Ad Deir
Ad Deir ( Arabic الدير, DMG ad-Dair 'the monastery') is an imposing rock building made of stone near the ancient Jordanian city of Petra . The monument was built by the Nabataeans in the 1st century and is 50 meters wide and 39 meters high.
History and possible use
Ad Deir was built in the middle of the 1st century AD and, contrary to what the current name suggests, did not initially serve as a monastery. Ad Deir was probably not intended as a tomb either. In 2004 two stone benches were discovered along the walls of the hall, covered with rubble. These suggest that Ad Deir served as a ruler's mausoleum. An inscription suggests a reference to the cult of the Nabatean king Obodas I , who reigned at the beginning of the 1st century BC, without the exact connection becoming clear.
Construction
The facade is carved out of the rock as a bas-relief . In terms of structure, Ad Deir is comparable to the construction of the Al Khazneh treasure house in Petra. In both cases, the top floor is designed as an interrupted gable, in the center of which stands a tholos , which is crowned by a ten meter high urn. Inside the system there is a chamber that measures 12.5 by 10 meters and is 15 meters high; it can be entered via a gate that is 8 meters high. The back wall of the chamber has a large depression flanked by two stairs; rituals were probably celebrated here. After Christianity was adopted in the 4th century, the complex served as a monastery; hence the current name.
Individual evidence
- ^ Fabio Bourbon: Archaeological travel guide: Petra - The mysterious rock city . Cologne 2004, ISBN 978-3-89893-564-7 , p. 103
literature
- Fabio Bourbon: Archaeological Guide: Petra - The Mysterious Rock City . Cologne 2004, ISBN 978-3-89893-564-7
- Frank Rainer Scheck: Jordan. Peoples and cultures between the Jordan and the Red Sea . 6th edition. DuMont Reiseverlag, Ostfildern 2011, ISBN 3-7701-3979-8 . Pp. 420-425.
Web links
- About Petra and Ad Deir (English)
Coordinates: 30 ° 20 ′ 16.3 " N , 35 ° 25 ′ 51.6" E