[By George Horsfield] G. H. Went to El Barid in 1 ½ hours and explored the site and surroundings. The site has Hadrianic monuments and innumerable cisterns and contrivances for catching and holding water. To the west is a stair in a nick in the rock which is almost blocked at the top; beyond it descends into the Wadi which falls to the West. Higher up east is another which falls S.W., so this is the head of the Water shed. To the East outside are many Bedouin graves outlined with stones and 2 built ones – one of which was roughly roofed in – with a small low door to W. This area has apparently been built on – all the rocks surrounding contain cisterns – some of large size. There are extensive quarries and the stone seems of good quality and similar to that used in the 2nd century Petra buildings. To the North is a wider wadi which has the remains of walls extending the whole width one behind the other – on North side is a building and another in the NW Angle: the second court or serai is approached from the E. side and a wall cuts off a passage about 5 m. wide towards the cliff. Probably a caravanserai for camels and pack mules for bringing stones to Petra. At 11.15 Drifullah brought news of an accident to one of the workmen who had his leg broken at the thigh by a fall of earth. He sat under the working face at the breakfast interval, and a short time before the whistle blew a heavy fall buried him and another man - who escaped injury. Dr Canaan returned; found the man in the police tent at Cooks Camp and set the leg. On my instruction he offered to send the man to Amman to Hospital; it was repeated several times, but he preferred to stay in the village. It is a simple fracture of the thigh. Dr Canaan improvised a stretcher – and the man was carried to his house. The digging continued, the pottery same as before with one inscribed jar handle. The lower depth is being attacked – so the depth is now six metres.
Reference: Horsfield, G. 1929 (transcribed by A. Thornton). Petra Exploration Fund Diary. "Business Papers to be Kept", Horsfield Collection Box 8, UCL Institute of Archaeology, 10 April: 30-31. [By George Horsfield and possibly Agnes Conway] G. H. Went on with dig, which was showing signs of reaching undisturbed level. Cleared up all the dangerous overhanging parts. The pottery coming out is mostly fragments of cookery pots – large wine jars with inscribed handles – and some fragments of black glazed ware undecorated. (This Mr Crowfoot says is dated 300-150 BC). A small black lamp slightly oval with a small projection on one side – and poorly modelled – and a spoon-handle broken, same as another found yesterday, came out. Took photographs of S wall and Zantour. In early afternoon bottom was definitely reached at six metres – red crumply sandstone. Have decided to dig a long trench into the tell on S. side near the Habis – beginning Saturday, as that seems to be the most ancient and the deepest place. Paid the men for two weeks’ work; no grumbles and all passed off in an orderly manner. The High Commissioner arrived and is staying with Cooks. [Austen] Harrison write to say he was unable to come and visit us.
A.E.C. spent the morning on the nearer El Ma’aisera ridge looking at Kennedy’s Memorandum queries in connection with the great tomb, Fives court etc. She could find no sign of a sanctuary, but think the whole lay-out may be an elaborate example of the type of enceinte described on the Turkomanya tomb. A new type of tomb turned up, and two unfinished very early tombs, as well as more cisterns. A complete investigation of the ridge might be done and would be interesting if there is time for anything intensive. She took 5 panorama telephoto views from the Edomite circle in the afternoon glow. Reference: Horsfield, G [and probably Conway, A] 1929 (transcribed by A. Thornton). Petra Exploration Fund Diary. "Business Papers to be Kept", Horsfield Collection Box 8, UCL Institute of Archaeology, 11 April: 31-32. [probably by Agnes Conway] A.E.C. spent the morning on Al-Ma’aisera looking at all the tombs leading to the watch-room overlooking the barred Wady Marras Hamdan outside the town. The tombs are particularly small, and there are many niches with facades too small for tombs. When above the Turkomanya Wady, I saw a line of camels which turned out to the be the last of 300 or so, which had come from Hayil, a 20 days’ journey, with 50 Wahabis to look after them. From Ma’an they went by Ain Hai and ain Khraje to El Barid, where they slept last night. They went out by El Thughra on the way to Akaba and a 5 days’ journey to Egypt to sell the camels. They said the Star Pass was too hard on the camels legs and so was the Siq. This seems to imply that El Barid may have been the last station on the way to Petra on the Southern and Eastern Trade Routes, as well as the first station from Petra on the way to Gaza. It was a first hand demonstration of the Trade Routes that we never could have hoped for, and a very fine spectacle. The afternoon went on shopping chores and consultations with Mr Read [Head] about my camera. The “Sybil” focus is all wrong and impossible to use. Reference: [unsigned, but probably Conway, A.] 1929 (transcribed by A. Thornton). Petra Exploration Fund Diary. "Business Papers to be Kept", Horsfield Collection Box 8, UCL Institute of Archaeology, 12 April: 33.
[By George Horsfield and possibly Agnes Conway]
G. H. Began to dig on S. face of the city between the outer and the Byzantine wall, on a face of 10 metres. The ground was covered with the fragments of stone slabs that seem to have formed the sides and covers to Xian graves – one of which had been destroyed. They were on the surface. The surface is sandy earth with small fragments of pottery[.] One lamp with a cross and several Byzantine coins were turned up. Visited with Miss C. the Tombs at foot of Biyara on the other side of W. Tughra. Afternoon was on the dig all the time; the surface is clear up the wall and the S. end down [? in pencil] about ¾ in. Very little pottery is turning up. Remains of wood ash are appearing – but the pottery is limited and uninteresting and very fragmentary. Wall stones are turning up just below the surface and fragments of stone are mingled with the earth, particularly at foot of Byzantine wall. A.E.C. spent the afternoon on the nearer Ma’aisera ridge and in the wadi-al Gharbiyah, where, in a small area are six silted up caves almost at Wady level on each side. Four are hidden by falls of detritus and two filled to the very top with sand, - thinks these may all be tombs, and that one is of the large Serai type and worth digging. Reference: Horsfield, G. [and possibly Conway, A.] 1929 (transcribed by A. Thornton). Petra Exploration Fund Diary. "Business Papers to be Kept", Horsfield Collection Box 8, UCL Institute of Archaeology, 13 April: 33-34. [probably by Agnes Conway]
A.E.C. and Dr Nielsen spent the day at El Medras, the “Klamm-Heiligurn["] [sic] and Al Kantara, searching for Dalman’s sanctuaries and finding nothing relating to cult. El Medras seems to have been an open country suburb, high and cool, with an unimpeded view to Mount Hor; on this hot day it was breezy and fresh compared with Petra, with air like El Barid, and country of the same sort. The two great rooms of Nabataean inscriptions (dated by Brunnow 70 B.C. and by Dussaud 17 A.D.) were probably houses; and above the upper complex of so-called cult objects, given in Dalman I (p. 130) is a staircase leading to the S. court with houses, while over another broken down staircase leading out of this courtyard, is another terrace with houses. There are no signs of graves, and the whole of the water complex must have served the houses, as far as I can see, as the rest of the country about is empty. The rock 71 (Dalman I, p. 120) is covered with Dusores niches, but all the other pits seem to be part of the system for collecting water into cisterns and ornamental basins. It looks to me like a charming arrangement of water basins in the shadow of the rock, with a triclinium in the shade where we had lunch, which might have been a place for rich Petraeans to move out to in the summer. There could be no defence. The house fronts, where they still exist, have a door or two side windows. The whole suburb was, I imagine, one of period and design, perhaps 70 B.C. or 17 A.D., like the inscriptions. From the plateau of El-Hremije we went down the Huraimiya gorge to Dalman’s “Klamheiligturn” [sic]; which is a house of one triclinium, with the complete front preserved in unweathered red sandstone – a door between two windows, like any modern street house. It was plastered and has remains of Nabataean inscriptions, and was dark and cool, with a cistern opposite. Above it, up the gorge, is an enormous room with a Roman niche. Probably all belonged together and may have been the summer house of a rich Petraean. When the staircase to the Khaznah was unblocked it would not have been far to go, but as a winter house it would have been quite dark and cold. Dr Nielsen found two sanctuaries in El Kantara (Dalman’s) in which he did not believe. A curious thing is that all the rooms seen to-day were covered with Arab graffiti as well as Nabataean inscriptions. Why? Reference: [unsigned, probably Conway, A.] 1929 (transcribed by A. Thornton). Petra Exploration Fund Diary. "Business Papers to be Kept", Horsfield Collection Box 8, UCL Institute of Archaeology, 14 April: 34-36. [By George Horsfield]
G. H. Sorted pots from Katoote. Dig on S side progresses and is cutting through a Christian cemetery. Got part of skull and some bones – bones very rotten. Two graves were one on top of another. Pottery infrequent and very fragmentary. Some lamps – red Byzantine; usual type. Reference: Horsfield, G. 1929 (transcribed by A. Thornton). Petra Exploration Fund Diary. "Business Papers to be Kept", Horsfield Collection Box 8, UCL Institute of Archaeology, 15 April: 36. [By George Horsfield]
The whole party went to El Barid escorted by Osair. Explored the head of the 3 Wadis Ma’aisera and to the parts of the country outside the Site [? In pencil]. Noted considerable remains of ancient cultivation which is marked by the ruins of field walls and terracing. Khubet Hormuz is apparently a village – a collection of small rooms and courts on top of and down the side of a slope. It is surrounded by the ruins of ancient cultivation. The dig has progressed nearly as far as the Byzantine wall. One Byzantine lamp was found and no graves. Continued sorting pots from Katoote – which are not very distinguished; some inscribed wine jar handles and the lower fragment of a draped figurine. Reference: Horsfield, G. 1929 (transcribed by A. Thornton). Petra Exploration Fund Diary. "Business Papers to be Kept", Horsfield Collection Box 8, UCL Institute of Archaeology, 16 [15th] April, Part 1: 36-37. Note: There is a discrepancy with the dating of this entry. According to Agnes Conway's diary, the trip to El Barid occurred on the 15th April. [By George Horsfield and probably Agnes Conway]
G. H. Visited dig which has progressed fairly and was within 6 m. of Byzantine wall; then went to Upper Farasa Wadi to see Tomb excavations; three were done; all had been cleared out. They are simple shaft tombs with stone slabs resting on ledges immediately over corpse – shaft about one metre deep. This was filled with earth, which had the appearance of never having been disturbed. The stone slaps in one case remained in part in position. Returned to dig which had arrived at wall about 5 ½ m in front of Byzantine wall. On the left was a cistern; broken down on the right, a shapeless mass of stones and earth – which had the appearance of being a foundation; dissected it but was unable to form an opinion as to what it was used for. Immediately in front of wall struck rock, on which foundation of wall rests – which may be a bastion projecting from main wall; it is built of small stones in courses – which seem to be reused material. There are seams of ashes, but very little pottery, which is very mixed; an inscribed jar handle – a sherd of glazed black pottery; a Christian Byzantine lamp, a fragment of a round figured lamp and a piece of glass. Arriving at the rock so soon was surprising as I thought that I was getting in to the “tell” and was expecting to arrive on the foundations of the part of the city lying between the two walls. These have apparently been cleared away or never existed. It is necessary in order to make sure and satisfy scientific curiosity to probe further; but the expectation of finding the town stratifications is gone – at this point. Visited with Miss C. el Maisera el Garbiyah and saw a quantity of Tombs, one of which, “Hadrianic”1, retained remains of external plaster on its cornice and suggestions of blue and red colour. This is the only Tomb so far found that retains any part of its external plastering, though it has been suspected in many other cases. Miss C. has pointed out three Tombs which she wants to dig out. They are filled with sand and are without any external distinction [? In pencil] – so may fulfil our expectation of being ancient and undisturbed – or at any rate may illustrate something of the Nabataean civilization – of which so far not a trace has been found except on coins. The Mediterranean seems the source of inspiration – Syria supplied the tools, Dabourha [? In pencil] and Dik – which seem to have been used by the stone cutters who carved out some of the Tombs. The Hadrianic Tombs are cut with a pick, which is used with a swinging circular stroke and produces a fine even cutting – the other is more careless and rough. The dating of all these is very difficult, but none seem to have a remote antiquity, as even some of the least classical and flattest in execution have pedimented doors; others have architraves, or small cornice; some of the architraves even develop ears at the top. So it would appear that the flat type with strings and very small stepped gables – sometimes with ornamented portals, were just as liable to be produced as well as the developed classical type. In the same way archaeologists will be mystified to find in English churches “15thcentury monuments” and early Victorian all stuck on the same wall, possibly executed by the same hand. The pick strokes do indicate that there was a difference[, in pencil] in time in some cases – but all cases may be found in contradiction [? In pencil] – so that a conclusion from this method of analysis is liable to error. The only means of correct dating is by digging. A. E. C. spent the morning examining the monuments on the East, opposite the theatre. The lower two tiers all appear to be houses, and one is large, with 7 rooms and a large hall, and probably a cistern underneath. The area seems originally to have been a tomb area, and several shaft graves remain at that level. When the theatre was made the houses may have been built too, as they all seem late and of excellent workmanship. The upper tiers are graves, with the doubtful exception of Br 812, which is a triclinium with a house façade, into which three large grave niches may have been inserted at the time the large neighbouring tomb was built. Brunnow has paid no attention whatever to the house levels. Behind these houses on the top terrace is a row of silted up graves; but these are more likely to have been rifled than those in the Wady Ma’aisera el Gharbiyah. Dr Nielsen and Dr Canaan spent the day at Elji, where they found a new (?) Nabataean inscription and saw several classical fragments built into the village houses. __ [Footnote] 1. Like Madain Salih Tomb, 8 A.D. Reference: Horsfield, G. [and probably Conway, A.] 1929 (transcribed by A. Thornton). Petra Exploration Fund Diary. "Business Papers to be Kept", Horsfield Collection Box 8, UCL Institute of Archaeology, 16 April, Part 2: 37-40. [By George Horsfield] G. H. To Sabra starting at 7.0 a.m.; arrived at 8.30 a.m.; via Wadi Tughra to top of watershed. Road horrible most of the way, especially descent into Wady. Found theatre, of which only a very small part remains on the right hand side with a water pool high up at the back – higher up still could see, through a crack in the mountain, view of trees and a catchment area. It is on the left bank of Wady; lower down water was found flowing in bed of Wady
Examined ruins on right bank; very mutilated and fallen down; saw sections of pillars and bases and piles of stones. The houses extended some distance up stream - was unable to decide on nature of buildings; part of one which stands at back on rock has base of large stones. Ali Burass produced a fragment of half smelted copper ore intermingled with charcoal; further search produced a piece of copper ore and many other fragments of black refuse which had been fused by fire. Hunted for furnaces; found piles of ashes among stones lying at foot of ruin built on rock. Evidently there is a copper mine somewhere in neighbourhood, but such search as we were able to make at the foot of the mountain was ineffective. Found also what we thought was iron pyrites (reddle). The place evidently was used for smelting copper found somewhere in the neighbourhood. The buildings are all “classical” and seem to date from about end of 2nd century A.D. Found no tombs; they must exist. I looked on all sides for roads – but could find not the slightest indication of one anywhere. [? In pencil] The Wadi is all right except at the head. The “fort” at the head of Wadi Tughra is evidently the remains of a village; has cisterns cut in the rock and the remains of field walls and terraces. The descent into Petra is equally lacking in a road; the going is rough. Two of the horses cast their shoes. Reference: Horsfield, G. 1929 (transcribed by A. Thornton). Petra Exploration Fund Diary. "Business Papers to be Kept", Horsfield Collection Box 8, UCL Institute of Archaeology, 17 April: 40-42. [By George Horsfield and Agnes Conway]
Visited dig first thing. Have decided to abandon it, as it is impossible to find anything further. Several wine jar handles inscribed turned up; also part of a small polished black lamp which seems to be the prototype of the inexplicable ugly one produced locally. Found another tomb exactly the same as before, but opened it without allowing much earth to enter. The corpse lay straight on its back with hands crossed on stomach; very crumbly; bones and all fell in bits when disturbed. No objects. Moved the workmen to “Caliph” to dig further into this mound from which some fairly good fragments turned up. Found nothing on going deeper in – a mass of building rubbish lime and red sand with certain streaks of wood ash. This was followed up and finally abandoned. Paid off 30 workmen. The Circassians have got up a separate mess with Ali as cook, which it is hoped will prove more satisfactory. Dr. Tewfik Canaan left us to-day, to our regret. He came as a stranger to all of us – but our nearer acquaintance with him proved his worth. He set an excellent example by his energy, cheeriness and resource. As a friend he left us. He doctored all and sundry, making friends with all with whom he came in contact. A.E.C. went to see High Places with Dr Nielsen in the Siyagh, and then to measure the large house found two days ago opposite the Theatre. There, in some mysterious manner, she lost Dr Canaan’s watch! She went straight up the Wady bed of the Ma’aisera el Gharbiyah, from the Turkamaniya to the wall at the top, in the afternoon noting all the silted up caves in the Wady bed, and higher up the banks, of which there are a great many. Facaded tombs do not begin till very high up, and end with a large clump of them right at the top. Then there is a building with sides like a tomb and the proportions of its neighbours, but open, front and back, with a platform on the Wady side. A large tomb at the back, of the “Serai” type, still has a grave niche, filled with large stones to the very top, though the bottom row has been removed. She came back over the highest top of the ridge between the Gharbiyah and the Wady Marris Hamdan and found quarrying on the sky-line. The water channel from the top flows into the cistern behind Kennedy’s Stibadium to Brunnow 559. Reference:Horsfield, G. [and Conway, A.] 1929 (transcribed by A. Thornton). Petra Exploration Fund Diary. "Business Papers to be Kept", Horsfield Collection Box 8, UCL Institute of Archaeology, 18 April: 42-43. |
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