Petra - the desert marvel
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The facade of the Monastery antikenmuseumbasel.ch -
Johann Ludwig Burckhardt alias Sheikh Ibrahim Ibn Abdallah antikenmuseumbasel.ch -
A clay offering in the shape of a hedgehog found in the Great Temple, 1st century AD (Petra Archaeological Museum) antikenmuseumbasel.ch -
Nabataean sandstone inscription mentioning an officer of the Nabataean cavalry, 1st century AD (Amman, Citadel Museum) antikenmuseumbasel.ch -
Painted Nabataean clay drinking bowl, 1st century AD (Petra Archaeological Museum) antikenmuseumbasel.ch -
Bone needle with female figure, 1st century AD (Petra Archaeological Museum) antikenmuseumbasel.ch -
A sandstone votive offering to the goddess of Haiyan, son of Nayibat, from the Winged Lions Temple, 1st century AD (Petra Archaeological Museum) antikenmuseumbasel.ch -
Gold and cornaline ring with an image of the goddess Isis, Qasr al-Bint, 1st century AD (Petra Archaeological Museum) antikenmuseumbasel.ch -
Marble head of the roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, Qasr al-Bint, 2nd century AD (Amman, Jordan Museum) antikenmuseumbasel.ch -
Clay lamp with zodiac imagery from the Winged Lions Temple, 1st century AD (Petra Archaeological Museum) antikenmuseumbasel.ch -
Large painted rose stucco decoration from the ceiling of one of the rooms in the Great Temple, 1st century AD (Petra Archaeological Museum) antikenmuseumbasel.ch -
Bronze bust of the god Serapis from the Winged Lions Temple, 1st century AD (Petra Archaeological Museum) antikenmuseumbasel.ch -
Limestone carving of an eagle grasping lightning, 1st century AD (Petra Archaeological Museum) antikenmuseumbasel.ch -
Bone knife handle with lion's head from the Ez Zantur house, 1st century AD (Petra Archaeological Museum) antikenmuseumbasel.ch -
Limestone carving of a fish goddess from the Nabataean Khirbet et-Tannur temple 70 kilometres from Petra, 1st century AD (Amman, Citadel Museum) antikenmuseumbasel.ch -
Limestone capital with elephant heads from the Great Temple, 1st century AD (Petra Archaeological Museum) antikenmuseumbasel.ch
Basel's museum of antiquities is currently presenting the latest results of archeological research at the ancient site of Petra in Jordan. Some 150 relics are on view, while visitors can learn how the Nabataeans were able to build and maintain a city in the middle of the desert.
This content was published on January 12, 2013 - 11:00
On August 22, 1812, Swiss traveller and orientalist Johann Ludwig Burckhardt, aka Sheikh Ibrahim Ibn Abdallah, was the first European to set eyes on the mysterious city of Petra, whose location had been lost to outsiders for nearly a 1,000 years. Burckhardt is considered the founder of modern research carried out at the site. Today, Petra is a Unesco World Heritage site and is visited by thousands of tourists.
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