High place of sacrifice
Coordinates: 30 ° 19 '20.4 " N , 35 ° 26' 48.1" E
The High Place of Sacrifice was a Nabatean cult site on Jabal Attuf , a mountain in the ancient urban area of the rock city of Petra in Jordan . The High Place of Sacrifice is one of a series of high-altitude places of sacrifice in the mountains of Petra. Its state of preservation makes it one of the most famous. The way there is well developed. Shortly after grave 70 in the outer Siq , a Nabatean pilgrimage route leads up to the place of worship, for which stairs were partially cut into the rock.
particularities
The actual sacrificial site consists of a courtyard 14.5 m long and 6.5 m wide. A low step around the courtyard was possibly used as a seat for rituals. In the middle of the courtyard there is a small platform 15 cm high, probably an offering table, on which food, drinks and other offerings were offered. The actual sacrificial altar is located near the sacrificial table on the west side of the courtyard. It was accessible via steps and is 90 cm high. Next to the altar was a round sacrificial basin, in which the blood of sacrificial animals was presumably collected. There is a one meter deep tub nine meters south of the courtyard. This is where water was probably collected and stored for the rituals. The courtyard is so small that mass events could not take place in this square.
In the vicinity of the High Place of Sacrifice there is a platform with two protruding obelisks that are aligned on an east-west axis. The obelisks are seven meters high and probably symbolized the Nabatean deities Dushara and al-Uzza . This plain was created when the Nabataeans removed the rock around the obelisks. An estimated 3200 m³ of earth and rock were moved.
literature
- Fabio Bourbon: Petra, the mysterious rock city . Müller, Cologne 2004, ISBN 3-89893-564-7 , pp. 120-121 .
- 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 .
