99 luna 77 lunual 77 Lusoi 89 Lykormas 100 Lysippos 99 M

Macedonia 77, 79, 91 Madaba 65 Madain Salih 63 MADERNA-LAUTER, C. 97 Mafraq 67, 69 Magna Mater 90 Malichus II 10, 25 Mameluke 82 Mampsis 36 Marathon 89 Marcus Aurelius 89 Marcus Varro 90 mask 54, 84–85, 87, 89–90 Mauretania 92 mausoleum 72, 81 MAZAR, B. 93 Mediterranean 2, 24 Melampygos 99 Melikadios 74 Melpomene 84 Menads 94 MENDE, U. 81 MENZEL, H. 19, 24, 27, 36, 60 Mercury 21, 29, 82, 90 Mesopotamia 1, 82 metal prototypes 25 metamorphoses 100 metaphoric signs 63, 71, 96 metope 32, 84 MEUDRAC, M. 93 mica 3 MILDENBERG, L. 76–77, 91 Miletus 63 mimic 11, 87 Mithraeum 82

118

VI. Index

Mithras 82 Molossian 74 Monimas 82 Monsoon 66 MORENO, P. 88 MOTHRING, A. 39–40 Mount Siphylus 76 MUHEISEN, Z. 79 mummy 84 Munich 74 mural painting 93 murex 78 MURRAY, M. A. 10, 36, 46, 60 Muse 84 myrtle 24 N

Naples 87, 98. 101 Naucratis 92 naumachia 86 Nazal camp 71 nebris 11, 18 necropolis 36 Negev desert 1, 53 NEGEV, A. 10, 18, 27, 36, 44–46, 53, 59–60, 97 Nemea 99 NEMES, E. 11 Neolithic 83 Nessos 100, 101 NEUGEBAUER, K. 89 Nile 1, 97 Ninive 71 Noah’s arc 71 Noctes Atticae, see Gellius nouveau riches 91 Nubia 78 numismatics 94 nymphaeum 74, 85, 90 nymphs 90 O

oak leaves 36 Oboda 10, 18, 27, 36–37, 46 odeion 90 ÖZIOL, TH. 18–19, 27, 36, 37, 60 Ohio (State of US) 96 Old Testament 70, 76 olive 29, 34, 70, 74 Olos 99 Olympian 70–71, 87, 90, 92, 100 omega lamp 36 Ophir 90 orbis terrarium 92

orchestra 86 orient 66 Oryx 80 óstrea 78 Ovid 100 ovules 58–59 owls 77 Oxus river 74 P

Palaimon 61 Palaiphatos 92 PALANGE, P. 81, 89 Palestine 76, 79 palm tree 12, 55 palmets 37 Palmyra 67, 80, 86, 90 Palmyreanian desert 82 Pan 19, 37, 69, 89–90 Panathenaic races 70 pancration 71 Paneion 89 Papposeilenos 87 papyrus 93 Paris 10, 65 PARLASCA, I. 77 Parnopios 76 Parthenon 70, 100 PASQUIER, A. 88 Passalos 99 PATRICH, J. 36, 69 Pausanias 71,76–77 peacock 21, 24, 90–92 pecten maximus, jacobaeus L. 78 Peisistratos 70 Pelion 100 Pella 74 Peloponnese 87, 99 pendant 78, 82 Perennius 89 periegisis (Pausanias) 76 Perikles 91 peristerones 74 PERLZWEIG, J. 36 Persian 67, 71, 79, 91 petals 6, 29, 59 Petra 13, 18–19 PETRIE, F. 19 Petronius (Arbiter), Satyrikon 78 phalanx 89 Pharaonic 71 Pheidias 70, 76 Philadelphia 74, 87 Philippi Panias 89 Philippoplis 95

Philon 71 Phoenicia 1, 81–82, 93 Phosphoros 82 Phyderios 65 PICCIRILLO, M. 65 pickaxe 15 pictogram 82 pigeon 71 pinakes 67 pine 69 Pirithous 100 planta pedis 25 Platonic 66 Pliny, Naturalis Historia 78 poleis 86 Pollux 82 Polycrates 91 Pompeian 69, 88, 93–94, 98, 101 Pompeji 85 PONSICH, M. 27, 36 Poseidon 61 Potter’s workshop 10, 27 POUILLOUX, J. 24, 36, 60 Pratinas 87 Praxiteles 88 Priasto 73 prora 96 protomes 81 Provincia Arabia 53 Pseudo-Jesaias 71 Ptolemies 89 Puteoli 1 Pyrilampes 91 Q

Qanawat 90 Qaryat al-Faw 1, 75, 97 Qasr al-Abd 82 Qasr al-Duree 82 Qasr al-Rabbah 79 Qusair Amra 75, 101 R

Ras al-‘Ain 87 Rasinius 89 RAYT 3, 4, 6 Red Sea 1, 66, 91 Rhodes 63 RICHTER, W.,71, 75, 79 ROBINS, F. W. 26, 40 ROBINSON, H. 26, 36, 45, 60 ROSENTHAL, R., 10, 19, 25, 27, 37, 44–46, 52, 60. ROSENTHAL(-HEGINBOTTOM), R., 19, 36–40

119

VI. Index

rosetta

3, 4, 6, 25, 32, 36–40, 42, 59, 61, 82 RUBIN, I., 63 S

Sadagah 10 Sahr al-Ledja 77, 81, 82 Saidnaya 79 Saint John 76 Salamis 60 SALLES, J.-F. 74 Salt 73 Samaria 61 Samian 90–91 Samiramis 71 Samos 90 Sanamein 79 sandaled foot 39, 63, 64, 65 Santa Constanza (Rome) 94 Santa Prisca 85 Satyrae, see Hortatius (Flaccus) Satyrikon, see Petronius Satyr-like 11, 19, 55, 78, 87–89 scallop-shell 78 , 79 SCHIENERL, P. W. 78 SCHIFFLER, B. 100 SCHLOESSINGER, * 19 SCMIED, S. 70 SCHMITT-KORTE, K., 10, 36 SCHRADER, H., 59 Secundi 79 Seeia/Si' 82 SEGAL, A. 84 seilenoi 87 Selencia 67 Selene 77, 82 Selinunt 99 Semitic folks 70 semi-volute 17, 21 Sha'arah 82 Shahba 95 Shaqilat 36, 46, 61, 97, Shells 4, 11, 29, 71, 78 SHIER, L.A. 19 Shuneh 87 Sicily 71, 87,88, 98, 91, 99 Sidon 82 sigillata (pottery) 81 signum musicum 75 Sillos 99 silversmiths 93

Simmas 71 Sinai 1, 53, 66 sinerary 72 sinter engobe 3 Sypilos see Mount Sipylus Siq 63, 64 Siq al-Bared 95 SIVAN, R. 10, 19, 25, 27, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 44, 45, 46, 53, 61 slippers 63 SLM 3 SLM QWAK 20 SMITH, R. H. 60 Solar god 82 Sole 64 Sparta 89 stars 29, 75, 78, 82, 83 STILLWELL, R., 19 STOESSL, F. 87 Strabon 63, 64, 67 STAIS, V. 75 stucco 69 STUCKY, R.A. 81 STUDER, J. 66 Stymphalos 99 Suidas 63, 71 summa cavea (theatre) 86 sun-rays 4, 84 SUSSMAN, V. , 44 Swiss 63 Swiss-Liechtenstein 63, 66 Switzerland 77 symplegma 19, 66 symposion 63 Syria 65, 71, 74, 77, 79, 81, 91 SZENTLENESKY, T., 19, 27, 36 T

Tadmor 80 Taras 74 Tarentum 78 Taurophoros 82 Taurosthenes 71 Telephos 98–99 Temenos - gate 84–85 Tendrils 29 Terracotta figurines 13, 37, 74, 77, 93, 95 Teukros 92 Therpsichore 98,99

Theseus 100 Thessalian 100 thunderbolt 21, 90, 92 Thyrsos 88 Tiberius 10, 26, 36 Tinos 73, 74 Titan 82 Tokyo 93 Torches 4, 29, 34, 36, 82 Trajan 53 tremolo 78 Tribalos 99 Triclinium 66, 67, 79, 93, 94 triglyphs 32 Tripolitania 92 Troian 98 Tulailat al-Gassul 83 Tunesia 87 Turreted crown 96 TUSHINGHAM, A. D. 60 Tutankhamun 84 Tyche 93, 95, 96 U

Ulpianos 92 Umayyad 67, 69, 75, 76 Umm al-Biyara 2, 70 Umm Qais 84 Uranios 92 Uranos 82 Urn 72 V Varro 92 Venus 71 VESSBERG, 0., 24, 27, 36 Vestigial volutes 37 Vexillum 74 Via Praenestina (Rome) 94 Victoria 95 Victoria and Albert Museum 18 Vienna 97 Vigna 85 vignettes. 94 vines 77 vineyards 67, 94 VON GEISAU, H. 100 Vulci 74

120

VI. Index

W

WAAGE , F. O. 36, 44 Wadi al-Farasa 79 Wadi Arabah 15 Wadi Fenan 95 Wadi Ram 75 Wadi Sabra 84, 86, 87 Wadi Shuwaib 73 Wadi Sir 73 Walid II 69 WALKER, A. S. 77 WALTERS, H. B. 2, 18, 19, 24, 26, 36, 40, 60 WEBER , TH. M. 2, 69, 73, 74, 76, 76, 77, 79, 80, 81, 82, 84, 86,

87, 90, 99 well - levigated 6 WENNING, R., 63, 79, 85, 86 WESTHOLM , A. 27, 36 WIEGAND, TH . 59 windmill 83 wine 67 Winged Lion 38 Wreaths 4, 29, 30 WREDE , H. 77 X

Xenophon 71, 95

Z

ZANONI, I. 53 ZAYADINE, F. 10, 18, 19, 30, 36, 53, 69, 78, 79, 86 Zenobia 67 Zeus 15, 19, 70, 75, 80, 90, 92, 97, 100 Zeuxis 100 ZIMMERMANN, J. 74 zodiac 75 zoology 78, 79